NOTES FOR BJMC(III)M 2009-12 BATCH

DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION

What is Magic Multiplier?

What is magic multiplier?

Mass Media is called the magic multiplier as it can multiply the messages and reach a number of people very fast.

Wilbur Schramm (1964), in his book Mass Media and National Development, argued that each person would have requirement of information of the work he would undertake. And there be millions of workers would require information of various types.

The conventional channel of communication would never be able to meet this demand. Therefore, modern communication technologies would be of great use to meet this demand by multiplying the messages and reaching each and every worker simultaneously.

Arguments for magic multiplier:

We need magic multiplier for the following reasons:

For social change of great magnitude, people must be informed, educated, motivated and persuaded. Information must flow, not only to them but also from them, so that their needs can be known and they might participate in the acts and decisions of the nation-building.
As the required amount of information and learning is vast and so as the targeted population.
The available channels of communication like inter-personal, group-communication, traditional media are incapable to undertake this task. As this will require a lot of time and resources. For a developing country, it's difficult to gather a large pool of resources and wait for such a long period. Mass media with its magical reach can do this job in less time and resources.

Audit of magic multiplier:

1. The audit finds out that the mass media succeeded in reaching a vast majority of population in less time and resources, but it failed in achieving its basic objectives for which it became a Magic Multiplier.
2. Mass media as a magic multiplier did a commendable job in spreading awareness but it could not give expected results in persuading and educating the targeted population.
3. It was found that persuasion, motivation and education for/on something is best achieved by close interactions which is possible in inter-personal, group-communications etc.

Diffusion of Innovation

Diffusion= spread. Innovation= an idea perceived as new by an individual.

The diffusion process is the spread of a new idea from its source of creation to the adopters or users.

Everet M. Rogers (1983) saw the diffusion of new ideas and their practice as a crucial component of the modernization process.

When a message is propagated, a segment of the population adopts it, and develops a positive attitude towards it. This can happen in the case of a product, fertilizer, seeds, ideas, journals etc. The people who adopt first, directly or indirectly shape the positive attitude of others who remain indifferent to the message. This is true in places where information and literacy levels are low. Simple people would like to get information from the people living in their proximity.

Model of diffusion:

The scholars have identified five distinct stages in the process of diffusion:

Awareness
Interest
Evaluation
Trial
Adoption

Awareness: At this stage, there is broad exposure to the innovation, but the individual does not have sufficient information about the innovation.

Interest: After getting aware of the innovation, the individual shows interest in the new idea, and makes an effort to seek additional information.

Evaluation: At the evaluation stage, the individual mentally applies the innovation to one’s own situation, and then decides whether to try it or not.

Trial: At this stage, the individual uses the innovations on a pilot stage to decide about its utility and relevance to one’s own situation. It was observed that most persons would not adopt an innovation without trying it on an experimental basis.

Adoption: Here, the individual decides to continue full use of the innovation. Adoption means the sustained use of the adoption process.

Based on the diffusion research, there is no evidence to show that all the five stages will be visible of being strictly followed by all the adopters.

Types of adopters:

Based on the rate of adoption and the time difference between initial exposure to final adoption, diffusion researchers have classified adopters into five distinct categories:

Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Laggards

Innovators: They are the most eager members of the society to try new ideas and adopt new practices. They are enterprising and willing to take risks. Usually, they belong to the cosmopolitan category.

Early adopters: They follow the innovators.

Early and late majority: They follow the innovators and early adopters in the adoption of a practice.

Laggards: They are very slow in adoption. They are rigid and hard to be convinced. They stick to the old method and resist change.

Sources of information and their relevance at different stages:

Awareness: Communication through the mass media like the print, radio, TV and film. They are effective in drawing the attention of the individuals.
Interest: Subject experts, internet books and journals.
Evaluation: Mass media and local information sources from inside the community are the most important at the evaluation stage.

S-shaped curve of diffusion:

Gabriel Tarde (1903), the French sociologist, was one of the first to propose the S-shaped curve of diffusion.

The curve represents the relative speed of adoption of an innovation by the members of a social system such as farmers living in small, well defined communities.

When the increasing percentages of adoptions were graphically plotted against time, they formed the classic s-shaped curve. Thus, the adoption rate of innovation had a rather slow start, and then as the early adopters started to influence the rate, there was a fairly rapid rise again at the top forming the S-shape.

Bell-shaped curve:

When the absolute numbers of adoptions were plotted for a distinct time period, a bell-shaped curve is obtained.

Factors affecting the rate of adoption of innovations:

1. Cultural incompatibility and mismatch is considered to be the biggest inhibiting factors in the process of diffusion of innovations.

Ex: Many studies have substantiated that the new crop varieties, which give higher yields and better incomes, have been rejected on the ground of taste, fear of ill-health, and unacceptability as food.

2. Relative advantage of innovation.
3. Perceived impact of the adoption on social relations.
4. Complexities involved in the acceptance of the innovation on a sustained basis.
Scope for reversibility in case the innovation is to be rejected.

‘Diffusion of innovation’ studies the communication of new ideas from external sources and their acceptance by peasants and others at the village level and documents the impact of communication (inter-personal and mass media) on the change from a traditional to a modern way of life.

Localised Approach in Development Communication

The approach which advocates that information transmitted through media must be locally and functionally relevant to the audience is called localised approach.

The relationship between communication and development can be broadly divided into two types:

Macro societal level
Micro societal level

Macro societal level studies (by Wilbur Scramm, Daniel Lerner etc.) give direct support to the view that a modern mass media system is an important requirement for development.

Micro societal level studies argue that information of certain kind generates appetite for new things and new ways of doing things, which ultimately sets the process of development.

Other scholars have expressed that mere availability of any kind of mass media is not likely to be useful for innovative changes. The information transmitted should be locally and functionally relevant, useful, applicable, timely and specific in a given situation.

Why localised approach:

1. As the needs of people vary widely in different regions and sub-regions.
2. In a large developing country like India, there is diversity of cultures and languages.

Benefits of localised approach:

1. Localised approach would enable the communicators to design messages which will be relevant in terms of utility, timeliness, applicability, specificity etc.
2. The approach would tailor message for local conditions.
3. The approach can overcome infrastructural difficulties.
4. Such an approach will allow greater involvement and participation of the audience in the communication process.

Dos and Don’ts of localized approach:

1. There should be proper need-assessment of the local population.
2. The socio-economic condition of the local people should be kept in mind before designing the message.
3. The geographical and political conditions of a local area bear a lot of significance for message designing and delivery.
4. Preferences should be given to local media and local resource persons for the execution of communication tasks.

Empathy and Mass Communication

The power of identifying oneself mentally with a person or object of choice—is what empathy means literally. Daniel Lerner used this term with a particular emphasis on the aspirations for a new identity.

Ex: Suppose your have a goal of building a decent house so that you can live with minimum hassles. You dream about it. You aspire for it. We can say that you emphasize with it. Lerner said that people of any given society must think and aspire for a better life. If they do so, they are empathetic about a better life.

Lerner identified development with modernization and social change. The four indices of development were urbanization, literacy, media exposure and political participation. According to Lerner people need to have mobile personality (ability to undertake new tasks and experience), be empathetic and participate in the process of development to develop.

When people are mobile, they are ready to look for something new and the empathy makes them search for something new. Mobility and empathy make them more change prone. Participation, both political and social leads to development. Participation has to be at several layers of society and eventually at all levels of society.

Lerner suggested that media exposure, political participation and developing psychic empathy are necessary to make people participative to change their traditional beliefs and attitudes. Modern society is a participant society and it works by consensus.

Daniel Lerner (1958) in his book, Passing of Traditional Society, saw the problems of ‘modernizing’ traditional societies. He thought development was largely a matter of increasing productivity and to increase this productivity, one must aspire, and it must begin in the psyche of the people. Hence, it is basically ‘psychological’.

Why Development Failed to Occur?

According to Lerner, development failed to occur because peasants were unable to ‘empathize’ or imaginatively identify with the new role, and a changed and better way of life and so remained fatalistic—unambitious and resistant to change.

Every change in the society must originate and begin in the hearts of the people. If the people would like to change, only then development would begin.

Media and Empathy

To motivate people to change is a difficult task. But we can do a lot by providing people with clues as to what better things in life might be. Lerner saw the media as filling this need of the promoting interest among the people for a better life. He saw the media as machines, inspiring people for better things in life.

He said ‘empathy’ provides a person with the capacity to imagine himself as a proprietor of a big grocery store in a city, to wear nice clothes and live in a nice house, to be interested in “what is going on in the world” and to “get out of his hole.”

He pointed out to the link between economic productivity and media provisions in different countries in support of his theory. The rich countries had the most newspapers, the radios and so on, and the poorest, the least.

Basic Needs Model

Model: A simple description of a system, used for explaining how something works.

Introduction: The Bariloche Foundation in Argentina (1972) first developed a world model to show the possibility of meeting the basic needs of people all over the world based on certain assumptions.

Important points of BNM:

Development must reach to the poorest of the poor and satisfy their basic minimum needs e.g. food, clothes, shelter, education, healthcare etc. by providing employment and income.
It was an attempt to deal directly with the world poverty by meeting the basic needs of the lowest 40% income groups.

The model advocated for the satisfaction of non-material needs for quality of life once the material needs are satisfied.

In this model, the emphasis shifted from measuring income per capita as a growth indicator to measuring the physical quality of life (PQLI) as the indicator of welfare. PQLI is measured by life expectancy, infant mortality rate (IMR is the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year. India=55, Sierra Leone=160.3, USA=6.3, World=49.4 IMR as per 2006 United Nations Population Division report) and literacy.
In this model there is increased emphasis on the importance of equitable distribution of rewards, quality of life and meeting basic human needs.

BNM and causes of underdevelopment:

The model points out a few causes of underdevelopment as given below:

Poor organization of the poor. Organization of the poor serves three purposes: first to participate in community life; second, to overcome the mere survival strategy; and third, to break a pattern of powerlessness, exploitation, permanent indebtedness, and a state of dependency bordering slavery.
Lack of proper policy framework for development. It should have multiple growth goals: a commitment to development from bottom-up; local self-reliance; grass-root organizations participating in planning, decision making and implementing in areas affecting communities; substantial allocation of national funds for health, education and housing in favour of the lowest 40% income.
Information Poverty. There is information poverty among the 'have-nots' and communication gap with the 'have'.

Communication Model in BNM:

Decentralization (to give some of the power of a central government, organization, etc. to smaller parts or organizations around the country) of communication networks and democratization of their control would be essential pre-condition for the success of BNM.
Decentralization and rural integrated development in this model suggest two-way communication, both top-down and bottom-up in the development infrastructure.

The top-down communication is from the govt. to the masses for awareness of the basic amenities provided. A bottom-up communication from the people to the development planners for need based programs.

Role of communication in BNM:

In BNM, the emphasis is on inter-personal communication channels, which are used to inform, educate, motivate and persuade the masses with support from the mass media.

The govt. should provide community TV, radio sets and newspapers etc. and make use of satellites and other improved methods of broadcasting, such as short-wave, to the poor who have low physical accessibility to mass media because of low purchasing power or living in areas where reach of the media is low.
Along with physical access, it is necessary to have access to the operation of community media. This will safeguard against information blockage to the have-nots.
The efforts to meet the basic needs and to affect the required attitudinal changes require unprecedented inflow of information into the village capable of reaching the poorest of the villagers as well.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop programs designed to transform the village from the traditional society into and Information Community of a new kind.

Conclusion: Though the BNM is not yet considered as a replacement for development strategy but it has contributed a lot in shaping the policy of many developing countries.

Extension Approach in Development Communication

Extension = Ex + Tensio (Latin roots)

Ex = out, Tensio = Stretching

Extension = Stretching out/ reaching out

Extension Education: Extension is that type of education which is stretched out to people in the rural areas far and near, beyond the reach of educational institutions to which the formal type of education is usually confined.

Example: Village Level Workers (VLWs), extension workers of different departments educating the villagers on different issues.

Need For Extension Education:

1. Arises out of the fact that the condition of the rural people in general, and the farmers in particular, has got to be improved. There is a gap between what is—the actual situation and what ought to be--- the desirable situation. This gap has to be narrowed down mainly by the application of science and technology in their enterprises and bringing appropriate changes in their behavior.

2. It is practically not possible for the researchers/scientists to visit the villages and persuade the villagers to adopt scientific methods for their developments and understand their problems.

3. It has been found to be inconvenient to the farmers to visit research institutes to get first hand information.

Thus there is need for an agency to intermediate.

Objectives of Extension Education:

The fundamental objective of extension is to develop the rural people economically, socially and culturally by means of education.

The general objectives of extension are:

1. To assist people to discover and analyze their problems and identify the felt needs.
2. To disseminate research information of economic and practical importance in a way people would be able to understand and use.
3. To assist people in mobilizing and utilizing the resources which they have and which they need from outside.
4. To collect and transmit feedback information for solving management problems.
5. To develop leadership among people and help them in organizing groups to solve their problems.

Development Support Communication (DSC)

Origin of DSC:

In the 50’s of the last century, many developing countries used agricultural extension education to improve agricultural production.

As in developing countries, even though, a large part of population is engaged in agriculture, the small and marginal farmers are not able to produce adequate food because of the unscientific method of farming (the traditional way of tilling the soil and dependence on the monsoon). It was therefore, considered necessary to help these farmers to change their agricultural practices, through extension methods.

This approach of spreading/diffusing innovation, new ideas, practices, and technologies in agriculture to the farmers became very popular as agricultural extension during 1950’s.

In view of heavy reliance of agriculture extension on communication techniques and methodologies, in due course communication applied to agriculture extension came to be known as Agricultural Communication.

By and by, extension approach was used to transfer knowledge to the rural mass on health, hygiene, nutrition, sanitation etc. Hence, it came to be known as Rural Communication.

Later on, the slums of the urban areas were also included to help the poorer sections living in them. Thus, communication theory and practice applied to help stimulate the development process in general branched off as the Development Support Communication (DSC).

In DSC, the emphasis is on greater participation of the beneficiaries in the development process in general, and in message development in particular.

Example: Pulse polio fiasco in pockets of U.P and Bihar.

DSC Links Agencies:

DSC was a concept popularized by the UNDP, FAO, UNICEF etc. It links all agencies involved in the planned development work such as political executives, policy planners, development administrators, subject specialists, field workers, opinion leaders, the media representatives, the researchers and beneficiaries who constitute the final delivery points and consumers of information.

Route of Communication in DSC:

The route of communication envisaged are not only vertical from top to bottom and bottom-upwards, but also horizontal between the institutions and personnel connected with the process of development.

Wood’s Triangle:

John L. Woods (1976) conceived a triangular nexus with three points: Knowledge generators, political leaders and development knowledge users, called Wood’s Triangle.

According to Woods, the role of DSC, is to link all three elements in the development linkage triangle along with all the intermediate user groups.

His emphasis is not only on pushing the information towards the target groups, but also on taking into account the information seeking pattern of the target audience and integrating them into the development planning process.

Development Support Communication in Health Sector in India

Improvement in the healthcare system is essential for social and economic development. Moreover, unless people have healthy living, they cannot enjoy the other benefits of life. These are the reasons why activities attempting to improve health and socio-economic situations should be regarded as mutually complementary to each other rather than competitive. Health is an essentially productive factor contributing to the overall development.

Example: The control of certain communicable diseases often helps to promote development in general. Proper nutrition and reduction of sickness increases the productivity of work. Breaking the vicious circle of malnutrition and infection leads to improvement of physical and mental development of the child. Vaccinating an entire child population against diseases brings reduction in child mortality, which can induce a feeling to have a small family.

Limitations of traditional health communication:

• Unlike other areas, the influence of mass media in changing the health behaviors of an individual is limited.
• Opinion leaders are comparatively less effective in changing the health behaviour of an individual. For example: The big land lords were the first to accept changes in the agricultural process and production but not in health (e.g. family planning).
• Not all opinion leaders can influence everyone. They generally specialize in some fields. For example: A progressive farmer might succeed in disseminating new innovations in the field of agriculture but may fail in the sector of health.

DSC Strategy:

In the context of the complexity of health behaviour, DSC assumes greater significance. Some of the important points of DSC strategy are:

• In health communication, word-of-mouth and personal communication form a trusted source and is significantly more effective than mass communication from a remote source.
• In a country like India, a DSC strategy needs to be developed in a manner that can cater to the needs of the diverse groups based on social and cultural background.
• The Govt. of India’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which envisages a key role of Panchayati Raj institutions in the implementation of health programmes. This programme is in line with DSC.
•The mission relates health to determinants of good health viz. sanitation, nutrition and safe drinking water; optimization of health manpower including Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) among others.
•The goal of achieving health behaviour change should be a central point of the DSC strategy. This needs to be operated in that spirit. The health communicator, should, therefore pursue the following activities if he aims to achieve behavioural change.

1. Assess the needs of the community or different target groups.
2. Assess the local resources available to meet these needs.
3. Assess the likes and dislikes of people towards the different types of communication.
4. Convince the stakeholders on the need of the programme.
5. Provide scientific, specific and basic information to the policy-makers and decision-makers.

Difference between DC & DSC models

Source:

DC: University-based
DSC: Development agency based

Structure:

DC: Top-down, authoritarian
DSC: Horizontal knowledge sharing between benefactors and beneficiaries.

Paradigm:

DC: Dominant paradigm. Effort is externally directed social change.
DSC: Participatory paradigm.

Level:

DC: International and national.
DSC: Grassroots.

Media:

DC: Big media: TV, radio and Newspapers.
DSC: Small media: Traditional media, group and inter-personal communication, video, film strips etc.

Effects:

DC: To create a climate of acceptance by beneficiaries for new ideas and innovations.
DSC: To create a climate of mutual understanding between benefactors and beneficiaries.

Development message design and communication

The effectiveness of development message is of the foremost importance in development communication. The message selection has to be based on the holistic view of the development project objectives as message selection forms one of the important factors affecting the success of the overall project.

Points should be kept in mind while designing the message:

1. Usefulness of the content: People should see the advantage in the message conveyed to them.
2. Timeliness: Messages should be coordinated with the timing of the activities they have intended to influence, to increase the implementation potential of the content.
3. Appropriateness: Development messages should include the reason or logic for suggesting any new idea apart from the process to be followed in putting the idea into action. This can help people to decide what is appropriate for their individual conditions.
4. Simplicity: Simple messages are easy to communicate and understand.
5. Needs assessment of the target groups: Various methods like community study, observations, contacting key persons or leaders of the community, referring the reports, if any, can be used to find out the needs of the people.

Important steps in message designing:

1. Priority: Determining the priority issues and define them. For example: Whether health, nutrition, women’s issues and so on.
2. Media: Communication channels to be used should be decided keeping in mind the:
a. Literacy level of the target group
b. Channel access
c. Channel availability
d. Purpose of communicating.
3. Local resources: Incorporating local resources in planning the communication strategy.
4. Different content for different channel: If TV is to be used, the script should be written. If drama or behaviour format is to be used in the strategy, script writing will have to be done accordingly.
5. Pre-testing: Pre-testing the strategy with a sample of your target group to avoid any loss or wastage in communication.
6. Proper delivery system: Transmission of the message has to be done step by step, if a number of the media have to be used in a sequence or order of occurrence and importance under the controlled condition and observation of the communication.
7. Evaluation: Evaluation of the communication strategy should be carried out in terms of its objectives.

Factors for loss of meaning of messages:

• Production team related factors
• Content related factors
• Media related factors
• Audience related factors
• Context/environment related factors

Messages conveyed through media have an impact on behaviour and hence, its usage for development. The type of influence and the extent of impact of these message would be determined by the content, its presentation, creditability of the media and the source, audience characteristics such as their education level and exposure to other messages or sources etc.

Role of cyber media in development

Cyber: connected with electronic communication networks, especially the Internet.

The communication landscape in the country has been undergoing major changes largely due to technological developments during the last two decades. Use of computers has revolutionized the process of collection and dissemination of information. Internet is widely used by corporate houses, educational organizations, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and voluntary bodies.

The new technology, in fact is being increasingly used for governance (Electronic governance) and during emergencies.

E-Governance: At the most basic level, it's about putting services online and making it easier for people to access them. On a broader definition, it involves an effort by the government to lead society from an industrial to an information age.

Benefits of E-governance: e-Governance sees the people in government, business and citizens working together for the benefit of all. If properly implemented, the benefits of e-Governance are enormous. Some of its obvious benefits are:

Integrated Information: e-Governance targets to use a government-wide electronic information infrastructure to simplify service delivery, reduce duplication, and improve the level and speed of service to clients at a lower cost. It recommends creating, managing, and prudently sharing information electronically among the various government departments and the different services offered by them.
Integrated Services: Different types of services offered by different government departments like collecting taxes, granting licenses, administering regulations, paying grants and benefits, can be availed at one place.
Anywhere Services: Provision of fully interactive on-line services by e-Governance gives public access to government services with quicker responses at convenient times. This on-line accessibility of stored information from remote locations allows government officials to serve any citizen from a government office located in any part of the state or country.
Anywhere, Anytime Information: Delivery of services may require interaction between government officials and citizens, but delivery of public-domain information to citizens can be done without any such interaction. Citizens can obtain information related to government processes and procedures through an on-line system without interacting with any government official. There is no pressure on individuals to physically visit a Government Office.

Improved Overall Productivity: e-Governance will significantly contribute to improved overall productivity of both the government officials and the citizens, as it ensures faster interaction among them by electronic mail instead of moving paper files and letters, and in streamlining the workflow of internal government administrative processes. On the other hand, improved productivity of citizens results because of the facility of anytime, anywhere services and information.

Better Decision Making and Planning: The integrated information base of e-Governance helps planners and decision makers to perform extensive analysis of stored data to provide answers to the queries of the administrative cadre. This facilitates taking well informed policy decisions for citizen. This in turn helps them to formulate more effective strategies and policies for citizen facilitation.

Better Security and Protection of Information: E-Governance uses the integrated information approach for keeping all information at one place in electronic form. Thus, keeping the information secure against theft or leakage. Proper backup mechanisms also help in protecting the valuable information from getting lost due to natural calamities such as fires, earthquakes, and floods.

Successful E-governance projects in states:

BHOOMI of Karnataka: The first e-governance project of on Land Records Computerization System.
WARANA of Maharashtra: ‘Wired Village’ concept at Warana cooperative complex in Kolhapur and Sangli districts in Maharashtra.
RASI (Rural Access to Services through Internet) of Tamil Nadu: Rural IT infrastructure in Tamil Nadu.
E-SEVA of Andhra Pradesh: Provides services relating to payment of Utility Bills, Certificates, Permits / licenses, reservation etc.
CARD of A.P: System of registration through electronic delivery of all the registration services.
Tax Administration: Better, faster, easier: In order to ensure that tax administration, including that of VAT, is faster and easier, the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers has flagged off an initiative called the National Tax Information Exchange System (TINXSYS) project across the country.
IT for Railways: Railway Reservation Systems and online delivery of tickets.
Community Benefits: Community centres with IT: The Government of India has set up Community Information Centres (CICs) in the North East and Sikkim. These CICs provide broadband Internet access at each block.They provide services such as birth and death registration, and act as e-Suvidha service facilitation centres for marriage and SC/ST certificates. They also provide information about agricultural prices and related matters, and educational and employment opportunities.
Computerising the Police: Connecting the cops: The Kolkata Police has built a WAN that connects the police headquarters and important bureaus with more than 400 police stations across the state of West Bengal. This network is in its final stage of implementation. The older special messenger system has been abolished, and all information is sent over the new network.
Sukhmani: The government of Punjab commissioned a project called Sukhmani as the citizen gateway for over 120 services provided by the government.

E-Governance is also referred to as SMART Governance because it aims at using IT to the processes of Government functioning to bring about Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent Governance.

Emergencies: During/after natural disasters, it is difficult to install radio communication stations for establishing contacts with the outside world. However, much easier to communicate through cyber media.

During the 2001, Bhuj (Gujrat) earthquake, cyber media played an important role in establishing contact, treatment of the injured and other relief and rehabilitation operations.

Basic Needs Model

Digital democracy

Digital democracy here refers to the use of digital communication technologies to enhance the democratic process by, among other things, making the process more accessible, increasing and enhancing citizen participation in public policy decision making, and increasing government transparency and accountability.

In recent years, we have seen a broad disenchantment among people with civic engagement and representative democracy. In the mid-1990s, however, the growth of the Internet revitalized the democratic imagination:

1. The Internet promised to revive the civic sphere and extend community life by providing broad, diverse forums for discussions.

2. The Internet enabled many-to-many citizen interaction that invited online political debate, deliberation, consultation, decision-making, administration, and scrutiny as well as online mobilizing, organizing, petitioning, and protesting.

3. The Internet made polling, plebiscites, and elections relatively cheap and accessible. Conceivably, the voice of the people could be expressed regularly and loudly, expanding popular decision-making and closing the gap between citizens and their representatives.

Ideally, netizens online, disciplined deliberations will produce sober, wise recommendations for policy-maker and law-maker consideration. In effect, deliberation will make the demos safe for democracy.

EXAMPLE:

There is a new game on the Web, sometimes of dubious significance. But its real significance lies beyond what it shows right now. I am talking about “trending.” Last week, while the country was absorbed watching the verdict in the Ayodhya dispute between Hindu and Muslim groups, Twitter, the

micro-blogging site, was abuzz with some Indians celebrating the verdict’s online glory, when Ayodhya became the top trending topic during the course of the day.

For the uninitiated, “trending” is a reference to the number of times a topic is discussed on Twitter: a score of its importance and popularity. You can also find the Yahoo home page (www.yahoo.com) capturing the latest Web trends. Yahoo also has its Buzz (buzz.yahoo.com) that measures popular stories and topics.

While on Twitter, this is about what is being discussed by tweeters or stories viewed and shared, in Google Trends (www.google.com/trends), you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, languages, and time periods. The Twitter trending is better called “hot topics” while “hot searches” in Google Trends reflect popular searches (other than routine things like weather) as an indicator of popularity.

For Indian tweeters (still mostly in English), it was a parochial victory when their favourite topic surged ahead of US-dominated topics.

Now, consider a future in which Internet-enabled tablets and smartphones, highly affordable in fast-growing Asian economies, generate more and more searches and tweets. What happened with Ayodhya is the result of both global interest and the surging use of Twitter in India.

The rise of a connected world is going to even out cultural biases inherent in the current digital penetration levels led by the US.

As the Idea Cellular commercial (with the memorable slogan, “What an Idea, sirjee”) showed, the social use of SMS voting, tweets and searches will help policymakers, officials, leaders and companies view social trends and adapt their behaviour suitably.

In a connected world, twe-ets and searches have become live, real-time symbols of democracy at work — and it is no longer about the affluent because connections and devi-ces are ever more affordable.
Social media trends mark a new frontier in the Internet revolution — through the rise of digital democracy

Rajendra Singh, who has undertaken extensive water conservation efforts in drought-prone eastern Rajasthan, wins the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.

SUNNY SEBASTIAN
in Jaipur

RAJENDRA SINGH, the man who 'divined' water in the arid regions of eastern Rajasthan by building water-harv The water man of Rajasthan

is the winner of the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. The non-governmental organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS), which Rajendra Singh leads as its general secretary, has since 1985 built some 4,500 earthen check dams, or johads, to collect rainwater in some 850 villages in 11 districts in the State. The TBS has also and helped revive five rivers that had gone dry. The award is not only a recognition of his conservation efforts but also an acceptance of the traditional wisdom of the people of rural Rajasthan.

GOPAL SUNGER
Rajendra Singh, winner of the Magsaysay Award.

Incidentally, the honour has gone to an NGO working in rural Rajasthan for the second year in a row. Aruna Roy, whose Rajsamand-based Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) spearheaded the campaign for the right to information and transparency in development works, was the recipient of the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award in the same category.

In his reaction to the honour, Rajendra Singh said: "This is a recognition of the rural communities. The village society taught me the value of water. Prior to 1984 I knew nothing about water or its conservation methods."

Johadwala Baba (bearded man of check dams) to the villagers and Bhai Saheb (elder brother) to his associates in the TBS, Rajendra Singh said: "This is the triumph of the traditional wisdom of the people over classroom learning. It is time the governments recognised their deep knowledge of the land and the environment and made use of it for the uplift of the rural masses."

The draft of the citation for the Award, to be presented to Rajendra Singh in Manila on August 31, reads: "In electing Rajendra Singh to receive the 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership the Board of Trustees recognises his leading Rajasthani villages in the steps of their ancestors to rehabilitate their degraded habitat and bring its dormant rivers back to life."

Not long ago, when a group of five youth from Jaipur, which included Rajendra Singh, landed in Alwar district's Thanagazi tehsil, the villagers viewed them with suspicion. The backward Gujjars and the tribal Meenas branded them as child-lifters and terrorists. They were not to blame, for the villages, nestled in eastern Aravallis, were going through difficult times in the 1980s. Most parts of Alwar district had been declared a "dark zone", which meant that there was very little ground water left. Rivers and ponds were drying up and most of the menfolk had left for cities in search of work. Life in the villages had come to a standstill with farming activities getting severely affected and the bovine wealth, the backbone of the rural economy, shrinking in the absence of fodder and water.

Fifteen years and many johads later, water has restored life and self-respect in Alwar. Of late, several villages in the neighbouring districts of Jaipur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur and Karauli have been revived by the TBS. Neembi in Jamwa Ramgarh tehsil of Jaipur district is one such village which caught the fancy of planners this summer as the perennially drought-prone village had water at three feet from ground in the third consecutive drought year. Neembi's residents, who spent Rs.50,000 in 1994 to construct two earthen dams with the help of the TBS, now produce vegetables and milk worth Rs.3 crores annually.

Farming activities have resumed in hundreds of drought-prone villages with the rivers Ruparel, Arvari, Sarsa, Bhagani and Jahajwali flowing again after remaining dry for decades. The villages, which were deserted by its inhabitants, have been populated once again. There is a sense of belonging among the people as the gram sabhas created by the TBS to facilitate the management of the johads have a say in the general well-being of the community as well.

The rebirth of the Arvari was something of a miracle. In 1986, the residents of Bhanota-Kolyala village, with the help of the TBS, constructed a johad at its source. Soon villages around the catchment area and along the dry river constructed tiny earthen dams. When the number of dams reached 375, the river began to flow. "We were amazed," says Rajendra Singh, recalling the revival of the Arvari, which earned him the titles of water diviner and miracle man. "It was not our intention to re-create the river, for we never had it in our wildest dreams," he remarked. The villagers who revived the Arvari were felicitated by President K.R. Narayanan with the Down to Earth Joseph C. John Award in March 2000.

The residents went on to constitute a parliament of their own. Arvari Sansad, inspired by the Gandhian concept of gram swaraj, is a representative body of 72 villages in the areas served by the river. The Arvari parliament has framed 11 major rules to fix the cropping pattern and water use. The rules permit only landless farmers to draw water directly from the river and bans the cultivation of sugarcane and the raising of buffaloes as these activities would require relatively large amounts of water.

Rajendra Singh, who was associated with Jayaprakash Narayan's Sampurna Kranti (Total Revolution) movement in his student days, has mobilised the people to stand up and speak for themselves and use natural resources in a sustainable manner.

AN air of festivity filled Gopalpura on August 1 when Rajendra Singh reached the village where he introduced his community-based water harvesting method in 1985 by building the first structure. This was two days after the award was announced, but it was the first thing he did after accepting felicitations and addressing a media conference in Jaipur. (In fact, one full day had lapsed after the news was reported, but there was no clue of Rajendra Singh. Journalists eager to get his reaction after a chase learnt that he was at Shekhawati village looking for new locations to erect check dams. Rajendra Singh came to know about his Award from the morning's newspapers.)

Gopalpura elder Mangu Ram Patel (Meena) was the happiest man, for it was a teaser from him - thein to kuch karo Rajinder, kal favte gonti ler agyo (do something Rajinder, bring spade and pick axe tomorrow and start work) - that spurred Rajendra Singh and the bunch of youth who formed the Tarun Bharat Sangh, or Young India Association into action. The following day the youth were digging and desilting the Gopalpura johad, which had been neglected after long periods of disuse. A village resident recalls that the local Station House Officer (SHO) who reached the village looking for the "outsiders" and with an arrest warrant, found Rajendra Singh with a basket of mud on his head. He made a silent retreat.

Activities of the TBS are spread over an area of 6,500 sq km, which includes also parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

RAJENDRA SINGH, 43, hails from Dola village of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. He says the crusade he began, unwittingly, against marble miners in the Project Tiger Sanctuary of Sariska in the early 1990s made conservationists take note of his efforts. "The TBS found that even after constructing johads, the water level did not go up in the ponds and lakes around Sariska. But we soon found what was wrong. We traced the missing water to the pits left unfilled by the miners after their operations. Water collected in them, depriving the wells and lakes of water."

Rajendra Singh and his companions at Tarun Ashram, the TBS headquarters in Kishori-Bhikampura in Thanagazi tehsil bordering the sanctuary, took up the issue, which eventually led to the closure of 470 mines operating within the buffer area and periphery of the sanctuary. A public interest petition was filed in the Supreme Court. In 1991, the court issued an order against continuing mining in the ecologically fragile Aravallis. This was followed up by a notification by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in May 1992 banning mining in the Aravalli hill system.

TBS activists had to face the wrath of the mine owners. Rajendra Singh was threatened and attacked. The miners carried on a vilification campaign against them.

Vishnu Dutt Sharma, who was the Chief Wildlife Warden of Rajasthan at that time, recalls: "He was pulled out of the jeep inside Sariska by the agents of the mine owners. I saw them beating him even as the District Collector looked on. Initially my impression was that Rajendra Singh was a rascal who provoked the local people. After seeing him in this situation, I felt he was doing what I should have done - protect the forest land from mining activities."

Initially the forest authorities viewed TBS men with suspicion and banned their entry into the sanctuary. However, things changed dramatically for both Rajendra Singh and the park. The TBS constructed 115 earthen and concrete structures within the sanctuary and 600 other structures in the buffer and peripheral zones. These facilitated a rise in the groundwater levels and helped turn the area into a "white zone". So much so that the Forest Department invited the NGO to take an active part in the park's management. Rajendra Singh helped reform many poachers. Some of the reformed poachers have been recruited by the TBS as nahar sevaks (tiger protectors). Rajendra Singh also agreed to act as an intermediary between the park authorities and the inhabitants of 17 villages inside the park in the matter of their translocation.

Rajendra Singh has been instrumental in creating a people's sanctuary, Bhairondev Lok Vanyajeev Abhyaranya, spread over 12 sq km in villages upstream of the Arvari. During a visit to the wooded sanctuary last year this correspondent spotted the pugmark of a tiger. "We believe that a tiger in the neighbourhood of the village is a matter of prestige," one of the villagers, Nana Ram, said proudly.

Rajendra Singh's activities are indeed multifarious. He has set up educational institutions, mahila sangathans, forest protection committees and now a brotherhood for water conservators - jal biradiri. The TBS conducts padayatras extensively in order to reach out to the people. It has either initiated or participated in long marches. These include the Aravalli Bachao Padayatra (1993), the Gangotri Yatra (July 1994) and the Jangal Jeevan Bachao Yatra (February-March 1995). This summer's Akal Mukti (drought proofing) yatra was led by Rajendra Singh, along with a few sadhus.

A graduate in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery and a post-graduate in Hindi literature, Rajendra Singh initiated the documentation of medicinal plants and their uses. The TBS has an Ayurveda centre and a laboratory at Bhikampura.

DURING the past 15 years, the TBS has often fought with governments in power in the State over the people's right over the natural resources available in their neighbourhood. Ever since 1987 when the Rajasthan Irrigation Department served a notice against the first johad built in Gopalpura declaring it illegal, the NGO and the Department have been at loggerheads.

The Magsaysay Award has come at a time when Rajendra Singh is battling the Alwar district administration and the Irrigation Department to retain an earthen dam built at Lava Ka Baas in Thanagazi on the tributary of the Ruparel. The johad, built at a cost of Rs.9 lakhs three months ago, was the first of the water-harvesting structures the TBS had planned to construct with the help of business houses.

"So that everyone gets a chance to contribute towards water conservation and rainwater harvesting," Rajendra Singh would say in defence of soliciting the support of the rich. Pani ka kaam punya ka kaam hai (working for water conservation is a pious act), he tells the villagers..

Traditional media

Traditional media means the mediums through which the cultural traits passed from generation to generation. Keeping in view their intimacy, as they are very close to the heart of the people, folk media prove to be powerful tools of communication in the rural society.

Furthermore, the traditional media is available to all and enjoyed by persons of different age groups generally at very low cost. The most important advantage of folk media is its flexibility in day to day life and it can be introduced into traditional folk from art such as wall paintings, puppet show, folk songs, dances, dramas, melas and festivals, munadi, bioscope, proverbs, riddles, story telling, tamasha, nautanki etc. Thus, the folk art forms play a prominent role in rural development.

Traditional forms of entertainment have been used to further programmes of development since 1954 after it was discovered that they could be used to present developmental message as well. The song and Drama Division was set up as an arm of the Minister of Information and Broadcasting with the responsibility of harmonizing the country's performing arts for the development of communication and it works in close cooperation with the field publicity offices which arrange various programmes.

The traditional media plays an important role in extension education. The great task of extensioneducation is to impart a desirable controlling influence on others through the use of effective extension teaching methods. It is better to have an inventory of the locally available and familiar traditional media for possible utilization in the field of agricultural communication. A proper blending of the traditional media with the electronic media is a welcome step in this direction. besides, occasions such as agricultural fairs, farmers' days, exhibitions, fertilizer campaigns etc. can be used by the development agencies as forum do disseminate agricultural innovations through traditional media to the farming community.

The folk art forms satisfy the innate desire for self-expression and also satisfy mans need for moral instruction combined with entertainment. In contrast with the electronic media, it preserves and disseminates in a lively manner the traditions and culture of our forefathers. Indian folk forms have a generous mix of dialogue, dance, songs, clowning etc. So it is a very important method of communicating agricultural technology to the farmers and for the benefit of rural development programmes.

The important characteristics of the traditional media are (1) the accessibility of traditional media is very wide; (2) it involves more than one sense; (3) the potential for cognitive gain retention is possible but restricted; (4) potential for effective change in the attitude of the people is high; (5) there is no change in the skill of the people; (6) the maintenance of particular message is not possible; (7) interest arousal capacity is very high; (8) range of mode choice is narrow; (9) less operational abilities and skill and (10) personal cost is not relevant.

Traditional media has greatest appeal to the masses and have qualities of touching the deepest emotions of the illiterate millions. Among these puppetry is believed to be the oldest form of popular theater in India. It is important for communicating technology to the farmers in the village life, its problems and solutions. Folk theatre form like Tamasha, Nautani, Keertana or Harikatha attract the rural audiences most, so people can be educated through the mediums to bring about desirable changes in their behavior. Street play is not like theater but it attracts a large number of people. Thevillagers have a great fascination for their folk dances and folk songs. Melas or country fairs are synonymous with joy and gaiety and in the rural areas where life follows a hard routine, nothing is more welcome to the people than the prospect of a festival and mela. Story telling has been one of the best and most commonly used method of instruction in informal education, religious propagation, rural development etc. Riddle is also and educational device through which elders sued to communicate knowledge. Proverbs which predominate in oral civilization represent the essence of rural wisdom and knowledge. Bioscope is also a popular folk medium sued for entertainment and forpropagation of information on education, agriculture etc.

The traditional medial should be an integral part of nay rural development programme, Wherever possible, it should be integrated with the modern mass media, but in all cases integration with the ongoing extension work is vital. There is big gap between the modern scientific knowledge and the knowledge possessed by the common masses. This gap is to be bridged by communicating effectively the developmental information to the rural masses. The messages communicated through the traditional media gain access to the mind through audio and video effects. The use of the eyes and the mind produces a sense of richness in meaning on the individuals. This mental reaction is both intellectual and emotional. They create a high degree of interest and make learning more permanent. The poorest man had access to his culture, expressed either in story, poem, play, song, custom, rituals or a variety of other forms of characteristics of folk culture. As these are face to face interaction between the conveyor and the recipient, there is scope for clarification of doubts and acquisition of full information. The influence on the recipient is lasting.

The employment of traditional media for effectively conveying rural developmental messages in a language and style that will be comprehended and lied by the rural people leads to spectacular results.

SATELLITE TELEVISION IN INDIA :SITE

TECHNOLOGY FOR WHOM, JOURNEY FROM WHERE?

Desai MK

Satellite television can be defined as television broadcasting using satellite technology. Television came to India in 1959 and satellite television in form of Satellite Instructional Television Experiment in 1975. After 1982 when Indian National Satellite (INSAT) was launched there came a sharp rise in number of transmitters, began colour television and telecast of Asiad games increased private investment in television sets. In early nineties new face of satellite television entered Indian households in the name of Cable & Satellite television (C&S TV) and transnational content entered Indian households. Today one third of Indian television households have access to C&S TV.

Beginning of Satellite Television in India was marked by world first techno-social experiment SITE- Satellite Instructional Television Experiment- for education & development purposes. That followed number of other experiments like SITE Continuity, School Television, UGC Country Wide Class Room, Jhabua Development Communication Project, Indira Gandhi National Open University transmission and lately channels like Training and Development Communication Channel and Gyan Darshan for educational and social development purposes.

Technologies per se provide the scope of democratization at the same time creates issues related to control and access for others who do not own it. The paper examines the notion of ‘satellite television’ as democratizing force and concept of community television sets as one important component of all development communication experiments in India. The paper examines various projects and how the technology ‘reached’ ‘the poorest of poor’ and the divides of ‘rich-poor’, ‘men-women’ ‘urban-rural’ were somewhere brought into main text. At the same time it reports that satellite television in India has come a long way since 1975- SITE days but one thing is common

over the years that it invariably has remained with people who ‘had’ and ‘have’ other technologies.

SANITATION

What is ailing sanitation sector in India?

Despite significant investments over the last 20 years, India still faces the most daunting

sanitation challenge than any other country in South Asia. According to an estimate, India stands

second among the worst places in the world for sanitation after China. Government figures claim

that India is all set to achieve MDG 7 target 10, but still a vast majority of poor rural inhabitants

remains among the unserved population. The rapid urbanization is putting a strain on already

stressed urban sanitation systems in India. Slums are very rarely connected to cities’ sanitation

infrastructure and the sanitation situation is deplorable. So what is ailing India’s sanitation sector?

This article tries to answer this question through experience in working with 50 civil society

organizations across 9 states in India over the issue of increasing access to drinking water supply

and sanitation. Effective implementation of sanitation schemes, increased civil society’s

participation, enhancing financial allocation, monitoring progress and effective targeting seem to

be crucial to achieving total sanitation in India.

Sanitation is the most neglected and most off-track of the UN MDG targets. WaterAid’s studies

show that sanitation is vital for poverty reduction and represents a driver for development. There

is compelling evidence that sanitation brings the greatest public health returns on investment of

all development interventions.

With the pace at which sanitation coverage is increasing, as claimed by the government, it’s likely

that India will meet the sanitation target. The MDG 7, Target 10, explicitly states that it is aiming

to halve by 2015, from 1990 levels, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe

drinking water and adequate sanitation. However, even if MDGs' targets are met, a huge absolute

number of India’s population will still remain uncovered, and that would still count more than 500

million people! This is simply an observation about the ground realities in India.

Urban versus Rural Sanitation

The official coverage for rural sanitation is 26% and for urban - 83.2% (Source: 2005-06 NFHS

data). The overall sanitation coverage as recently announced by the government is 48%. These

figures are those of infrastructure and do not provide us information about the access and use of

latrines by individuals\families. Independent assessments of latrines' use show a much lower

coverage.

Given a large population of slum dwelling excluded from formal urban sanitation and sewerage

systems – we believe the coverage status is about the same for both urban and rural India. With

less than 50% population having access to effective sanitation, the situation is grim for both rural

and urban India. The sheer concentration of population in towns, coupled with poor drainage and

the impact of poor sewerage affecting safe drinking water - urban sanitation is emerging as a

major challenge for India. Usage and not coverage is a challenge in rural areas, given the subsidy

regime in India and the way the government subsidies are being rolled out.

Government’s Scheme and its effectiveness

Given the federal character of India and the large number of states, no single central or state

government scheme can be credited with boosting coverage. Household private investments in

septic tanks and pit latrines in urban areas are substantial and have been the major contributor to

increased sanitation coverage in urban areas. The recent Nirmal Gram Puraskar Yojana, a

central government scheme for rewards and incentives and recognition from the President of

India, is seen as a promising scheme to increase sanitation coverage in rural areas.

What kind of strategy should the country adopt?

There is an urgent need to integration of water and sanitation access in the rural areas as

experiences show that availability of water is one of the major drivers of safe sanitation apart from

issues of behavior change. The strategy should be multi pronged for pooling in resources from all

quarters: they may include supporting local groups, clubs, SHGs and NGOs to take up the

promotion of hygiene and sanitation behavior change which is needed in place of an

infrastructure driven toile coverage promotion in rural areas.

For urban areas, more public toilets in commercial areas and integrated community managed

infrastructure (bathing and washing complexes plus toilets) are needed on a very large scale for a

hot tropical country like India. The trend to privatize and contract out public infrastructure in slums

and even in mixed areas (commercial and slums), needs to be curtailed. Community owned and

managed infrastructure with subsidized electricity and free water is needed for urban slums.

What ails the sanitation sector?

In rural areas, the subsidy driven sanitation efforts have had a limited coverage impact on

account of some serious physical limitations (water availability not there for assured flushing),

resistance to adopt and use toilets where this is seen as a cultural and behavior change barrier,

corruption in toilet construction with subsidies – are some of the major barriers in sanitation

coverage as well as usage improvement in rural areas.

Increasing character of rural and urban livelihoods characterized by migration, lack of any toilet

facilities in urban slums, increasing costs of construction, electricity and water and absence of a

pro poor commitment to basic services in urban areas, are a major barrier for urban sanitation

coverage.

For urban areas, lack of political and administrative commitment to provide basic services to the

urban poor is evident from the increasing trend of forced dislocations of urban slums and

squatters. Not recognizing their fundamental rights to basic water and sanitation services, is

resulting in a lack of infrastructure investments in slums as well as any “Pro Poor Policy

measures” to induce pro poor institutional changes in service delivery of utilities and

Municipalities, to better serve the excluded urban poor. Sanitation in urban areas including

community integrated infrastructure (bathing and washing complexes plus toilets) is not a priority

as a developmental intervention of the government. Public toilets are being viewed as profitable

sub contracted works and are being increasingly contracted out resulting in both unaffordable and

badly maintained infrastructure for the urban poor.

We are lagging behind because we are not doing much to ensure that a package of basic

services (education, health, electricity, and water and sanitation) are available to the urban poor

that is of a good quality and affordable, and a matter of national pride.

The role of civil society and cultural, social and political groups in promoting basic services and

sanitation for the poor is not being recognized by the government and supported through its

schemes and projects. The government budget spending on sanitation and specially sanitation

services to the poor is not increasing at the desired pace whereas spending on drinking water has

been increasing very quickly in the recent years.

Rural sanitation is lagging behind for a combination of reasons: low cost materials, lack of water

availability and people's attitudes in favor of open defecation. A people's movement or drive to

build and use toilets is required, that is part of a social and economic change agenda which is

currently missing in India and is not on the agenda of mainstream political parties including the so

called backward caste led parties that have come to power in some of the Indian states.

Making the government more accountable for delivering urban sanitation to the poor and in

ensuring subsidies reaching the poor – should be the priority as is the need to build demand from

the people to make and use toilets in rural areas.

Rostovian take-off model

The Rostovian take-off model is one of the major historical models of economic growth. It was developed by W.W. Rostow. The model postulates that economic modernization occurs in five basic stages, of varying length.

Traditional society
Preconditions for take-off
Take-off
Drive to maturity
Age of High mass consumption

Rostow believes that countries go through each of these stages fairly linearly, and set out a number of conditions that were likely to occur in investment, consumption and social trends at each state. Not all of the conditions were certain to occur at each stage, and the stages and transitions periods may occur at varying lengths from country to country, and even from region to region.

Rostow's model is one of the more structuralist models of economic growth, particularly in comparison with the 'backwardness' model developed by Alexander Gerschenkron. The two models are not necessarily mutually exclusive, however, and many countries seem to follow both models rather adequately.

Beyond the structured picture of growth itself, another important part of the model is that economic take-off must initially be led by a few individual sectors. This belief echoes David Ricardo’s comparative advantage thesis and criticizes Marxist revolutionaries push for economic self-reliance in that it pushes for the 'initial' development of only one or two sectors over the development of all sectors equally. This became one of the important concepts in the theory of modernisation in the social evolutionism.

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Theoretical Framework

Rostow's model is descendent from the liberal school of economics, emphasizing the efficacy of modern concepts of free trade and the ideas of Adam Smith. It also denies Friedrich List’s argument that countries reliant on exporting raw materials may get “locked in”, and be unable to diversify, in that Rostow’s model states that countries may need to depend on a few raw material exports to finance the development of manufacturing sectors which are not yet of superior competitiveness in the early stages of take-off. In that way, Rostow’s model does not deny John Maynard Keynes in that it allows for a degree of government control over domestic development not generally accepted by some ardent free trade advocates. Although empirical at times, Rostow is hardly free of normative discourse. As a basic assumption, Rostow believes that countries want to modernize as he describes modernization, and that the society will ascent to the materialistic norms of economic growth.

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Stages

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Traditional Societies

Traditional societies are marked by their pre-Newtonian understanding and use of technology. These are societies which have pre-scientific understandings of gadgets, and believe that gods or spirits facilitate the procurement of goods, rather than man and his own ingenuity. The norms of economic growth are completely absent from these societies.

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Preconditions to Take-off

The preconditions to take-off are, to Rostow, that the society begins committing itself to secular education, that it enables a degree of capital mobilization, especially through the establishment of banks and currency, that an entrepreneurial class form, and that the secular concept of manufacturing develops, with only a few sectors developing at this point. This leads to a take off in ten to fifty years.

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Take-off

Take-off then occurs when sector led growth becomes common and society is driven more by economic processes than traditions. At this point, the norms of economic growth are well established. In discussing the take-off, Rostow's is a noted early adopter of the term “transition”, which is to describe the passage of a traditional to a modern economy. After take-off, a country will take as long as fifty to one hundred years to reach maturity.

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Drive to Maturity

The drive to maturity refers to the need for the economy itself to diversify. The sectors of the economy which lead initially begin to level off, while other sectors begin to take off. This diversity leads to greatly reduced rates of poverty and rising standards of living, as the society no longer needs to sacrifice its comfort in order to strengthen certain sectors.

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Age of High Mass Consumption

The age of high mass consumption refers to the period of contemporary comfort afforded many western nations, wherein consumers concentrate on durable goods, and hardly remember the subsistence concerns of previous stages. Rostow uses the Buddenbrooks dynamics metaphor to describe this change in attitude. In Thomas Mann’s novel, Buddenbrooks, a family is chronicled for three generations. The first generation is interested in economic development, the second in its position in society. The third, already having money and prestige, concerns itself with the arts and music, worrying little about those previous, earthly concerns. So too, in the age of high mass consumption, a society is able to choose between concentrating on military and security issues, on equality and welfare issues, or on developing great luxuries for its upper class. Each country in this position chooses its own balance between these three goals.

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Criticism of the Model

Rostow's thesis assumes a strong bias towards a western model of modernization. It de-emphasizes any difference between how leading sectors develop in free and controlled markets. However, Rostow’s consideration of non-western cases such as China shows that to some extent, modernization can be achieved in different ways and through free market or controlled economic means and still fit into his model. It is more at his description of the final age, the age of high mass consumption, where controlled economies seem most to find no niche in Rostow’s work. Even there, though, it could be said that the society seeks out economic equality at the complete detriment of any luxury.

The most disabling assumption that Rostow is accused of is trying to fit economic progress into a linear system. This charge is correct in that many countries make false starts, reach a degree of transition and then slip back, or as is the case in contemporary Russia, slip back from high mass consumption (or almost) to a country in transition. On the other hand, Rostow’s analysis seems to emphasize success because it is trying to explain success. To Rostow, if a country can be a disciplined, uncorrupt investor in itself, can establish certain norms into its society and polity, and can identify sectors where it has some sort of advantage, it can enter into transition and eventually reach modernity. Rostow would point to a failure in one of these conditions as a cause for non-linearity.

Another problem that Rostow’s work has is that it considers mostly large countries: countries with a large population (Japan), with natural resources available at just the right time in its history (Coal in Northern European countries), or with a large land mass (Argentina). He has little to say and indeed offers little hope for small countries, such as Rwanda, which do not have such advantages. In my opinion, this lack cuts to the heart of his analysis. Neo-liberal economic theory to Rostow, and many others, does offer hope to much of the world that economic maturity is coming and the age of high mass consumption is high. But that does leave a sort of 'grim meathook future'^[1] for the outliers, which do not have the resources, political will, or external backing to become competitive. (See Dependency theory)

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References

^ "Grim Meathook Future" is a quote from new media writer Joshua Ellis [2].

W. W. Rostow. The Stages of Economic Growth: A non-communist manifesto Cambridge University Press (1960)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostovian_take-off_model"

Dependency theory

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Dependency theory is the body of social science theories by various intellectuals, both from the Third World and the First World, that create a worldview which suggests that the wealthy nations of the world need a peripheral group of poorer states in order to remain wealthy.

Dependency theory states that the poverty of the countries in the periphery is not because they are not integrated into the world system, or not 'fully' integrated as is often argued by free market economists, but because of how they are integrated into the system.

The premises of dependency theory are:

· Poor nations provide natural resources, cheap labor, a destination for obsolete technology, and markets to the wealthy nations, without which they could not have the standard of living they enjoy.

· First World nations actively, but not necessarily consciously, perpetuate a state of dependency through various policies and initiatives. This state of dependency is multifaceted, involving economics, media control, politics, banking and finance, education, sport and all aspects of human resource development.

· Any attempt by the dependent nations to resist the influences of dependency will result in economic sanctions and/or military invasion and control. This is very rare, however, and dependency is enforced far more by the wealthy nations setting the rules of international trade and commerce.

Dependency theory first emerged in the 1950s, advocated by Raul Prebisch whose research found that the wealth of poor nations tended to decrease when the wealth of rich nations increased. The theory quickly divided into diverse schools. Some, most notably Andre Gunder Frank, adapted it to Marxism. "Standard" dependency theory differs sharply from Marxism, however, arguing against internationalism and any hope of progress in less developed nations towards industrialization and a liberating revolution. Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso wrote extensively on dependency theory while in political exile. The American sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein refined the Marxist aspect of the theory, and called it the "world system."

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Spread of theory

Dependency theory became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a criticism of standard development theory that seemed to be failing due to the continued widespread poverty of large parts of the world. With the seeming growth of the East Asian economies and India in the last few years, however, the theory has fallen somewhat out of favour. It disagrees sharply with classical and free-market economics. It is far more accepted in other disciplines such as history and anthropology, which can count for or against it.

The system of dependency was said to be created with the industrial revolution and the expansion of European empires around the world due to their superior power and wealth. Some argue that before this expansion, the exploitation was internal, with the major economic centres dominating the rest of the country (for example southeast England dominating the British Isles, or the Northeast United States dominating the south and east). Establishing global trade patterns in the nineteenth century allowed this system to spread to a global level. That had the benefit of further isolating the wealthy from both the dangers of peasant revolts and rebellions by the poor. Rather than turn on their oppressors as in the American Civil War or in communist revolutions, the poor could no longer reach the wealthy and thus the less developed nations became engulfed in regular civil wars. Once the superiority of rich nations was established, it could not be shaken off. This control ensures that all profits in less developed countries are taken by the better developed nations, preventing reinvestment and thus growth.

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Implications

While there are many different and conflicting ideas on how developing countries can avoid the negative consequences of such a world system, several of the following practices were adopted at one time or another by such countries:

· Promotion of domestic industry. By subsidizing and protecting industries within the periphery nation, these third-world countries can produce their own products rather than simply export raw materials.

· Import limitations. By limiting the importation of both luxury goods and manufactured goods that can be produced within the country, supposedly, the country can avoid having its capital and resources siphoned off.

· Forbidding foreign investment. Some governments took steps to keep foreign companies and individuals from owning or operating property that draws on the resources of the country.

· Nationalization. Some governments have gone so far as to forcibly take over foreign-owned companies on behalf of the state, in order to keep profits within the country.

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Practical Failure

While dependency theory as a purely theoretical approach to global economics still exists, to date, all attempts to use the theory to find a practical solution within its framework have failed. The reasons include, but are not limited to:

· Corruption. State-owned industries tend to have a much higher rate of corruption than privately-owned companies.

· Lack of competition. By subsidizing in-country industries and preventing outside imports, these companies have no incentive to improve their products, to try and become more efficient in their processes, to please customers, or to research new innovations.

Proponents of dependency theory claim that the theory of comparative advantage breaks down when capital - including both physical capital like machines and financial capital - is highly mobile as it is under the conditions of globalization. For this reason, the theories of dependency theory may offer many new insights in a world of highly mobile multinational corporations.

Market economists have any variety of case studies to point to in order to discredit dependency theory; the improvement of India's economy after it moved from state-controlled business to open trade is by far one of the most cited examples (see also economy of India, Commanding Heights). Also, India's example seemingly contradicts dependency theorists' aforementioned claims about comparative advantage and mobility, as much as its economic growth came as the result of such movements as outsourcing, one of the most mobile forms of capital transfer.

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External link

· An introduction to dependency theory

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_theory"

Dependency Theory: An Introduction

Vincent Ferraro, Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA
July 1996

Background

Dependency Theory developed in the late 1950s under the guidance of the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, Raul Prebisch. Prebisch and his colleagues were troubled by the fact that economic growth in the advanced industrialized countries did not necessarily lead to growth in the poorer countries. Indeed, their studies suggested that economic activity in the richer countries often led to serious economic problems in the poorer countries. Such a possibility was not predicted by neoclassical theory, which had assumed that economic growth was beneficial to all (Pareto optimal) even if the benefits were not always equally shared.

Prebisch's initial explanation for the phenomenon was very straightforward: poor countries exported primary commodities to the rich countries who then manufactured products out of those commodities and sold them back to the poorer countries. The "Value Added" by manufacturing a usable product always cost more than the primary products used to create those products. Therefore, poorer countries would never be earning enough from their export earnings to pay for their imports.

Prebisch's solution was similarly straightforward: poorer countries should embark on programs of import substitution so that they need not purchase the manufactured products from the richer countries. The poorer countries would still sell their primary products on the world market, but their foreign exchange reserves would not be used to purchase their manufactures from abroad.

Three issues made this policy difficult to follow. The first is that the internal markets of the poorer countries were not large enough to support the economies of scale used by the richer countries to keep their prices low. The second issue concerned the political will of the poorer countries as to whether a transformation from being primary products producers was possible or desirable. The final issue revolved around the extent to which the poorer countries actually had control of their primary products, particularly in the area of selling those products abroad. These obstacles to the import substitution policy led others to think a little more creatively and historically at the relationship between rich and poor countries.

At this point dependency theory was viewed as a possible way of explaining the persistent poverty of the poorer countries. The traditional neoclassical approach said virtually nothing on this question except to assert that the poorer countries were late in coming to solid economic practices and that as soon as they learned the techniques of modern economics, then the poverty would begin to subside. However, Marxists theorists viewed the persistent poverty as a consequence of capitalist exploitation. And a new body of thought, called the world systems approach, argued that the poverty was a direct consequence of the evolution of the international political economy into a fairly rigid division of labor which favored the rich and penalized the poor.

How Can One Define Dependency Theory?

The debates among the liberal reformers (Prebisch), the Marxists (Andre Gunder Frank), and the world systems theorists (Wallerstein) was vigorous and intellectually quite challenging. There are still points of serious disagreements among the various strains of dependency theorists and it is a mistake to think that there is only one unified theory of dependency. Nonetheless, there are some core propositions which seem to underlie the analyses of most dependency theorists.

Dependency can be defined as an explanation of the economic development of a state in terms of the external influences--political, economic, and cultural--on national development policies (Osvaldo Sunkel, "National Development Policy and External Dependence in Latin America," The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 6, no. 1, October 1969, p. 23). Theotonio Dos Santos emphasizes the historical dimension of the dependency relationships in his definition:

[Dependency is]...an historical condition which shapes a certain structure of the world economy such that it favors some countries to the detriment of others and limits the development possibilities of the subordinate economics...a situation in which the economy of a certain group of countries is conditioned by the development and expansion of another economy, to which their own is subjected.

(Theotonio Dos Santos, "The Structure of Dependence," in K.T. Fann and Donald C. Hodges, eds., Readings in U.S. Imperialism. Boston: Porter Sargent, 1971, p. 226)

There are three common features to these definitions which most dependency theorists share. First, dependency characterizes the international system as comprised of two sets of states, variously described as dominant/dependent, center/periphery or metropolitan/satellite. The dominant states are the advanced industiral nations in the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The dependent states are those states of Latin America, Asia, and Africa which have low per capita GNPs and which rely heavily on the export of a single commodity for foreign exchange earnings.

Second, both definitions have in common the assumption that external forces are of singular importance to the economic activities within the dependent states. These external forces include multinational corporations, international commodity markets, foreign assistance, communications, and any other means by which the advanced industrialized countries can represent their economic interests abroad.

Third, the definitions of dependency all indicate that the relations between dominant and dependent states are dynamic because the interactions between the two sets of states tend to not only reinforce but also intensify the unequal patterns. Moreover, dependency is a very deep-seated historical process, rooted in the internationalization of capitalism. Dependency is an ongoing process:

Latin America is today, and has been since the sixteenth century, part of an international system dominated by the now-developed nations.... Latin underdevelopment is the outcome of a particular series of relationships to the international system.

Susanne Bodenheimer, "Dependency and Imperialism: The Roots of Latin American Underdevelopment," in Fann and Hodges, Readings, op. cit., p. 157.

In short, dependency theory attempts to explain the present underdeveloped state of many nations in the world by examining the patterns of interactions among nations and by arguing that inequality among nations is an intrinsic part of those interactions.

The Structural Context of Dependency: Is it Capitalism or is it Power?

Most dependency theorists regard international capitalism as the motive force behind dependency relationships. Andre Gunder Frank, one of the earliest dependency theorists, is quite clear on this point:

...historical research demonstrates that contemporary underdevelopment is in large part the historical product of past and continuing eonomic and other relations between the satellite underdeveloped and the now developed metropolitan countries. Furthermore, these relations are an essential part of the capitalist system on a world scale as a whole.

Andre Gunder Frank, "The Development of Underdevelopment," in James D. Cockcroft, Andre Gunder Frank, and Dale Johnson, eds., Dependence and Underdevelopment. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books, 1972, p. 3.

According to this view, the capitalist system has enforced a rigid international division of labor which is responsible for the underdevelopment of many areas of the world. The dependent states supply cheap minerals, agricultural commodities, and cheap labor, and also serve as the repositories of surplus capital, obsolescent technologies, and manufactured goods. These functions orient the economies of the dependent states toward the outside: money, goods, and services do flow into dependent states, but the allocation of these resources are determined by the economic interests of the dominant states, and not by the economic interests of the dependent state. This division of labor is ultimately the explanation for poverty and there is little question but that capitalism regards the division of labor as a necessary condition for the efficient allocation of resources. The most explicit manifestation of this characteristic is in the doctrine of comparative advantage.

Moreover, to a large extent the dependency models rest upon the assumption that economic and political power are heavily concentrated and centralized in the industrialized countries, an assumption shared with Marxist theories of imperialism. If this assumption is valid, then any distinction between economic and political power is spurious: governments will take whatever steps are necessary to protect private economic interests, such as those held by multinational corporations.

Not all dependency theorists, however, are Marxist and one should clearly distinguish between dependency and a theory of imperialism. The Marxist theory of imperialism explains dominant state expansion while the dependency theory explains underdevelopment. Stated another way, Marxist theories explain the reasons why imperialism occurs, while dependency theories explain the consequences of imperialism. The difference is significant. In many respects, imperialism is, for a Marxist, part of the process by which the world is transformed and is therefore a process which accelerates the communist revolution. Marx spoke approvingly of British colonialism in India:

England

has to fulfil a double mission in India: one destructive, the other regenerating--the annihilation of old Asiatic society, and the laying of the material foundations of Western society in Asia.

Karl Marx, "The Future Results of the British Rule in India," New York Daily Tribune, No. 3840, August 8, 1853.

For the dependency theorists, underdevelopment is a wholly negative condition which offers no possibility of sustained and autonomous economic activity in a dependent state.

Additionally, the Marxist theory of imperialism is self-liquidating, while the dependent relationship is self-perpetuating. The end of imperialism in the Leninist framework comes about as the dominant powers go to war over a rapidly shrinking number of exploitable opportunities. World War I was, for Lenin, the classic proof of this proposition. After the war was over, Britain and France took over the former German colonies. A dependency theorist rejects this proposition. A dependent relationship exists irrespective of the specific identity of the dominant state. That the dominant states may fight over the disposition of dependent territories is not in and of itself a pertinent bit of information (except that periods of fighting among dominant states affords opportunities for the dependent states to break their dependent relationships). To a dependency theorist, the central characteristic of the global economy is the persistence of poverty throughout the entire modern period in virtually the same areas of the world, regardless of what state was in control.

Finally, there are some dependency theorists who do not identify capitalism as the motor force behind a dependent relationship. The relationship is maintained by a system of power first and it does not seem as if power is only supported by capitalism. For example, the relationship between the former dependent states in the socialist bloc (the Eastern European states and Cuba, for example) closely paralleled the relationships between poor states and the advanced capitalist states. The possibility that dependency is more closely linked to disparities of power rather than to the particular characteristics of a given economic system is intriguing and consistent with the more traditional analyses of international relations, such as realism.

The Central Propositions of Dependency Theory

There are a number of propositions, all of which are contestable, which form the core of dependency theory. These propositions include:

1. Underdevelopment is a condition fundamentally different from undevelopment. The latter term simply refers to a condition in which resources are not being used. For example, the European colonists viewed the North American continent as an undeveloped area: the land was not actively cultivated on a scale consistent with its potential. Underdevelopment refers to a situation in which resources are being actively used, but used in a way which benefits dominant states and not the poorer states in which the resources are found.

2. The distinction between underdevelopment and undevelopment places the poorer countries of the world is a profoundly different historical context. These countries are not "behind" or "catching up" to the richer countries of the world. They are not poor because they lagged behind the scientific transformations or the Enlightenment values of the European states. They are poor because they were coercively integrated into the European economic system only as producers of raw materials or to serve as repositories of cheap labor, and were denied the opportunity to market their resources in any way that competed with dominant states.

3. Dependency theory suggests that alternative uses of resources are preferable to the resource usage patterns imposed by dominant states. There is no clear definition of what these preferred patterns might be, but some criteria are invoked. For example, one of the dominant state practices most often criticized by dependency theorists is export agriculture. The criticism is that many poor economies experience rather high rates of malnutrition even though they produce great amounts of food for export. Many dependency theorists would argue that those agricultural lands should be used for domestic food production in order to reduce the rates of malnutrition.

4. The preceding proposition can be amplified: dependency theorists rely upon a belief that there exists a clear "national" economic interest which can and should be articulated for each country. In this respect, dependency theory actually shares a similar theoretical concern with realism. What distinguishes the dependency perspective is that its proponents believe that this national interest can only be satisfied by addressing the needs of the poor within a society, rather than through the satisfaction of corporate or governmental needs. Trying to determine what is "best" for the poor is a difficult analytical problem over the long run. Dependency theorists have not yet articulated an operational definition of the national economic interest.

5. The diversion of resources over time (and one must remember that dependent relationships have persisted since the European expansion beginning in the fifteenth century) is maintained not only by the power of dominant states, but also through the power of elites in the dependent states. Dependency theorists argue that these elites maintain a dependent relationship because their own private interests coincide with the interests of the dominant states. These elites are typically trained in the dominant states and share similar values and culture with the elites in dominant states. Thus, in a very real sense, a dependency relationship is a "voluntary" relationship. One need not argue that the elites in a dependent state are consciously betraying the interests of their poor; the elites sincerely believe that the key to economic development lies in following the prescriptions of liberal economic doctrine.

The Policy Implications of Dependency Analysis

If one accepts the analysis of dependency theory, then the questions of how poor economies develop become quite different from the traditional questions concerning comparative advantage, capital accumulation, and import/export strategies. Some of the most important new issues include:

1. The success of the advanced industrial economies does not serve as a model for the currently developing economies. When economic development became a focused area of study, the analytical strategy (and ideological preference) was quite clear: all nations need to emulate the patterns used by the rich countries. Indeed, in the 1950s and 1960s there was a paradigmatic consensus that growth strategies were universally applicable, a consensus best articulated by Walt Rostow in his book, The Stages of Economic Growth. Dependency theory suggests that the success of the richer countries was a highly contingent and specific episode in global economic history, one dominated by the highly exploitative colonial relationships of the European powers. A repeat of those relationships is not now highly likely for the poor countries of the world.

2. Dependency theory repudiates the central distributive mechanism of the neoclassical model, what is usually called "trickle-down" economics. The neoclassical model of economic growth pays relatively little attention to the question of distribution of wealth. Its primary concern is on efficient production and assumes that the market will allocate the rewards of efficient production in a rational and unbiased manner. This assumption may be valid for a well-integrated, economically fluid economy where people can quickly adjust to economic changes and where consumption patterns are not distorted by non-economic forces such as racial, ethnic, or gender bias. These conditions are not pervasive in the developing economies, and dependency theorists argue that economic activity is not easily disseminated in poor economies. For these structural reasons, dependency theorists argue that the market alone is not a sufficient distributive mechanism.

3. Since the market only rewards productivity, dependency theorists discount aggregate measures of economic growth such as the GDP or trade indices. Dependency theorists do not deny that economic activity occurs within a dependent state. They do make a very important distinction, however, between economic growth and economic development. For example, there is a greater concern within the dependency framework for whether the economic activity is actually benefitting the nation as a whole. Therefore, far greater attention is paid to indices such as life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality, education, and the like. Dependency theorists clearly emphasize social indicators far more than economic indicators.

4. Dependent states, therefore, should attempt to pursue policies of self-reliance. Contrary to the neo-classical models endorsed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, greater integration into the global economy is not necessarily a good choice for poor countries. Often this policy perspective is viewed as an endorsement of a policy of autarky, and there have been some experiments with such a policy such as China's Great Leap Forward or Tanzania's policy of Ujamaa. The failures of these policies are clear, and the failures suggest that autarky is not a good choice. Rather a policy of self-reliance should be interpreted as endorsing a policy of controlled interactions with the world economy: ppor countries should only endorse interactions on terms that promise to improve the social and economic welfare of the larger citizenry.

CONSUMER AWARENESS

GUIDELINES

Be an Alert Consumer !

Also be a Responsible Consumer !!

A. WHO IS A CONSUMER?

A ”consumer” is a person who buys any goods or

hires any service for valuable consideration (including

deferred payment). The term does not include a person

who obtains goods or services for resale or for any

commercial purpose. However, persons who avail

goods or services exclusively for the purpose of earning

their livelihood by means of self employment are

considered as ‘consumers’.

B. CONSUMER RIGHTS

Rights 1 to 6 are directly guaranteed under the Consumer

Protection Act 1986 while Rights 7&8 are implied under the

Constitution of India.

1. Right to safety

Right to be protected against marketing of goods or services

which are hazardous to life and property.

2. Right to information

Right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity,

standard and price of goods or services as the case may be, so as to

protect the consumer against unfair trade practices.

3. Right to choose

Right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of

goods and services at competitive prices.

4. Right to be heard

Right to be heard and to be assured that consumer’s interest will

receive due consideration at appropriate fora.

5. Right to redressal

Right to seek redressal against Unfair Trade Practices or

Restrictive Trade Practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.

6. Right to consumer education

Right to acquire knowledge and skills needed for taking action to

influence factors which affect consumer decisions.

7. Right to Healthy Environment

The right to physical environment that will enhance the quality of

life. It includes protection against environmental dangers over which

the individual has no control. It acknowledges the need to protect and

improve the environment for present and future generations.

8. Right to basic needs

Right to basic needs ensures basic goods and services which

guarantee survival. It includes adequate food, clothing, shelter, health

care, education and sanitation to lead a decent life.

C. RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONSUMERS

1. BEFORE BUYING

·Planning in advance

·Enquiring past performance of product / service

·Enquiring about reputation and past performance of

producer / seller / service provider

2. WHILE BUYING

·Asking for demonstration regarding how to operate / use the

product/service

·Enquiring about after-sales service and ensuring availability,

phone number, address and e.mail of service center

·Reading and knowing the contents of guarantee / warranty

card

·Insisting for approved sale bill with serial number, address,

phone number, etc.

·Obtaining guarantee / warranty card and getting it

signed/sealed by dealer

3. AFTER BUYING

·Using products as per instruction given in user manual

·Keeping bills and guarantee card safely

·In case of fault inform dealer and service center. Do not

meddle or repair yourself

·Keeping record for all correspondences

·Seek immediate redressal of deficiency in product

D. CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 1986

The Act envisages a three tier quasi judicial system. They are

known as (i) District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (ii) State

Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and (iii) National Consumer

Disputes Redressal Commission

a. Features of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and filing of complaints

1.Simple formalities

2.Advocates not compulsory

3.Consumers themselves can conduct cases

4.Complaints may be sent even through Registered Post

5.Registered Consumer Organisations or Government can also file

complaint on behalf of consumer(s)

6.Less expensive

7.Compensation can be claimed for the loss suffered including

mental agony

Protection offered by Consumer Protection Act, 1986 against:

a.Deficiency in product or service

b.Poor aftersales service

c.Damage/Loss to health, life and property due to

product

d.Hazards arising out of product/service

e.Unjust enrichment through unfair means

f.Misleading advertisements

g.Unfair Trade Practices

h.Restrictive Trade Practices (like tie-up sales)

i.Violations of any other applicable laws or regulations

b. Grievance Redressal

·Consumer should send a detailed petition to the dealer /

service provider through registered post pointing out the

defect / deficiency and details regarding relief sought for

·Copy of the petition with postal acknowledgement card to be

preserved

·If the dealer / service provider not responded in time

consumer may approach District Consumer Protection Council

headed by District Collector (for districts other than Chennai)

or Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection (in

Chennai) or Reputed Consumer Organisation who will be

sending notices to the dealer / service provider on behalf of

consumer

·If no remedy available through all above agencies, then

relevant Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission / Forum as

the case may be approached to file a complaint against

dealer / service provider

E. POINTS FOR CONSUMER ATTENTION

a)PURCHASING UNDER PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Public Distribution System Outlets (ration shops) are distributing

commodities against family cards at subsidized rates. Consumer should

ensure that

·Commodities are provided in correct weight without

denial

·Display board is placed in front of every shop

indicating available commodities and their quantity

with selling price of each product

·Samples of commodities are placed for notice of card

holders

·In the absence of any of above complaint can be made

to Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department,

Government of Tamil Nadu

·Can make an online complaint at

www.consumer.tn.gov.in

b) PURCHASE OF COSMETICS

While buying cosmetics consumer should

·Not be carried away through Colorful misleading

Friday, 26 November 2010

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Empathy and Mass Communication

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Development Support Communication (DSC)

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Development message design and communication

Role of cyber media in development

Basic Needs Model

RAJENDRA SINGH, the man who 'divined' water in the arid regions of eastern Rajasthan by building water-harv The water man of Rajasthan

Rostovian take-off model

Contents

Theoretical Framework

Stages

Traditional Societies

Preconditions to Take-off

Take-off

Drive to Maturity

Age of High Mass Consumption

Criticism of the Model

References

Dependency theory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Contents

Spread of theory

Implications

Practical Failure

See also

External link

Dependency Theory: An Introduction

Background

How Can One Define Dependency Theory?

The Structural Context of Dependency: Is it Capitalism or is it Power?

The Central Propositions of Dependency Theory

The Policy Implications of Dependency Analysis

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