Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Mar 13, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Mar 13, 2003 |
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Industry & Economy
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Rural Development Expert demands national policy to promote ARIs in Kerala G.K. Nair
KOCHI, March 12 A COMPREHENSIVE and dynamic national policy for Agro and Rural Industries (ARIs) is the need of the hour as this sector has the potential to be the engine of growth for Indian economy. "The ARIs need a more focussed attention at both the macro and micro levels" and, therefore, such a "policy has to be formulated and implemented in a time-bound manner," Mr Christy Fernandez, former Chairman, Coir Board, who was here in connection with the forthcoming International Coconut Summit 2003, told Business Line. "First and foremost, efforts should be made to identify the prevailing policy gaps in order to meet the emerging demands," he said. The specific characteristics of the ARIs are different from that of other sub-sectors in the SSI sector, although there are several common features. Of late, he said, the SSI sector had been getting special attention from the Government by way of special policy packages that, of course, were desirable. But the ARI sector is yet to get its due share of policy support as a sector that offered more employment opportunities than the SSIs in the country. "What is good for the SSI sector need not necessarily be adequate for the more vulnerable ARI sector, dominated by tiny, traditional artisan units," Mr Fernandez said. The policy prescriptions have to be more specific to the requirements of the ARIs. Therefore, a countrywide mapping of the ARIs with the specific characteristics of each of the categories and areas that it belongs to has to be undertaken in close association with the State and the Union Territory Governments. Based on the data thus generated, a National Policy for ARIs has to be formulated and implemented through a time-bound action plan duly accompanied by earmarked Plan allocation, both at the national and State/ UT levels, he said. In spite of its significant contribution to the national economy, the share of ARIs has been going down over the years in overall Plan outlays, Mr Fernandez said. Their share ought to be commensurate with the growth of this sector - at least two per cent of the total Plan outlay as recommended by the study group appointed by the Planning Commission. The policy statement should essentially reflect the socio-economic concerns of the ARIs and its stakeholders, he said. It should spell out the development and promotional strategies for each category of ARIs and the role of existing specialised organisations like Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Khadi and Village Industries Boards, (KVIBs), Coir Board, SIDO, SISI, Handloom and Handicrafts Development Commissionerates, SIDBI, NSIC etc. He said that the impact of various ongoing schemes under various Ministries and departments both at the Centre and the State in relation to ARIs was required to be assessed. The compatibility of these schemes need to be identified for greater synergy. An inter-Ministerial task force under the Union Ministry of ARI or Planning Commission may be entrusted with the responsibility of reviewing the schemes. The Ministry of ARI may be made the nodal agency for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the national policy of ARI, Mr Fernandez added.
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