National Food Security Bill 2013 Essay Example for Free

National Food Security Bill 2013 Essay Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India’s poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai. After vacillating for years over taking any pro-people measures, the United Progressive Alliance finally did something bold and worthy by having the National Food Security Bill passed in Parliament a promise made in the UPA’s â€Å"first 100 days† agenda after its return to power in 2009. The Bill won a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha, with a margin exceeding 100, because non-UPA parties including the Janata Dal-United, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and even the Shiv Sena felt they had no choice but to support it. It sailed through the Rajya Sabha too. The stage was set by a rare, spirited speech by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in which she described the legislation as India’s chance to ‘make history’ by abolishing hunger and malnutrition, and emphasised that India cannot afford not to have the law: â€Å"The question is not whether we can [raise the resources] or not. We have to do it.† The NFSB has invested meaning, public purpose and a degree of legitimacy into the UPA’s otherwise corruption-ridden, shoddy and often appalling performance in government under an increasingly right-leaning leadership. This at once put the Bharatiya Janata Party on the defensive. Its leaders were reduced to opposing a measure that represents genuine social progress, and making thoughtless statements about the Bill being about ‘vote security’, not food security. The BJP now has nothing to offer to the nation but obscurantist programmes like building a temple at Ayodhya, and parochial, and predatory pro-corporate agendas under Narendra Modi’s rabidly communal leadership. The Bill is open to the criticism that it doesn’t go far enough. Instead of universalising subsidised food provision, it confines it to two-thirds of the population, and truncates it further by limiting the food quota to five kilos of grain per capita per month instead of the 35 kg per family demanded by right-to-food campaigners. The per capita quota puts small households, such as those headed by widows and single women, at a disadvantage. A universalised Public Distribution System, covering the entire population, has been proved to be more effective and less prone to leakage than one targeted at ‘below-poverty-line’ groups in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and even poor, backward Chhattisgarh. The relatively well-off won’t stand in queues at ration shops; they select themselves out of a universal PDS. Besides, a large proportion even of those officially defined as poor don’t possess BPL ration cards. The ratio can be as high as 40 percent in some highly deprived states. The latest National Sample Survey reveals that 51 percent of rural people possessing less than one-hundredth of a hectare of land have no ration cards of any kind; less than 23 percent have BPL cards. The problem of identifying the poor remains unresolved. Nevertheless, the broader coverage proposed under the NFSB and the simple, attractive formula of rice at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2, and coarse grains at Re 1 marks a definite improvement over the current situation. It creates a right or entitlement for the poor, which can go some way in reducing acute hunger. However, right-wing commentators, including neo-liberal economists, credit-rating agencies, multinational and Indian big business, and writers/anchors in the media, have vitriolically attacked the NFSB as an instance of reckless â€Å"populism†. Some claim it will do to little to relieve malnutrition among Indian children, almost one-half of whom suffer from it. Yet others contend that the poor don’t want or deserve subsidies; they aspire to work, earn more and eat better. And almost all of them say the NFSB will entail excessive wasteful expenditure of Rs 1.25 lakh crores. This will aggravate India’s growing fiscal crisis and further depress already faltering GDP growth, now down to four-five percent. Eventually, this will work against the poor. Besides, if investment and growth are to be revived, India can’t spend so much on food security.

An Ethics of Reading :: Edith Wharton Literature Feminism Essays

An Ethics of Reading At the age of nine, Edith Wharton fell ill with typhoid. The local doctor told her parents nothing could be done and that their daughter would soon die. Only the ministrations of another physician, who happened to be passing through town and was prevailed upon to examine the girl, saved her life. Her fever fell, and the young Wharton began to recover. During her convalescence, she read voraciously. One of the books she was given contained a â€Å"super-natural† tale — a story which turned out to be, in Wharton’s own phrase, â€Å"perilous reading† (Wharton, p.275). In the original manuscript of her autobiography, Edith Wharton describes how reading this uncanny story occasioned a relapse, which brought her, once again, â€Å"on the point of death†: This one [book] brought on a serious relapse, and again my life was in danger and when I came to myself, it was to enter a world haunted by formless horrors. I had been a naturally fearless child; now I lived in a state of chronic fear. Fear of what? I cannot say — and even at the time, I was never able to formulate my terror. It was like some dark undefinable menace forever dogging my steps, lurking, threatening; (pp.275‑6).[1] According to Wharton, an act of reading plunged her body back into fatal illness. The young Edith Wharton did recover from the relapse, but its uncanny effects continued to haunt her well into adulthood. In â€Å"Women and Madness: the Critical Phallacy† (1975), Shoshana Felman tells another uncanny story of reading. Analyzing the critical commentary that brackets Balzac’s Adieu in a Gallimard/Folio pocket edition, she demonstrates how two scholars, Pierre Gascan and Patrick Bertier, effectively rewrite Balzac’s story by focusing their analyses entirely on a section of historical backstory – despite the fact that this element comprises but one-third of Balzac’s narrative.[2] In addition, by adopting a criteria of alleged ‘realism’ and labeling Stà ©phanie’s madness as ‘super-natural’, they excise Balzac’s main character (a madwoman) and replace her with protagonists who are soldiers in the Grand Army. The madwoman inhabits, according to these critics, â€Å"a state of semi-unreality† linked to â€Å"the presence of the invisible† — which renders her inexplicable and outside the purview of discussion (qtd. in Felman, 1975, p.6). As a result, Felman argues, critical commentary meant to situate Balzac Adieu in a wider literary context ends up repeating Philippe’s ‘cure’: in erasing from the text the disconcerting and ex-centric features of a woman’s madness, the critic seeks to ‘normalize’ the text [†¦] making the text a reassuring, closed retreat.

Ten Alpina Tools

Giulia seems to be excited about the opportunity to own her own business doing something that she loves. There is a high level of uncertainty here in whether or not Giulia would make a profitable business. It seems that there is room for improvement in the current operations since all 6 workers were cross trained and they were currently only busy for about one weeks worth of labor time per month. Giulia does have an MBA and may be able to recognize ways to use the resources more efficiently and keep production costs down. Giulia will need to practice her strategic thinking to determine how to balance the resources on hand to make this situation work. If she can offer the units for $11.70 or higher, she may be able to maintain the business but she will need to drive down the production costs to sustain profits. If any equipment needs repairs or the building needs renovations, those costs are not going to be covered under her current pricing plan. Also, if production increases, variabl e costs may also increase so it will be important for Giulia to pay close attention to this.After reading the case we identified the following risks;1) Graduate School/ MBA: The case takes place as Giulia is returning from summer break after her first year. Given the intense work load of an MBA program and the workload requirements of a startup/expansion, we have to question if she can do both effectively. Quantitative Analysis: LOW†¦. This is more of a time and lifestyle concern.2) Loss of the single customer contract: Anytime a business is relying on a single customer it’s a risk. Giulia is using the cash flow from this customer to support the new venture. There is not a strong history here for her to count on and lack of data increases risk. In addition she also is highly at risk should her customer go out of business or find another supplier; she would be hard pressed to meet her monthly burn rate.In fact there is no evidence in the case that her business could survi ve without that contract. Quantitative Analysis: HIGH†¦.. The key issue here is that the business is running on very thin margins and the cash flow from this customer is critical for Giulia to cover her fixed and variable costs. There is no evidence that she has cash reserves or any access to investors.3) Employee/Operations issues: Giulia has no experience in this industry and we have no evidence that she has ever managed people or managed a manufacturing process. Due to her thin margins any interruption in production would be devastating. Quality is a huge concern here and although her team is â€Å"cross trained† on all the equipment it’s reasonable to assume that there will be employee turnover.She will need to replace them and we don’t know what they training cycle is and how it will impact  production and quality. Qualitative Analysis: HIGH†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Production ties directly to the ability to fulfill the contract. This contract is key to her cas h flow and the margins are small. Giulia needs to determine the new employee training cycle and factor that into production and cash flow projections.4) Increased Costs: If Giulia experiences an increase in production or fixed costs she is in a very risky situation. Her margins are thin and we have no evidence of cash reserves. Qualitative Analysis: HIGH†¦.. Any increase to costs cuts into margins. Giulia is not in a position to handle such increases.5) Re negotiation or delays on the single contract: The single customer could ask for a lower price point, lower volume or attempt to renegotiate payment terms. Qualitative Analysis: HIGH†¦.. As we have seen a key concern in this case are the margins. Any decrease in price or payment schedule will have a direct impact on Giulias ability to cover her costs

Understanding Cultural Materialism in Sociology

Cultural materialism is a theoretical framework and research method for examining the relationships between the physical and economic aspects of production. It also explores the values, beliefs, and worldviews that predominate society. The concept is rooted in Marxist theory  and popular in anthropology, sociology, and the field of cultural studies. History of Cultural Materialism The theoretical perspective and research methods of cultural materialism emerged in the late 1960s, developing more fully in the 1980s. Cultural materialism was first introduced and popularized in the field of anthropology via Marvin Harris 1968 book  The Rise of Anthropological Theory. In this work, Harris built on Marxs theory of base and superstructure to craft a theory of how culture and cultural products fit into the greater social system. He argued that technology, economic production, the built environment, etc. influences both the structure of society (social organization and relations) and the superstructure (the collection of ideas, values, beliefs, and worldviews). He asserted that one must take this whole system into account to understand why cultures differ from place to place and group to group as well as why products such as art and consumer goods are created in a given place and context for those who use them. Later, Welsh academic Raymond Williams further developed the theoretical paradigm and research method, helping to create the field of cultural studies in the 1980s. Embracing the political nature of Marxs theory and his critical focus on power and class structure, Williams cultural materialism took aim at how cultural products relate to a class-based system of domination and oppression. Williams devised his theory of cultural materialism using preexisting critiques of the relationship between culture and power, including the writings of Italian scholar Antonio Gramsci and the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. Williams asserted that culture itself is a productive process, meaning it gives rise to the intangibles, including ideas, assumptions, and social relations, that exist in societies. His theory of cultural materialism holds that culture is part of the larger process of how class systems are made and foster social inequity. Cultures play these roles through the promotion of widely held values, assumptions, and worldviews and the marginalization of those who do not fit the mainstream mold. Consider the way rap music has been vilified in the mainstream media or how the dance style known as twerking is deemed low-class while ballroom dancing is regarded as classy and refined. Scholars have expanded Williams theory of cultural materialism to include racial inequalities and their connection to culture. The concept has also been broadened to examine disparities related to gender, sexuality, and nationality, among others. Cultural Materialism as a Research Method By using cultural materialism as a research method, sociologists can produce a critical understanding of the values, beliefs, and worldviews of a period through close study of cultural products. They can also discern how these values connect to social structure, trends, and problems. To do so, they must consider the historical context in which a product was made, analyze its symbolism, and how the item fits within the greater social structure. Beyoncà ©s Formation video is a great example of how we can use cultural materialism to understand cultural products and society. When it debuted, many criticized its imagery, especially its shots of militarized police officers and protesters objecting to anti-black police violence. The video ends with the iconic image of  Beyoncà © atop a sinking New Orleans Police Department car. Some read this as insulting to police, and even as a threat to them, echoing a common mainstream critique of black music. Through the lens of cultural materialism, one sees the video in a different light. When considering centuries of systemic racism and inequality and the pandemic of police killings of black people, one instead sees Formation as a celebration of blackness in response to the hate, abuse, and violence routinely heaped upon African Americans. The video can also be seen as a valid and appropriate critique of police practices that desperately need to be changed if equality is to occur. Cultural materialism is an illuminating theory.