OMINOUS SMOKE SIGNALS

Tehelka News

News - OMINOUS SMOKE SIGNALS

May 26 2007

Does the commerce ministry want FDI in tobacco? Mihir Srivastava smells strong hints that it might

The contentious issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in tobacco has snowballed into a larger controversy following the hush-hush trip of a government delegation to Zimbabwe and Brazil to study the impact of such policy in those countries.

The fact that the commerce ministry had planned a trip like this more than 15 years ago and could not muster the courage to send the members has set the cat among the pigeons. Many, understandably, are asking the million-dollar question: was there any need to send the delegation?

Tehelka has reliably learnt that Tobacco Board of India (TBI) chairman Dr J. Suresh Babu led the delegation from February 28-March 12, triggering speculations that the mandarins of the commerce ministry were actively contemplating the FDI route, vehemently opposed by a large chunk of tobacco growers in India.

Not many have liked the trip. Says Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, MP and also a member of the TBI: “This is a move to allow international middlemen in the tobacco markets in India. They are very big buyers, will control the prices and inevitably lead to farmers getting a raw deal. I will take up the matter at the highest level — to the prime minister.”

India follows a transparent auction system where buyers, including international giants, procure tobacco from farmers. The system is unique to India, worked well for more than two decades, encouraged healthy competition in the market and ensured remunerative prices for the farmers.

“Unlike Brazil, tobacco farmers in India have small holdings. We cannot compete with the big tobacco cartels. They will pay us peanuts. We cannot allow FDI unless the present system continues,” says Vikram Raj Urs, a tobacco farmer and treasurer, Karnataka Tobacco Growers’ Forum.

Urs fears are not misplaced. Nearly two decades ago, there were six multinational leaf dealers in the global market. Excessive overproduction of cigarettes led to the market’s churning up and rapid mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the intervening period. Today, there are only two big time players: Alliance One and Universal Leaf Tobacco.

In this scenario of overproduction, with the Big Two calling the shots, it is unlikely that these companies will increase their production when they enter the Indian markets through FDI.

On the contrary, says a member of TBI on condition of anonymity, “The duo with their overwhelming influence on the market would be pushing the prices down, adversely affecting the income of the farmers. They would squeeze supply from India to eliminate overproduction.” Currently, global players have access to the Indian market through their representatives and pick up 60 percent of the produce.

But Babu argues that Indian farmers will get remunerative prices comparable to farmers in Brazil and Zimbabwe (see interview). Brazilian tobacco is heavy-bodied and is ranked in the premium category, while Indian tobacco is primarily of the filler variety and, at best, can be blended with other flavoured tobacco. So there can be no comparison in the rates.

As far as profitability is concerned, the farmers are more than satisfied. “We make better money than any cash crop in India. The profitability is as high as 35 percent,” says Urs. There is a regulatory mechanism in place that stipulates the crop size. The profitability is so high that crop size far exceeds the normal allowance of 10 percent. Even the high penalty rates of 15 percent have not deferred the farmers from exceeding the permissible stipulated crop size.

Earlier, FDI was not allowed because of public health considerations. But these considerations are stronger now with wto estimates that the proportion of tobacco-related deaths in India is set to increase from 1.4 percent in 1990 to 13.3 percent in 2020.

Past experiences have shown that FDI has essentially had a positive correlation with the increase in the country’s smoking population. Taiwan, Korea, Thailand and Japan allowed FDI in the late 1980s and saw an increase in cigarette consumption of over 10 percent.

The move, says the Tobacco Institute of India (TII) in a note, could increase contraband trade and also force losses of nearly Rs 2,000 crore per annum in terms of taxes and forex outflow. Currently, contraband cigarette sales cause a loss of Rs 1,500 crore-Rs 2,000 crore per annum.

No one knows whether or not the commerce ministry will take the decision but insiders claim the countdown has begun: the farmers are waiting. So are the companies.

online available at- http://www.tehelka.com/story_main30.asp?filename=Bu020607Ominous_smoke.asp

Admn plans to implement tobacco-free laws

Express News Service

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

NEWS - Admn plans to implement tobacco-free laws

Chandigarh, May 22: The Chandigarh administration is working with a comprehensive approach to make it a smoke-free city and the administration is committed to provide healthier environment to residents and tourists.

This was stated by UT tourism director Vivek Atray during a workshop organised by Burning Brain Society in association with Chandigarh administration for the teachers, hoteliers and other stakeholders on implementation of smoke-free laws and the rationale behind it.

Atray said the city is moving in the right path to become India’s first smoke-free city and this initiative could set a positive example for the rest of the country.

While making a presentation on second-hand smoke, Hemant Goswami, chairperson, Burning Brain Society, explained that though all people exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke stand at increased risk of heart diseases, cancers and other ailments, workers exposed to secondhand smoke on the job were 34% more likely to get lung cancer compared to their other colleagues who were not exposed.

Manmohan Singh, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association, said that hotels and restaurants would like to please every customer but they will never do so by spreading disease or endangering the lives of people by exposing them to second-hand smoke Technical education director S K Setia said that only 15 per cent of the smoke from a cigarette is inhaled by the smoker, the rest goes into the surrounding air which other people breathe in. He said the teachers have an important role in the smoke-free initiative and in educating the youngsters about the harmful and fatal consequences of tobacco.

Representing Chandigarh Police, Devinder Singh Thakur, DSP, made a presentation on the legal aspect of tobacco laws.

The workshop also saw some catchy tobacco-control awareness songs created and sung by Attar Singh.

online available at - http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=237636

Tobacco Warning to be reviewed

Hindustan Times

News- Tobacco Warning to be reviewed

By- Sanchita Sharma

May 23 2007

BUCKLING UNDER pressure from bidi manufacturers, the Centre has set up a high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the "merits and demerits" of carrying the skull and crossbones warning on the packets of tobacco products. The GoM will meet on Wednesday, a week before the pictorial warnings were to appear from June 1.

The government is under immense pressure from its MPs and allies from states with large bidi industries. These include Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, all the members of the GoM - Pranab Mukherjee, PR. Dasmunsi, Oscar Fernandes, Kamal Nath, Jaipal Reddy and Anbumani Ramadoss - represent the affected states.

About one maion people are in- volved in the bidi industry and MPs fear it will greatly suffer if the general population quits tobacco because of the new health warnings. The warnings were to initially appear on all tobacco product packets from February 1. But the deadline was shifted to June 1 to give the industry more time to comply. The timing of the GoM meet is telling.

"The skull and crossbones symbol was approved by a Parliament sub- committee in 2003. Why did the government take so long to react," asks a health ministry official. The act, which is being implemented in phases, also bans advertising of tobacco products, sale to minors and showing of tobacco use in films and television.

"No jobs wE be lost. Health warnings and all other tobacco-control measures put together will result in a decline in tobacco use over several years and that should provide adequate time for the government to identify alternative livelihoods for those employed in the sector," says Dr K. Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India. Tobacco use kns 10 lakh people in India every year, according the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Other countries that have introduced similar warnings include Canada, Brazil and Australia. sanchitasharma@hindustantimes.com Smoke signal a 250 million tobacco users in India a 16 percent cigarette smokers a 44 percent smoke bidis M 40 percent have gutka, mishri (roasted black tobacco powder applied to gums) and chewing tobacco in betel-quid

Medical Students Need To Quit Tobacco First Tuesday

Opinion : Medical Students Need To Quit Tobacco First Tuesday

By- Bobby Ramakant

22 May 2007

A recent study gives further evidence that prevalence of tobacco use is more in medical students than in general population. This becomes all the more paradoxical when India's 25 crore tobacco users look up at existing healthcare providers for assistance in quitting tobacco. Also it questions how serious are we to prevent needless diseases and deaths attributed to tobacco use, ponders Bobby Ramakant

AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) survey among medical students of North India conclusively proves that smoking in medical students increases as their medical schooling goes ahead.
"Tobacco Kills" or "Tobacco causes Cancer" says the new health warning on every tobacco pack. With young doctors and medical students not heeding to this health warning, has the tobacco control strategy went fundamentally awry?

Results of an AIIMS survey on smoking among medical students in Delhi and other parts of the region in North India sends a shiver down the spine – 56 per cent of them smoke.
Furthermore most alarming was the fact that 35 per cent of medical students surveyed were found to be "nicotine-dependent"!

The year-long survey was done by Department of Medicine at AIIMS with students from major medical colleges of North India answering questionnaires based on their smoking habits.
"This survey used the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence", said Dr Randeep Guleria, Professor of Medicine at AIIMS. This test was developed by Dr Karl Fagerstrom, a globally acclaimed authority in tobacco cessation.

"Dependence on smoking was assessed by the quantitative method with questions like number of cigarettes smoked every day and the time of lighting up the first cigarette after waking up," said Dr Guleria. He further added that "The motivation to stop smoking was assessed qualitatively by direct questions about intentions to quit."

37.5 per cent medical students took to cigarettes after seeing others smoke, a further 32.5 per cent smoked since they felt it was a stress-buster; 8.75 per cent started due to "peer pressure". 11 per cent were found to be "heavy smokers", and 45 per cent had a "family history of smoking".

It is clear that the need to have a strong tobacco control and health education programme within healthcare settings is most compelling. Unless we have a health education programme in place, how else do we plan to reduce the number of medical students who may take up tobacco use during medical schooling?

If public health campaigns cannot bring in a change in medical students who 'believe' that tobacco is a stress-buster and smoke because of peer pressure or lifestyle imagery, then how effective will they be in general community?

However an overwhelming majority had tried to quit tobacco use. 65 per cent had made attempts to quit, while 62 per cent were willing to quit if assisted. Are we prepared and geared up enough to provide this 'assistance' ?

That brings us to the glaring gap in tobacco cessation services within healthcare settings. Unless tobacco cessation skills are imparted to mainstream healthcare providers utilizing and building upon existing infrastructure and health systems, how are we going to provide quality assistance to 62 per cent of medical students who want to quit tobacco use?

Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, Head of the Tobacco Cessation Clinics at King George's Medical University (KGMU), says that "Doctors who use tobacco, endanger their own health, and send a misleading message to patients and to the public. The best way forward is to invest in building training capacities of existing tobacco cessation clinics so that these can impart not only cessation services, but also impart tobacco cessation skills in healthcare staff from different settings. It is also vital to integrate tobacco cessation counseling in routine medical practice."

The AIIMS survey indicates that the mean age of starting smoking was 18.65 years.
With deceptive tobacco advertising and misconceptions associated with tobacco use, the addiction takes roots before the age of 18, says Prof Kant. By the time tobacco-related hazards begin to manifest, the person, including medical students, is already addicted to nicotine dose. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, stated a US Surgeon General Report in 1988. It is not easy to quit tobacco, but it is also not impossible, asserts Prof Kant.

So far India has about 20 tobacco cessation clinics supported by World Health Organization across the country.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) tobacco use is responsible for over 10 lakh deaths in India each year, which is about 3000 deaths every day.
The urgency to reduce or decimate preventable burden of life-threatening diseases attributed to tobacco is compelling.

Prof Kant points to a possible way forward – 'a combination of health education programme with tobacco control in focus to alarm new medical students and encourage them not to use tobacco should be incorporated while we scale up tobacco cessation services across the country'.

Wake up call for secular India

State Pulse: Andhra Pradesh: Wake up call for secular India

By not spewing venom and hatred, we have made the efforts unsuccessful of those who pull the terror-trigger- Bobby Ramakant

The people of secular sovereign India have stood strong and more resolved to peace and amity, even at the wake of repeated attacks on religious places. These have only exposed the nefarious designs of a handful of those behind these terror attacks. Undoubtedly these repeated acts of terror have put us through one of the gravest tests of courage, patience, committment to peace and humane social order.

Another attempt to thwart the communal harmony in India was made on Friday when a crude RDX bomb exploded near the historic Mecca Mosque in Hyderabad. Apart from that, there were two live bombs recovered from the spot and defused.

There have been repeated attempts to instigate different religious communities in the past.
Two explosions that took place in quick succession inside the historic Jama Masjid in Old Delhi when the devout were offering prayers on a Friday evening of April 2006. The first explosion took place at around 5.30 pm when devotees were preparing for 'Asar' (evening prayer) near a pond used by them for ablutions.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, had then made an appeal to the people of India to "maintain communal harmony and to defeat the designs of those who want to disrupt the peaceful co-existence between Hindus and Muslims".

On the eve of 2005 Diwali, bomb blasts went off in Sarojini Nagar market, Paharganj and a bus in Kalkaji area of Delhi, killing more than 50 people.

Ajay Sahani, Terrorism Expert of Institute of Conflict Management, had then said, `"It is clear that objective was to incite violence within the country. But the good thing about today's event and the event in Varanasi [blast at the temple and railway station] was that people were not reacting in frenzy and people behind the blasts were not succeeding."

Similar sentiments reinforcing secular feelings were expressed. Even media restrained and demonstrated sensitive and responsible journalism, in the wake of ugly events of terror and strife.

An overwhelming majority of people in India have realized the vested interests of handful of those who mastermind these terror attacks on religious institutions and thankfully have refused to be instigated by them.

By not spewing venom and hatred, we have made the efforts unsuccessful of those who pull the terror-trigger.

Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta reviewed the national security situation in the wake of the bomb explosion at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad during Friday prayers.
Steps were taken to ensure that the communal violence, which erupted in some parts of Andhra Pradesh, does not spill over to other parts of the country.

The Indian Home Ministry has alerted all the state governments to be vigilant about the anti-social elements seeking to use the Mecca Masjid incident to whip up communal passion and create disturbances to upset peace and harmony.

Noted social activist and Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey said that "Despite of piercing ache in our hearts, we feel all the more committed to make the voices of the majority heard - majority of us Hindus and Muslims don't want violence and hatred between people, there is a small minority of people indulging in acts of violence and terror, and they don't represent us."
Few people have been resorting to such brutal ways to invoke undue hatred and anguish, and undoubtedly cause an irrevocable loss of human life.

We also believe that our response in this grim and sad hour of grief should not be of hatred and revenge - rather our commitments to peace and non-violence should be as determined as possible. The perpetrators of violence want to invoke hatred, we must be resolute to not yield to their demands. This is the time to test our steely resolve - to peace, love and harmonious co-existence.

I consider it as a wake up call for the secular India, and we have been ignoring the blaring sirens for long. The struggle to establish a just social and humane order, impacting the lives of most underserved communities, is indeed a long one. It is the time for all of us to dawn our often-neglected roles of being a responsible citizen of secular India as well.

online available at- Central Chronicle (MP, India): 21 May 2007
http://www.centralchronicle.com/20070521/2105303.htm

The Daily Star, Bangladesh: 21 May 2007
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/05/21/d705211504140.htm

Asian Tribune (Sri Lanka/ Thailand) 19 May 2007
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5788

e-Choupal: Networking rural India

NDTV
May 18 2007

News- e-Choupal: Networking rural India

Agriculture is vital to India. It produces 23 per cent of the GDP, feeds a billion people, and employs 66 per cent of the workforce. Because of the Green Revolution, India's agricultural productivity has improved to the point that it is both self-sufficient and a net exporter of a variety of food grains. Yet most Indian farmers have remained quite poor. The causes include remnants of scarcity-era regulation and an agricultural system based on small, inefficient landholdings.

The agricultural system has also traditionally been unfair to primary producers. Farmers have only an approximate idea of price trends and have to accept the price offered to them at auctions on the day that they bring their grain to the mandi. As a result, traders are well positioned to exploit both farmers and buyers through practices that sustain system-wide inefficiencies.One of India's foremost private sector companies, which has a diversified presence in tobacco, hotels, paperboards, specialty papers, packaging, agri-business, branded apparel, packaged foods and other fast moving consumer goods, initiated e-choupal in 2000.

The effort placed computers with Internet access in rural farming villages. The e-choupals serve as both a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub. Industry background Spurred by India's need to generate foreign exchange, ITC's International Business Division (IBD) was created in 1990 as an agri-trading company aiming to "offer the world the best of India's produce".Initially, the agricultural commodity trading business was small compared to international players.

By 1996, the opening up of the Indian market had brought in international competition. Large international companies had better margin-to-risk ratios because of wider options for risk management and arbitrage.For an Indian company to replicate the operating model of such multinational corporations would have required a massive horizontal and vertical expansion. In 1998, after competition forced ITC to explore the options of sale, merger, and closure of IBD, ITC ultimately decided to retain the business.

Chairman of ITC challenged IBD to use information technology to change the rules of the game and create a competitive business that did not need a large asset base. Today, IBD is over Rs 700 crore company that trades in commodities such as feed ingredients, food-grains, coffee, black pepper, edible nuts, marine products, and processed fruits.What began as an effort to re-engineer the procurement process for soy, tobacco, wheat, shrimp, and other cropping systems in rural India has also created a highly profitable distribution and product design channel for the Company.E-choupal has also established a low-cost fulfillment system focused on the needs of rural India that has helped in mitigating rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes.The business modelThe model is centered on a network of e-Choupals that serve both as a social gathering place for exchange of information and an e-commerce hub.A local farmer acting as a sanchalak (coordinator) runs the village e-Choupal, and the computer usually is located in the sanchalak's home. ITC also incorporated a local commission agent, known as the samyojak (collaborator), into the system as the provider of logistical support.

ITC has plans to saturate the sector in which it works with e-Choupals, such that a farmer has to travel no more than five kilometers to reach one. The company expects each e-Choupal to serve about 10 villages within a five-kilometer radius. Today its network reaches more than a million farmers. In the Mandi, the following operational process was followed: Inbound logistics > Display and Inspection > Auction > Bagging and weighing > Payment > Outbound logistics.E-choupal brought about a strategic chage to the process: Pricing > Inbound logistics > Inspection and grading > Weighing and payment > Hub logistics.Goals envisionedTwo goals were envisioned for information technology in the e-Choupal process.

The first was the deelivery of real-time information independent of the transaction. In the mandi system, delivery, pricing, and sales happen simultaneously, thus binding the farmer to an agent.E-Choupal was seen as a medium of delivering critical market information independent of the mandi, thus allowing the farmer an empowered choice of where and when to sell his crop.The second was to facilitate collaboration between the many parties required to fulfill the spectrum of farmer needs.

As a communication mechanism, this goal is related to the commitment to address the whole system, not just a part of the system. It is noteworthy that ITC did not hesitate to install expensive IT infrastructure in places where most people would be wary of visiting overnight. It is a manifestation of the integrity of rural value systems that not a single case of theft, misappropriation, or misuse has been reported among the thousands of e-Choupals.Sustainability through mutual respect

The e-Choupal model has shown that a large corporation can combine a social mission and an ambitious commercial venture; that it can play a major role in rationalising markets and increasing the efficiency of an agricultural system, and do so in ways that benefit farmers and rural communities as well as company shareholders.

ITC's example also shows the key role of information technology - in this case provided and maintained by a corporation, but used by local farmers - in helping to bring about transparency, to increase access to information, and to catalyse rural transformation, while enabling efficiencies and low cost distribution that make the system profitable and sustainable. Critical factors in the apparent success of the venture are ITC's extensive knowledge of agriculture, the effort ITC has made to retain many aspects of the existing production system, including retaining the integral importance of local partners, the company's commitment to transparency, and the respect and fairness with which both farmers and local partners are treated.The sustainability of the engagement comes from the idea that neither the corporate nor social agendas will be subordinated in favor of the other.

online available - http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/web2.0story.asp?id=ARTEN20070012289

World AIDS Orphan Day 7 May 2007