"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea".
In the presently relevant monsoon parlance, last month experienced a lull with respect to the News and Media industry. Though Team Anna had the lion share of headline possession but articles in the print and the electronic media were twisted and forged with vested political interests and so called civil society aspirations. Maybe after the Osama episode, hardly anything occurred even in the international arena, leaving behind nothing to rationally think and to effectively write about. Though Cyrilnomics is not about individualistic or rather molecular approach, the cosmic law of exceptions cannot be done away with.
In the presently relevant monsoon parlance, last month experienced a lull with respect to the News and Media industry. Though Team Anna had the lion share of headline possession but articles in the print and the electronic media were twisted and forged with vested political interests and so called civil society aspirations. Maybe after the Osama episode, hardly anything occurred even in the international arena, leaving behind nothing to rationally think and to effectively write about. Though Cyrilnomics is not about individualistic or rather molecular approach, the cosmic law of exceptions cannot be done away with.
There is no denying the fact that more than seventy percent of the people seeing the title will be thinking that its yet another article on the 'Little Master', but the same can be at best concluded as an outward manifestation of 'surrogate advertisement'. The subject matter is Prof. Suresh Tendulkar. A champion Indian economist and the former chief of National Statistical Commission. He was the member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) under Mr. Rangarajan and went on to become the chairman in 2008 when the latter moved to Rajya Sabha. He also served as member of the Reserve Bank of India’s central board of directors. Prof. Tendulkar was known for his extensive work on "Credit and Privatisation policies" and "Indian development issues and policies", including liberalisation and globalisation. He was also a part-time member of the National Statistical Commission (2000-01), the first "Disinvestment Commission" (1996-99), and the Fifth "Central Pay Commission" (1994-97). But, the work in which he made a mark of himself was his work on Poverty estimates.
The Planning Commission constituted an expert group in Dec 2005 under the chairmanship of Prof. Tendulkar to review the methodology for estimation of poverty. While acknowledging the multidimensional nature of poverty, the expert group recommended moving away from anchoring poverty lines to the calorie-intake norm to adopting MRP based estimates of consumption expenditure as the basis for future poverty lines and MRP equivalent of the urban poverty line basket(PLB) corresponding to 25.7% urban headcount ratio as the new reference PLB for rural areas. On the basis of above methodology, the all-India rural headcount poverty ratio for 2004-05 was estimated at 41.8%, urban at 25.7% and all-India at 37.2%. Thus, the revised poverty lines are accepted by the Planning commission. The study by Tendulkar committee has aided in bringing some clarity to the poverty estimation which otherwise was always under the cloud of suspicion.
The Harvard educated intellectual was one individual who could directly bail out the lives of millions who were doubtful in the eyes of government with respect to their status of being APL or BPL. Perhaps he would be the Tendulkar who millions of them remember in their prayers indirectly. Perhaps he would be the Tendulkar who should have occupied the front page of the print media but was restricted to the last page. Perhaps, he was the Tendulkar who has done something good for the masses. In a time frame when India's GDP growth is slowing down, inflation is heading up, current account deficit is still wide and FII's are turning away & the gripping issues are Annas and Babas, are we missing genuine intellectuals who were always working behind the curtains and were really effective in putting their ideas into action. The remedy will be that our economic stand points should undergo an Instrumental conditioning!!!
