Employment Guarantee is a good step to West Bengal’s economy

Kolkata, Dec 29 : The Employment Guarantee Bill envisaged by the UPA government was a good step and a part of a wider programme to achieve the desired goals in the areas of education and health, eminent economists Amartya Sen said today.

In a public discussion on ‘Needs and Resources: Education, Health and Employment’ jointly organised by Pratichi Trust, Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University and UNICEF, Sen said the state’s primary health sector was a major constraint for the economy. Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen said states should also share a part of the cost burden with the Centre.

He said the most important aspect of the Bill would be the process of selection along with the nature of work that the legislation ought to guarantee.

Sen criticised the quantum of government spending in healthcare. He said that it was criminal for people to opt for private healthcare instead of the public sector, particularly in a democracy.

In this context, he lauded Bangladesh for lowering mortality rates at 46 per 1000, which was better than India’s at 64 per 1000, despite the ‘inflexible’ democracy working in that country.

“A strong public health sector had been the sole facilitator of development for several major economies of the world,�? he noted.

For instance, Kerala has been a star performer in social indicators and it was ahead of other states.

Speaking on state’s primary education, Sen pointed that the ‘mid-day meal scheme has substantially increased attendance in primary schools, despite the fact that there have been complaints regarding the quality of meal provided.

“The complaints were mainly from the better off families. But for the poorest section, it meant a meal that was otherwise unavailable to them�?, added Sen. He laid stress on parent-teacher initiative for better performance of such schemes.

Among the other discussed issues were the recent proposed ‘rural employment guarantee programme’.

Addressing all the debates that have come up regarding the availability of fund Sen explained that if the if the revenue GDP ratio could be improved to the desired level there would be adequate fund available for such distribution of income, whose multiplier effect would be immense