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The quarterly newsletter of Livelihoods MANTHAN published by Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (INDIA)
Citation preview
livelihoods. learning. sharing.
22
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July 2013
LIVEwireLIVEwireVol. I No. 2
CCrreeaatt iinngg nneeww vvii ss ttaass ffoorr ll iivveell iihhooooddss
on LIVEwireThis Month
The Livelihoods Learning Group (LLG) is an active nationwideelectronic group with over 100 members representing differentorganizations, academic institutions, research institutes, civil societyorganizations, donor and promoter agencies, professionals fromNational Mission Monitoring Unit and State Rural Livelihood Missionsas well as practitioners working on livelihoods in formal and nonformal spaces. LLG is an open platform which seeks to shareknowledge and help build a community of learning and practice onlivelihoods.
The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a glimpse into ongoingdialogues and knowledge regarding livelihoods in India. Thisnewsletter is published in the electronic format to communicate withthe stakeholders in the livelihoods ecosystem and is released everyquarter.
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) alongwith The Livelihood School (TLS), XLRI School of Management(XLRI), Entrepreneurship Development Institute India (EDII), TataInstitute of Social Sciences (TISS), Chaitanya, ManagementDevelopment Institute Gurgaon (MDI) and Indian Institute ofManagement Udaipur (IIMU) have set up a consortium calledLivelihoods MANTHAN (Management Academic institutes Networkfor Transforming Human Resources through Action and Knowledge).
Supported by the Ford Foundation, this consortium is a collaborativeeffort to contribute to the development of livelihood professionalsfor serving the increasing demand from state livelihood missions,civil society organisations and livelihoods promotion agencies.Towards this effort, Livelihoods MANTHAN is involved in curriculumdesign for managers at the state, block and district level managers;training programs like certificate courses and ManagementDevelopment Programmes for senior decision makers; networkingand mentorship to bring young professionals into the sector;developing knowledge products and learning platforms to create anecosystem of actors and resources for livelihoods in India.
- 1 -
MMAANNTTHHAANN iinn AAcctt iioonn
National workshop on livelihoods curriculum XIMBA two day national workshop on “Rethinking Livelihoods:
Innovations in Teaching Livelihoods” was organized by
XIMB on March 1314, 2013. The workshop was an
effort to encourage collaborations between academic
institutions, practitioner organizations, State Rural
Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and others to share
curricula and address pedagogical issues on training
livelihood professionals. The workshop saw participation
from over 40 organizations like IRMA, IIFM, TISS, MDI,
APU, APMAS, TLS, Chaitanya, representatives from
NRLM, state missions from Odisha, Bihar and
Maharashtra as well as others.
Access the workshop resources here
News updates from the Livelihoods MANTHAN consortium
2
IInntteerrnnss SSppeeaakk
Rural Livelihood Internship TISS
TISS, Mumbai on behalf of Livelihoods MANTHAN
initiated the second batch of “Rural Livelihood
Internship” programme for mentoring committed
livelihood professionals. Following successful
completion of the scheme in 2012, twenty interns
(collectively from TISS, XIMB and EDI) were placed
with SRLMs across India. An orientation and induction
workshop was held on April 2526, 2013 at TISS,
Mumbai following which the interns worked on
different assignments in Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh.
The students have since completed their internships.
Learn more about the internship here
"My internship studying inclusion and livelihood status of
the extremely vulnerable Kondh tribes in Odisha taught
me more than a classroom could ever teach." Ankita Swaroopa, XIMB
"Working with the Chhattisgarh Mission has taught me
how an SRLM can influence change at the grassroots." Priya Jaiswal, EDII
"Interacting with SHGs involved in woollen knitting
helped me understand the challenges women
entrepreneurs face in the villages." Sudarshan Kumar Saggu, XIMB
"Studying the NTFP interventions in the villages of
Goilkera block, Jharkhand has been a rich experience." Priyanka Topno, TISS
"Analyzing the mushroom value chain in Balasore
district has helped me learn about the linkages
between government departments, private players
and the institutional structures at the village level." Pradeep Sharma, XIMB
LIVEwire June 2013
MMAANNTTHHAANN iinn AAcctt iioonn
National Workshop on Innovative Strategiesfor Livelihood Promotion TLSThis workshop organized by The Livelihood School on
May 1, 2013 was intended to reflect on its half a decade
experience with livelihoods promotion and towards
further developing its competencies in consultation with
key professionals in different thematic areas. The
participants shared insights on how TLS can work
further on promotion of Natural Resourcebased
Livelihoods, Offfarm Livelihoods with reference to
Agriculture Value Chains; and PRI – Decentralized
Government and Livelihoods.
MANTHAN partners identified as capacitybuilding organizations for NRLMThe Livelihoods School, Chaitanya, Entrepreneurship
Development Institute (EDI) and XLRI (with SRIJAN and
Udyogini) have been shortlisted as capacity building
organizations for NRLM in the areas of staff induction,
social mobilization, institution building, financial
inclusion, and capacity building of community
institutions and cadres.
Academicpractitioner partnerships are keyto NRLM success: NACPartnerships with academic institutions and practitioner
organizations were considered a positive step towards
making NRLM successful, in a report submitted to the
National Advisory Council (NAC). It was reported that
partnerships with NGOs and management institutions
like XIMB, XLRI, TISS and MDI will help NRLM and
SRLMs meet training and other requirements of the
programme.
Read the full report here
News updates from the Livelihoods MANTHAN consortium
3
Short film on Chaitanya’s coursesA short film has been made on the impact of
Chaitanya's courses on Microfinance Development &
Management (MFDM) and NGO Management. These
certificate courses offered in association with TISS,
Mumbai offer specialized training in diverse
management areas as well as values for efficient
professional practice. All the modules and manuals
have been developed inhouse and also used
extensively in providing strategic organizational
planning training to other NGOs.
Watch the video here
Future Leaders Program at IIM UdaipurIIM Udaipur in collaboration with Duke University has
set up a summer school program that will train
students and practitioners for leadership in the
development sector. The 'Future Leaders Program' is
intended to attract talented students and practitioners
from India as well as students from Duke. The full
program will be launched in the summer of 2014, with
a one week pilot module being launched from July 21
27, 2013.
For more details on the program, click here
XLRI's online forum on inclusive financeThis knowledge sharing and peer learning forum on
inclusive finance was initiated at XLRI Jamshedpur.
The forum provides opportunities for the practitioners,
academics as well as policy makers to share their
experiences, research and innovative experiments in
the broad areas of financial inclusion.
Participate in this forum here
LIVEwire June 2013
OOnntthh
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On SFAC's concept of Bharat Kisan ProducerCompanyFollowing the request for feedback on Small Farmers’
Agribusiness Consortium's (SFAC) concept note in March
2013 on setting up a potential Bharat Kisan Producer
Company Limited (BKPCL), several members in the LLG
responded with critical observations and suggestions.
Liby Johnson of
Kudumbashree suggested
that the proposed entity
should protect the interests
of all kinds of farmer
producers since many farm
products are substitutes
and compete against each
other in the market. It is
also important that the different financial needs (start
up and working capital) are provided through viable and
decentralized processes, for example, through interest
subvention by mainstream banks. Providing adequate
market access, intermediate infrastructure and means to
increase productivity will also be critical before
implementing a national level umbrella organization for
all Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).
Others observed that the BKPCL should play the role of
an incubator for grassroots FPOs provide financial
support for some years, offer specialized training
programmes for staff and encourage decentralized
operational models.
Shashidharan Enarth of The Livelihood School added
that operational issues of FPOs are seldom addressed.
These need to be revisited in the BKPCL plan by building
capacities of those who run
the operations, and find
durable solutions to problems
external to the FPOs. An apex
level body, he said, should
play an enabling role right
from their inception so that
the FPOs in turn demand
leveraging services from the
apex. This relationship can be sustainable only if the
apex body has transparent and accountable governance
mechanisms and remains accountable to the FPOs.
KV Raju of IRMA submitted that the BKPCL should
play the role of a promoter and analyze the resource,
demand, industrial and institutional to evolve business
models and offer solutions to the FPOs. KS Gopal
wrote that BKPCL will have to clearly envision the
basis and the outcomes for its recommendations. This
needs to be grounded on key issues such as
exploitation by middlemen and monopolies,
information asymmetry, and provide ways by which
markets can be integrated for producer benefit.
Radha Gopalan of Rishi Valley Education Centre
mentioned that sustainability of farmers’ collectives
need to be strengthened through extension services
for technology, credit, and other inputs. In addition,
support for exchange of experiences through
exposure visits and pilot efforts will have to be
provided through existing infrastructure before going
forward with a federated structure.
On the National Policy and guidelines forFPOsA National Policy for the
Promotion of Farmer
Producer Organisations has
been announced as a
mainline activity under the
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana (RKVY). Revised
FPO Process Guidelines
have also been released
and came into effect from April 1, 2013.
Sankar Datta of Azim Premji University suggested
that existing processes of forming FPOs through
budgetary allocations and providing strict guidelines
for FPOs need to be relooked at. The focus should be
on promoting collective and community leadership
where farmers are encouraged to create their own
local guidelines for administering FPOs.
Navin Anand of Solution Exchange emphasized the
need to clarify the functional roles of FPOs at various
levels: precultivation, cultivation and post
PPooll iiccyy CCoonnnneeccttOpinions on policy matters, shared in the Livelihoods Learning e-group
4 LIVEwire June 2013
Affordable credit,specialized training,extension services,technological inputs,and marketingsupport are key forstrengthening FPOs
Transparent,decentralized andaccountablegovernancemechanisms arecritical to an apexlevel body like theBKPCL
National FPO policyand guidelinesshould promotecommunityleadership andmaximize benefitsfor all farmers
to support. Smita Premchander of SAMPARK urged
that a distinct line needs to be drawn between policy
measures and incubation support on one hand, and
building organizations with official support on the
other. The right incentives and purpose will ensure
the creation and sustainabilty of the FPOs.
cultivation. The National FPO Policy can then maximize
benefits to farmers at all levels of the value chain.
Others added that the policy should support the
diversity of grassroots collectives so as to meet the local
needs. A centralized approach as envisioned in the FPO
guidelines may erode this diversity and may even
eliminate the livelihood opportunities they were meant
5 LIVEwire June 2013
NNeewwss WWaattcchhLivelihoods related news and updates in the media
Changes approved in Aajeevika (NRLM)Key changes have been made in the implementation of
NRLM: (i) Improved targeting of poor through
Participatory Identification Process (PIP) (ii) Enabling
women SHGs to avail more loans and an award of
additional 3% interest subvention (iii) Financial
assistance to be provided through Community
Investment Support Fund (CISF) instead of capital
subsidy linked to bank credit (iv) Setting up of the
autonomous National Rural Livelihoods Promotion
Society (NRLPS) to implement NRLM in mission mode.Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB) Release No:
95655
50,000 jobs for youth in 24 extremistaffected districts under Roshni schemeThe Ministry for Rural Development launched a new skill
development scheme "Roshni" for rural youth from 24
districts in states most critically affected by extremism.
The scheme will be implemented at a cost of Rs 100
crore over the next three years.
Source: PIB Release No: 96474
Tamil Nadu livelihood mission gainsmomentumA pilot NRLM study was launched at Nagamalai
Pudukottai. With the Puthu Vazhvu Programme (PVP) in
place in Theni district, the community professionals from
Theni would help set up the Village Poverty Reduction
Committee (VPRC) to implement NRLM in the pilot
district.
Source: "A boon for the poor", The Hindu, May 16 2013
Haryana expansion of NRLMThe Haryana Government has decided to extend NRLM
to cover all the 21 districts in the state with the extra 19
now covered from the state’s own financial resources.
Source: "Haryana mulling to expand scope of NRLM",
The Economic Times, May 19 2013
Gujarat High Court rules that Centre cannotrule on cooperativesThe Gujarat High Court has declared that the Centre
cannot enact laws or issue notification with respect to
cooperative societies as it is a state subject. The bench
held that certain provisions of the 97th Amendment
pertaining to cooperative societies violated the
Constitution and hence have been stuck down.
Source: "Centre can't legislate on cooperatives: Guj HC",
The Economic Times, April 22 2013
Odisha repeals liberal SelfHelp CooperativesAct 2001The Odisha government repealed the liberal Odisha Self
Help Cooperatives Act 2001 by promulgating an
ordinance, thus bringing all cooperatives under the
Odisha Cooperative Societies Act, 1962. In effect, the
cooperatives are now answerable to the state
government which can take up audit and examine their
books of accounts.
Source: "Ordinance in place to set right coops", The
Economic Times, June 7 2013
Farmers have decreased, farm labourers haveincreasedThe 2011 census report has revealed that only 54.6% of
total workers in India are now engaged in agriculture
with a decline of 3.6% from 2001. However, there has
been an increase of 44% and 24.5% in the number of
male and female agricultural labourers. This suggests
that the number of farmers in India has decreased by
8.6 million in the past decade.
Source: "Farmers have decreased, farm labourers have
increased", Down To Earth, May 1 2013
Poverty indices and sustainable livelihoodsLLG members discussed the effectiveness of research
methods for identifying the poor. The Progress out of
Poverty Index (PPI) and its implications for the revised
guidelines of NRLM were discussed. Members also
examined how the language of sustainable livelihood
approaches has changed over the past two decades and
is now being linked to discourses on resilience, political
and social change rather than just a set of desired
outcomes.
The push and pull of skillingWith 15% of NRLM funds being allocated for financing
skill development initiatives, members wondered if the
efforts of NRLM could be
converged with the National
Skill Development Corporation
(NSDC). There was some
concern that NSDC's focus is
industryoriented and not self employment in the
"unorganized" sector. Issues like these and others such
as the high attrition rate among the trainees who get
placed need to be addressed in the NSDC.
The emerging role of civil societyThe group discussed the constituents and role of civil
society following the release of the 2013 WEF Report on
“the Future of Civil Society”. Members discussed that
CSOs need to reposition their priorities with changing
times. It was urged that the promotion of
decentralization and autonomy among the poor and
participating institutions has become critical for CSOs
today.
Experiences in forming cooperativesSmita Premchander reflected that the mainstream was
losing hope in cooperatives and considered them
expensive, time consuming and politicized. In response,
Manjeet Kaur of CGSIRD shared her experience in
forming a cooperative called “Nawa Anjore Silai Sahkari
Samiti” in 2006 in Chhattisgarh. The tailoring and
knitting based samiti had participated successfully in
several bids for various government projects, as long as
there was mentoring support. Once the support was
withdrawn, the efforts of the samiti also withered away
gradually. While appreciating the experience shared, the
members acknowledged that unless cooperatives are
encouraged to lead on their own from the start, they
may not succeed in the long run.
Social innovations in ICT for livelihoodspromotionInformation and Communication Technology (ICT)
innovations in promoting livelihoods were shared. The
impact of video based training for promoting
livelihoods education and the utility of community
radios for enabling communication in interior parts of
India were discussed. Further, the impact of
interactive electronic games was also appreciated. It
was suggested that such innovations be showcased at
the innovation forums promoted by different SRLMs.
Writing case studies for livelihoodspromotionThe members discussed that even if only one case
was to be documented from each district in India,
then there would be a repository of 600 cases!
Consequently, some shared
their plans to write first person
case studies. Dinesh Awasthi
of EDI suggested a perspective
plan to document these cases
via a case writing workshop to
outline guidelines and then
form teams to explore different regions. Some
practitioners said that they were ready to host writers
if they volunteered to visit the field locations and
document their stories. Suryamani Roul of ACCESS
suggested a timeline to collaborate in writing cases
and publishing them as part of the annual Livelihoods
India Conference.
Researchpractice tension in the MFIdebateMembers discussed the widening gap between
research and practice in livelihoods. The existing
tensions between the commercial and social goals of
microfinance institutions were discussed in particular.
It was mentioned that practitioners generally highlight
positive news while researchers belittle practitioners'
efforts without adequately engaging with them.
Increasing the interdisciplinary academic engagement
on such debates was emphasized.
CCoommmmuunnii ttyy EExxcchhaannggeeDialogue and debate in the Livelihoods Learning e-group
6 LIVEwire June 2013
Can the efforts ofNRLM and NSDCconverge?
Can we write acase each foreach of the 600districts in India?
Do you have events, research or publications to share in this newsletter?Are you looking to collaborate with others?Would you like to be part of the Livelihoods Learning Group?
Email us at [email protected]. in
If you have any comments or feedback on this newsletter, please email us; we would behappy to revise, refine and innovate in future editions of LIVEwire.
Editorial TeamJoseph Satish VC Shambu Prasad
Produced byXavier Institute of Management,
Xavier Square,Bhubaneswar - 751 013
Odisha, INDIAPh: + 91 -674-6647 720
Email: [email protected]: http://livelihoods-manthan.net/
Sitaram Rao Livelihoods Case StudyCompetition 2013Access Development Services and Fr. Arrupe Center for
Ecology and Sustainability (FACES), XLRI Jamshedpur
have jointly announced the Sitaram Rao Livelihoods
Case Study Competition 2013. The theme for this year is
“Enhancing the Livelihoods of the Urban Poor”
2nd International Workshop on InclusiveFinanceXLRI Jamshedpur is conducting the 2nd International
Workshop on Inclusive Finance during September 1315,
2013. The workshop brings together academicians,
practitioners, microfinance institutions and NGOs to
deliberate on research as well as contemporary issues.
The Workshop 2013 17th Praxis AnnualCommune on Participatory DevelopmentThe workshop is organized by Praxis Institute for
Participatory Practices in Thrissur, Kerala from 2128
October 2013. It brings together development
workers and policy makers from across the world to
share and learn about the latest in the field of
participatory development. Participants of this year's
workshop will also get to attend a session by Robert
Chambers from IDS, Sussex.
EEvveenntt SSccaannUpcoming livelihoods events across the nation
7 LIVEwire June 2013
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8 LIVEwire June 2013