Two announcements in the state budget stand out for their uniqueness and long-term physical impact in Rajasthan – on nutrition and knowledge.
In the nearly two-hour long budget presentation speech, the Rajasthan chief minister-cum-finance minister made many announcements, pledges, long-term commitments this week. Predictably, the opposition Congress labelled it an election budget. And the media chose to focus on the Rs 8,000-crore loan waiver as the centrepiece and the tax waiver on irrigated agricultural land.
In the poll season, the media tends to restrict its focus largely on the agricultural sector, since figures are obviously larger. And coupled with the fact that the issue is always making news, in one way or the other, and in some state or the other. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that some long-term socially vital announcements tend to get the short shrift. Or completely ignored.
Two announcements stand out in stark contrast to any other in the country, for uniqueness and long-term physical and intellectual impact in Rajasthan — on nutrition and knowledge.
For the first time in India, all primary and upper-primary government schoolchildren will be given milk three times a week as part of their mid-day meal. Three times a week doesn’t seem much, but it is a starting point from which to take off, and this take-off is critical at this juncture. Since consumption of milk in rural Rajasthan hasn’t kept pace with decadal population growth. In fact, the number of cows and camels has declined in the past two decades, and only buffalo numbers shows an increase. This is an astonishingly farsighted announcement, and will have a far greater social impact than any loan or tax waiver. But it requires fortification.
There has been an active campaign in some parts of the country for fortified milk to become compulsory. Since calcium is among the most important nutrients of milk, and its absorption greatly accelerated by being fortified with Vitamin D, this demand has gathered pace in the recent past. Some organisations have been actively campaigning for fortified milk. Therefore, merging the two schemes makes eminent sense, and which is something I would be raising during the budget debate. Once implemented, it would be possible to increase the distribution to every school day rather than limit it to three.
Equally important is the fact that this scheme shall be monitored from within the panchayat by the local women’s self-help dairy groups. Rajasthan has an active dairy sector with hundreds of women run self-help groups. Dovetailing their resources and contribution into this scheme is common sense at its best, significant from both the nutrition and gender perspective. While gender empowerment is a long-term gain, implementation of this scheme will aid the dairy sector, since a ready market is getting prepared in the village and panchayat itself. It is perfect for the producer and the panchayat.
For someone connected with football, the importance of this scheme cannot be overstated. India has abysmal rural nutrition parameters, and the bone density is so poor in growing children that figures don’t merit repeating. And unless bones develop boys and girls cannot go on to become footballers of standing. Milk being the most vital ingredient in the bone-nutrition cocktail, the long-term impact of the enhanced mid-day meal scheme merits serious attention and praise. All for a paltry Rs 250 crore, and even if the figure is doubled by fortifying the milk, it is still a great steal.
So it is indeed a surprise that this hasn’t gotten greater attention in the post-budget analysis. But then most analysis tends to remain within the confines of predetermined parameters. The classic ‘missing the wood and trees’ tale.
Rajasthan has one of the best state archives in the country, purely because of the value and volume of the historical documents it holds. But what is more impressive is the pace of digitisation of the records. Despite measly budgets, over the years, the archives have managed to digitise over a crore documents.
This year’s budget announcement has an additional package for the archives so as to increase the pace of digitisation. This would help in making it a research centre of the highest quality, and simultaneously changing the stereotypical perception about Rajasthan. If implemented smartly this fits in perfectly with the Prime Minister’s recent announcement about not simply making in India, but also studying in India.
It will also open the world of native India to the researcher, rather than the typical Mughal-British straightjacket that confines the current narrative. It would open up the world of social sciences to greater research opportunities, and more interpretations.
Manvendra Singh is a BJP MLA from Rajasthan and president of Rajasthan Football Association.