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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY May 28, 1955

Social Welfare Services (Contributed)

TH E R E have been deve lop­ments of considerable s ign i ­

f i cance i n the f i e l d o f social w e l ­f a re i n I n d i a i n recent years. O n e is t he emergence of a p u b l i c sector i n social we l f a re w o r k , f o l l o w i n g increas ing p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f the State in t h a t sphere. T h e o the r i s the g r o w i n g co -o rd i na t i on i n the ac t i ­v i t ies o f the var ious v o l u n t a r y social we l f a re organisat ions i n the c o u n t r y engaged in a specif ic f ie ld of w e l ­fa re w o r k o r a m o n g d i f f e ren t o rga ­nisat ions engaged in a n u m b e r of a l l i ed act iv i t ies , w h i c h c o u l d be benef ic ia l ly co -o rd ina ted .

These t w o deve lopments are o f immense s igni f icance f o r the c o u n ­t r y as a who le a n d , in p a r t i c u l a r , f o r the needy or social ly defenceless groups i n the p o p u l a t i o n f o r whose benef i t the act iv i t ies are designed. Cons idered i n t he i r p rope r con tex t , they are the f i rs t steps in the d i rec­t i o n of a W e l f a r e Sta te , w h i c h is the goal o f I nd ia ' s C o n s t i t u t i o n . T h e p rov is ion o f social secur i ty , i n t he broadest sense o f t he t e r m , to a l l the needy, dest i tu te a n d social ly u n p r o t e c t e d sections o f t h e c o m m u ­n i t y is i m p l i c i t in the concept of a W e l f a r e State, a n d so is t he o b l i ­g a t i o n t h a t the inc idence o f p r e ­vent Ib le u n e m p l o y m e n t , o l d age, i n f i r m i t y , phys ica l hand icaps a n d des t i t u t i on shou ld be m a d e bearab le . We are yet f a r f r o m tha t i d e a l ; b u t the f i rs t steps have been t a k e n in t h a t d i r ec t i on i n the scheme o f Employees State Insurance a n d t he var ious l abou r we l f a re laws. F o u n ­dat ions have also been l a i d f o r social we l fa re w o r k f o r the needy a n d the defenceless a n d f o r social services in the shape o f educa t i on , p u b l i c h e a l t h , c o m m u n i t y services, hous ing a n d so o n .

Socia l services a n d social we l fa re act iv i t ies o f the. m a g n i t u d e a n d ex­ten t d e m a n d e d i n the cond i t ions o b t a i n i n g i n the c o u n t r y are m a n i ­fest ly beyond t h e scope a n d ab i l i t y o f the p u r e l y v o l u n t a r y organ isa­t ions t o p r o v i d e , h o w e v e r w e l l -establ ished the la t te r m a y be. T h e A l l - I n d i a W o m e n ' s Con fe rence , the A l l - I n d i a A d u l t E d u c a t i o n C o u n c i l , o r any s im i la r v o l u n t a r y organ isa­t i o n cou ld u n d o u b t e d l y b e regarded as agencies compe ten t to i n i t i a te p r o g r a m m e s or suggest measures f o r t h e f u r t he rance o f the interests o f w o m e n o r t he cause o f a d u l t e d u -c a t i o n . B u t w h e n the quest ion i s

one o f p r o v i d i n g we l fa re act iv i t ies a n d services in the requis i te m e a ­sure fo r the large n u m b e r o f w o m e n w h o are the v ic t ims of social v ice o r w h o need ma te rn i t y services, i t i s beyond the A l l - I n d i a W o m e n ' s Conference, for example , to a f f o rd e i ther the funds or the personnel f o r the purpose. Obv ious ly , i t is the State or the pub l i c sector, w h i c h a lone can shoulder a n d discharge th is responsibi l i ty. T h e pub l i c sec­­or or the organ isat ion w h i c h repre­sents i t w o u l d undoub ted l y seek— a n d is en t i t l ed to o b t a i n — t h e co­ope ra t i on a n d the suppor t o f v o l u n ­ta ry organisat ions in i m p l e m e n t i n g the necessary schemes. The re is no o the r m e t h o d by w h i c h the needy sections of the people can be assur­ed of an adequacy of assistance and the requis i te eff iciency in the a d m i ­n i s t ra t i on o f the p rogrammes t h a n t h r o u g h such f r u i t f u l co-opera t ion between the pub l i c a n d p r i va te sec­tors. T h a t is h o w social services a n d we l fa re act iv i t ies have develop­ed in a n u m b e r o f o ther c o u n t r i e s -East a n d W e s t ; there is reason to bel ieve t h a t in I n d i a too we are w a l k i n g a l ong the same road to reach the same goal .

CO-ORDINATION AMONG PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS

I t has, nevertheless, been f o u n d in I n d i a , as in o ther countr ies, t ha t w h i l e co -o rd ina t i on cou ld be a t t a i n ­ed compara t i ve l y easily as between the pub l i c a n d the p r i va te sectors i n social wel fare w o r k , pa r t i cu la r l y a t the p l a n n i n g a n d d i rec t i ona l leve l , i t is no t so easy to ensure co­o r d i n a t i o n a m o n g the p r i va te orga­nisat ions w h i c h arc engaged in the same l ine o f we l fa re ac t iv i t y o r in d i f fe ren t b u t in te r - re la ted act iv i t ies. L i f e has become so comp lex tha t d i f fe ren t k inds of social we l fa re w o r k canno t be separated in wa te r t i gh t compar tmen ts . Organisat ions f u n c t i o n i n g , say, in the f ie ld o f c h i l d we l fa re can render greater a n d m u c h bet ter service w h e n they act i n co -o rd ina t i on w i t h one another a n d poo l the i r resources a n d efforts. I f w e look a t i t f r o m the s tand­p o i n t o f t he services they can render , there can unders tandab ly be no escape f r o m the conclus ion tha t these can be m a x i m i s e d on ly w h e n they are p repa red to w o r k together , t h o u g h they m a y no t merge the i r i n d i v i d u a l ident i t ies i n the c o m m o n poo l . Progress o f social we l f a re

w o r k therefore depends on the sys­temat i c p r o m o t i o n o f this co -o rd i ­n a t i o n , whe re possible t h r o u g h m u t u a l agreement a m o n g the o rga­nisat ions themselves a n d where necessary, u n d e r the gu idance a n d w i t h the assistance of the State o rgan isa t ion .

CENTRAL SOCIAL WELFARE BOARD

V o l u n t a r y social we l fa re ac t iv i t y has h a d a l o n g t r a d i t i o n in I n d i a a n d the n u m b e r o f organisat ions engaged in i t has a lways been qu i t e considerable. In the course o f the past f ew decades, a n u m b e r of a l l -I n d i a organisat ions, in terested i n one aspect o f we l fa re or concerned w i t h the we l fa re o f one p a r t i c u l a r section o f the p o p u l a t i o n or the o ther have sprung i n t o existence. T h e r e are ch i l d we l fa re organisa­t ions, y o u t h we l fa re organisat ions, organisat ions f o r the we l fa re o f w o m e n , organisat ions interested in the we l fa re o f the phys ica l ly h a n d i ­capped l i ke the b l i n d , the deaf a n d the men ta l l y h a n d i c a p p e d , organisa­t ions fo r r ehab i l i t a t i ng de l i nquen t c h i l d r e n , c o m m u n i t y we l fa re orga­nisat ions a n d so o n . W h i l e this doubtless represents a commendab le a n d we lcome deve lopment , in a n u m b e r of cases, the f inanc ia l re­sources of such organisat ions are n o t adequate to enable them to unde r take p rogrammes o f we l fa re on any extensive or sustained basis. T h i s def ic iency has been sought to be e l im ina ted for the f i rs t t i m e t h r o u g h the cons t i tu t ion by the G o v e r n m e n t o f I n d i a o f the C e n t r a l Social We l f a re Boa rd , in pursuance of a recommenda t i on in the R e p o r t o f the P lann ing Commiss ion , a n d the prov is ion of Rs 4 crores m a d e f o r the imp lemen ta t i on of i ts assist­ance a n d co -o rd ina t ion p rog rammes d u r i n g the F i rs t F i ve -Yea r P l a n pe r iod .

T h e Board's act iv i t ies have lent po in t to the concept o f social w e l ­fare i n I n d i a , invested i t w i t h m e a n ­i n g a n d s igni f icance, a n d d e m o n ­st ra ted the need f o r a n d t he po ten ­t ia l i t ies o f pu rpose fu l co -opera t ion between the p u b l i c a n d the p r i va te sectors i n t h a t f i e l d . T h e s ign i f i ­cance of the Board 's w o r k consists p r i n c i p a l l y in t h a t i t has been g i v e n t o i t t o in fuse l i f e a n d v i g o u r i n t o a n u m b e r o f v o l u n t a r y organ isa t ions w h i c h , s ta r t i ng w i t h h i g h l y l a u d a b l e i n ten t ions , have i n course o f t ime

633

begun t o decay due t o f i n a n c i a l d i f f icul t ies a n d become comple te ly o r p a r t i a l l y defunct . F i n a n c i a l assistance has been g i v e n to 1,700 such organisat ions, m a n y o f w h i c h are s i tua ted i n u r b a n centres, t o resuscitate themselves a n d to e x t e n d t h e i r scope of usefulness. These organisat ions , represent ing t h e p r i ­vate sector in social wel fa re , m a y n o t in a l l cases have responded to the effor t t o in jec t l i fe i n t o t h e m ; b u t , by a n d large a vast p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e m , so far g iven grants to the ex ten t of Rs 35 lakhs, have been he lped to ex tend t h e i r social service ac t iv i t i e s i n t h e i r respective f i e l d s a n d to t ha t extent , have re l ieved distress a n d p r o v i d e d re l ief to a n u m b e r of needy persons.

SAFEGUARDS AGAINST ABUSE

T h a t i s an aspect of the w o r k o f the C e n t r a l Boa rd , the s igni­f i cance o f w h i c h can be p r o p e r l y eva lua ted on ly in course o f t i m e . I f the v o l u n t a r y wel fa re organisa­t ions w h i c h have received grants u t i l i ze the money to the best advan ­tage, i t w i l l have a u t o m a t i c a l l y aug­m e n t e d the sum- to t a l o f the re­sources ava i lab le in this vast coun­t r y f o r social wel fare w o r k a n d rel ief of distress. T h e r e is, i ndeed , need f o r v ig i lance against the grants be ing bad ly u t i l i sed o r r e m a i n i n g unu t i l i s ed . T h e C e n t r a l Board ' s inspectorate system a n d the super­v is ion o f the w o r k o f a ided i n s t i t u ­t ions by the State Wel fa re Boards are a safeguard against such mis ­spend ing or waste of p u b l i c funds.

T h a t c o - o r d i n a t i o n i n the p r o v i ­sion of re l ief a n d assistance to the social ly d o w n a n d ou t sections i n the r u r a l as w e l l as u r b a n areas is a n essential i ng red i en t i n p r o d u c i n g satisfactory results is n o w accepted. W h i l e i t i s a t t a i n e d a t the po l i cy ­m a k i n g a n d d i r e c t i o n a l level a t the centre by the C e n t r a l Social W e l ­fare B o a r d , i t is ach ieved at the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d execut ion level by the State Social Wel fa re A d v i ­sory Boards set up in the var ious states a n d by the i r subordinate bodies. I t i s no longer so m u c h p r i v a t e c h a r i t y o r endowments , hedged i n w i t h cond i t ions o n the u t i l i s a t i o n o f funds p r o v i d e d tha t sustain v o l u n t a r y wel fa re organisa­t ions as state grants a n d assistance f r o m p u b l i c revenues. H e n c e co­o r d i n a t i o n is a l l the m o r e necessary. Ex t ravagance o n t he one h a n d o r d i s s ipa t ion of resources over a w i d e l y scattered f i e ld on the o ther c a n n o w be avo ided by , say, c h i l d we l f a re organisat ions in a p a r t i c u l a r a rea o r ch i ld we l fa re and women ' s

welfare organisa t ion in ano ther area, c o m i n g together f i r s t t o p o o l a n d t h e n to share the i r funds a n d the personnel they employ i n t h e i r i n s t i ­tu t ions for the c o m m o n good .

WELFARE EXTENSION

In the r u r a l areas, where the wel fare services are few a n d f a r between, the Cen t ra l Social W e l f a t e B o a r d as is w e l l - k n o w n has i n t r o ­duced a scheme for welfare exten­sion projects—one in each d i s t r i c t i n the coun t ry , t o t a l l i n g 352 p r o ­jec t s—cover ing more t h a n 35,000 villages in the First Plan pe r iod . T h e welfare extension projects do no t dup l i ca t e the w o r k in the n a t i o n a l extension service blocks or the c o m m u n i t y development blocks, in w h i c h the accent i s m a i n l y on food p r o d u c t i o n , ag r i cu l t u r a l deve­l o p m e n t , a n d economic develop­men t . T h e y concern themselves a t present w i t h p rov i s i on o f welfare services for w o m e n , c h i l d r e n a n d the hand icapped , w h i c h do not t r ench on the j u r i sd i c t i on of the n a t i o n a l extension service blocks. There is, however , the hope tha t ,

as the area covered by the N E S expands a n d as, s imultaneously, the area under the welfare extension projects also expands, as it is ex­pec ted to do d u r i n g the Second P l a n pe r iod , the t w o schemes w i l l become increasingly complementa ry to each other , despite the d i f ferent auspices under w h i c h they w i l l f u n c t i o n . To the extent tha t the programmes under the two schemes are iden t ica l in some respects—such as in the provis ion of m a t e r n i t y or c h i l d welfare services d u p l i c a t i o n and over lapp ing can be avo ided by ea rmark ing a specified n u m b e r of projects for the ope ra t ion of the programmes of each organisa t ion .

T h e t w o pr inc ip les o f co -o rd ina ­t i o n of the activit ies of v o l u n t a r y organisations as w e l l as u t i l i s a t ion of the agency of the p r i v a t e sector in the social wel fa re f i e l d are clear ly evident in the execu t ion of the w e l ­fare extension projects . I n the p r o ­ject i m p l e m e n t i n g commit tees a t the dis t r ic t level , a l l — o r a lmost a l l — t h e p r iva te welfare organisat ions operat­i n g in the f ie lds of women 's or chi ldren 's wel fa re are general ly represented a n d f u n c t i o n in a co­o r d i n a t e d m a n n e r i n f o r m u l a t i n g w o r k p rogrammes and imp lemen t ­i n g them. I n the State Wel fa re Boards themselves, representatives of the State Governments sit side by side w i t h p r iva t e welfare workers unde r non-of f ic ia l c h a i r m e n a p p o i n t ­ed by the C e n t r a l B o a r d i n consul­t a t i o n w i t h t h e d i f f e ren t State G o v ­

ernments. T h e State Boards screen the ins t i tu t ions w i t h i n the i r respec­t ive areas for the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the C e n t r a l Board's grants a n d f o r m u ­late the over -a l l p rogrammes of w o r k i n the welfare extension p ro ­jects , for spending the Rs 25,000 g r a n t made by the. Cent re to each one of the projects for the Firs t P l an p e r i o d .

GRANT MAKING BODY

I t w i l l be seen tha t the func t i on o f the C e n t r a l B o a r d , representing the p u b l i c sector in social welfare is present ly m o r e or less restr icted to the m a k i n g of grants to p r i va t e o r v o l u n t a r y organisat ions, g i v i n g direct ions to the State Governments or State Boards, d r a w i n g up of the over -a l l p l a n of schemes of wel fare , a r r ang ing for the t r a i n i n g o f per­sonnel l ike the grama sevaks or vi l lage level workers a n d m a t e r n i t y assistants a n d o the r hea l t h person­nel fo r e m p l o y m e n t i n the p r o j e c t centres, and inspect ion a n d a u d i t i n g of the accounts of the v o l u n t a r y organisations accorded a i d . I t i s also d i rec t ly h a n d l i n g the f a m i l y wel fa re p rog rammes w h i c h a t the m o m e n t is l i m i t e d to the establish­men t of a m a t c h fac tory on a fac-torv-cum-cot tage indus t ry basis in D e l h i .

I t is, however , inhe ren t in the scheme of a i d i n g v o l u n t a r y o r g a n i ­sations t h a t , whenever any p a r t i ­cu la r service p r o v i d e d by these develops i n t o such a m a g n i t u d e a n d size, tha t it canno t be effectively executed by such organisations, i t w i l l be taken over by the State agency to be executed d i rec t ly by itself or t h r o u g h a non-off ic ia l agency competent to carry i t ou t i f financially a ided by the State. A comprehensive scheme for the p r o ­v i s ion of after-care and co r rec t iona l services for a number of needy groups w h i c h the C e n t r a l B o a r d has approved for i m p l e m e n t a t i o n dur ­i n g the Second P l an pe r iod is thus proposed to be p u t t h r o u g h in co­opera t ion w i t h v o l u n t a r y agencies.

T h o u g h the most i m p o r t a n t i n that f ie ld , the C e n t r a l B o a r d is no t the only State agency w h i c h p r o ­vides for social welfare services. A n u m b e r of such services are either d i rec t ly sponsored or a ided by the C e n t r a l M i n i s t r i e s o f E d u c a t i o n , H e a l t h , H o m e Af fa i r s , L a b o u r and R e h a b i l i t a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y fo r the wel fare of the y o u t h , in the sphere o f f a m i l y welfare a n d f a m i l y p l a n ­n i n g , for i n d u s t r i a l workers i n mines , Scheduled Tr ibes a n d Castes a n d for d i sp laced persons. T h e area o f

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY May 28, 1955

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May 28, 1955 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

an t p a r t ; i t is also a f ie ld f o r w h i c h the vast reservoir o f p r i va te f u n d s a n d v o l u n t a r y ef for ts c o u l d be t a p ­ped to the m a x i m u m possible ex­tent . A n increasingly f r u i t f u l p a r t ­nersh ip between the p u b l i c a n d the p r i v a t e sectors shou ld be deve loped in this sphere, a n d i t i s to be h o p e d t h a t tha t i s the d i r ec t i on in w h i c h th ings are in fac t m o v i n g .

T h e r e is a g r o w i n g m o v e m e n t , sponsored by the I n d i a n Confe rence of Socia l W o r k , to secure the estab­l i shment o f Socia l W e l f a r e M i n i s ­tries a n d depar tmen ts in the C e n t r e a n d i n the var ious states, w h i c h has borne f r u i t to the ex tent t h a t i n three states, Depa r tmen ts o f Socia l W e l f a r e have been cons t i tu t ­ed. F u r t h e r deve lopments a l o n g this l ine in o ther states shou ld be we l comed as a concession to the demands of the t imes a n d as rep re ­sent ing the en la rgement o f the p r i n ­ciples of extension of the scope of we l fa re services, f r u i t f u l co -o rd i na ­t i o n between the State agency a n d v o l u n t a r y we l fa re agencies a n d as a f f o rd i ng greater scope for p r i va te a n d v o l u n t a r y ef for t t o enter t he f ie ld o f social service w i t h t he

assurance t h a t i t can d r a w o n t h e f i nanc ia l assistance o f t h e G o v e r n -m e n t or a G o v e r n m e n t sponsored o rgan isa t ion f o r t he i r p rog rammes . T h i s postulates t h a t substant ia l l y la rger app rop r i a t i ons shou ld be m a d e i n the Second P l a n pe r i od f o r these services.

S m o o t h c o - o r d i n a t i o n be tween the pub l i c a n d the p r i va te sectors i n the f ie ld of i ndus t r y is yet to be a t t a i ned . T h e g r o w i n g i m p o r t a n c e o f the pub l i c sector i n i ndus t r y , however , is n o t regarded by a l l as a h a p p y a u g u r y p r o m i s i n g h a r m o n i ­ous re lat ions between the t w o . Fo r t una te l y , c o - o r d i n a t i o n be tween the t w o sectors i n the f i e ld o f w e l ­fa re w o r k does no t g ive rise to such conf l ic ts , i t can be a n d is be ing pu rsued w i t h the prospect o f ex tended responsibi l i t ies d e v o l v i n g on the pub l i c sector in course o f t i m e . Nevertheless a t no foresee­able t ime in the near f u t u r e is there any prospect of the p r i va te sector be ing e l i m i n a t e d f r o m the p i c t u re i n the social we l fa re f i e l d ; r a t he r i t is possible to visualise the c o n t i n u e d occupa t i on by i t o f an h o n o u r e d a n d honourab le place.

B N Ganguli

these var ious services is vast a n d con t inuous ly g r o w i n g , even as the C e n t r a l Board 's f ie ld o f w o r k i s g r o w i n g , thereby revea l ing the great leeway t h a t has to be made up before I n d i a can deve lop a sizeable wel fare service. These wel fare ser­vices represent in the i r cumu la t i ve effect the c o n t r i b u t i o n w h i c h the pub l i c sector i s m a k i n g a n d w i l l con t i nue to make to social we l fa re w o r k a n d i nva r i ab l y they arc p u t t h r o u g h w i t h , wherever possible, the co -opera t ion o f v o l u n t a r y o rga ­nisat ions. I t is a two -way t ra f f ic , a n d i t postulates a readiness on the p a r t o f vo l un ta r y agencies to ex tend the i r co-opera t ion to t he State agency.

T h e f ie ld for social we l fa re w o r k in I n d i a i s vast, w h a t w i t h the large n u m b e r of people whose p rob lems ca l l fo r the demons t ra t i on o f h u m a n sympathy and e x h i b i t i o n o f an unders tand ing o f h u m a n needs, pa r t i cu la r l y of those sections of the p o p u l a t i o n , w h o have r e m a i n e d so f a r unblessed by the benefits of educat ion or o f hea l thy l i f e . I t i s a f ie ld in w h i c h the State agency should p lay an increasingly i m p o r t -

T H E first plenary session of the ten-nat ion conference of

the Asian members of the Co lombo Plan Consul tat ive C o m m i t t e e wh ich recently met at Simla gave top p r i -or i ty to a discussion of the ut i l iza­t ion of the $200 m i l l i on Asian Development F u n d allocated by the US Congress for the development of intra-regional trade and sett ing up of machinery to provide credit to enable Asian countries to t ide over short-term balance of payments dif f icult ies.

Th is new variant of Amer ican economic aid deserves more careful examinat ion than it has received so far. It is based on the recogni t ion of the fact that economic aid re­ceived on a bilateral basis is no t enough. Secondly, it is fe l t that emphasis on regional needs and in ­terests wou ld tend to counteract bickerings and misunderstandings sometimes generated by d iscr iminat­ing Amer ican aid. Th i rd ly , the re­gional approach emphasises the need for inter-regional economic co-ope­rat ion w h i c h is conducive to intra-regional trade and to stable and peaceful economic relations. F ina l ­ly , such an approach puts foreign aid in proper perspective as an aid to

economic development and not as the basis of economic development . I t may be pointed ou t that these basic pr inciples are in accord w i t h what may be called the C o l o m b o Plan approach. President Eisen­hower's special f und operat ing t h rough , o r in con junc t ion w i t h , t he C o l o m b o Plan agency is, therefore, calculated to pu t external aid to Asia on a new and more effective foo t ing .

W h a t broad purposes is the special F u n d l ikely to serve? T h e purposes ment ioned in this context are:

(1) Deve lopment of intra-re­gional trade, and

(2) Provision of credit to enable Asian countr ies to t ide over short-term balance of payments d i f f i ­cult ies.

Asian economies are said to be compet i t ive , and no t complemen­tary, economies and, therefore, t h e scope for intra-regional trade is natural ly smal l . Bu t the extent o f diversity of p roduct ion wh i ch already exists and wh i ch can f o r m the basis of a large vo lume of intra-regional trade should no t be underest imated. Before the war South-East Asia had a large vo lume of intra-regional trade in t ropical products, par t icu lar ly

rice and f ish, the total value of wh i ch was est imated at $400 m i l ­l i on . There has been a certain degree of pr imary industr ia l deve­lopment in this region over the years. Some countries have also developed thei r secondary industr ies. Bu t there is no reason why intra-regional trade should not develop wh i le South-East Asian countr ies are passing through a process of con­current economic development . In fact there is every reason why it should be possible to ut i l ise the pro­ceeds of foreign loans or foreign eco­nomic aid for the purpose of s t imu­la t ing sales and purchases, w i t h i n the Asian region, of essential l igh t capital goods, consumer goods and foodstuffs wh i ch Asian countr ies wou ld need in order to develop the i r economies w i t hou t in ternal inf la­tionary- pressures and serious balance of payments dif f icult ies.

Clearly President Eisenhower's special F u n d is no t meant fo r f inanc­ing economic development in Asian countr ies and thereby raising the vo lume of intra-regional trade to a h igh level. W h a t i t seeks to achieve is to provide credit by means of wh i ch p r imary p roduc ing countr ies o f Asia w i l l be ab le to meet the i r

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The Simla Conference of Asian Nations

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