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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY May 28, 1955 Social Welfare Services (Contributed) T H E R E have been develop- ments of considerable signi- ficance in the field of social wel- fare in India in recent years. One is the emergence of a public sector in social welfare work, following increasing participation of the State in that sphere. The other is the growing co-ordination in the acti- vities of the various voluntary social welfare organisations in the country engaged in a specific field of wel- fare work or among different orga- nisations engaged in a number of allied activities, which could be beneficially co-ordinated. These two developments are of immense significance for the coun- try as a whole and, in particular, for the needy or socially defenceless groups in the population for whose benefit the activities are designed. Considered in their proper context, they are the first steps in the direc- tion of a Welfare State, which is the goal of India's Constitution. The provision of social security, in the broadest sense of the term, to all the needy, destitute and socially unprotected sections of the commu- nity is implicit in the concept of a Welfare State, and so is the obli- gation that the incidence of pre- ventIble unemployment, old age, infirmity, physical handicaps and destitution should be made bearable. We are yet far from that ideal; but the first steps have been taken in that direction in the scheme of Employees State Insurance and the various labour welfare laws. Foun- dations have also been laid for social welfare work for the needy and the defenceless and for social services in the shape of education, public health, community services, housing and so on. Social services and social welfare activities of the. magnitude and ex- tent demanded in the conditions obtaining in the country are mani- festly beyond the scope and ability of the purely voluntary organisa- tions to provide, however well- established the latter may be. The All-India Women's Conference, the All-India Adult Education Council, or any similar voluntary organisa- tion could undoubtedly be regarded as agencies competent to initiate programmes or suggest measures for the furtherance of the interests of women or the cause of adult edu- cation. But when the question is one of providing welfare activities and services in the requisite mea- sure for the large number of women who are the victims of social vice or who need maternity services, it is beyond the All-India Women's Conference, for example, to afford either the funds or the personnel for the purpose. Obviously, it is the State or the public sector, which alone can shoulder and discharge this responsibility. The public sec- -or or the organisation which repre- sents it would undoubtedly seek— and is entitled to obtain—the co- operation and the support of volun- tary organisations in implementing the necessary schemes. There is no other method by which the needy sections of the people can be assur- ed of an adequacy of assistance and the requisite efficiency in the admi- nistration of the programmes than through such fruitful co-operation between the public and private sec- tors. That is how social services and welfare activities have develop- ed in a number of other countries- East and West; there is reason to believe that in India too we are walking along the same road to reach the same goal. CO-ORDINATION AMONG PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS It has, nevertheless, been found in India, as in other countries, that while co-ordination could be attain- ed comparatively easily as between the public and the private sectors in social welfare work, particularly at the planning and directional level, it is not so easy to ensure co- ordination among the private orga- nisations which arc engaged in the same line of welfare activity or in different but inter-related activities. Life has become so complex that different kinds of social welfare work cannot be separated in water tight compartments. Organisations functioning, say, in the field of child welfare can render greater and much better service when they act in co-ordination with one another and pool their resources and efforts. If we look at it from the stand- point of the services they can render, there can understandably be no escape from the conclusion that these can be maximised only when they are prepared to work together, though they may not merge their individual identities in the common pool. Progress of social welfare work therefore depends on the sys- tematic promotion of this co-ordi- nation, where possible through mutual agreement among the orga- nisations themselves and where necessary, under the guidance and with the assistance of the State organisation. CENTRAL SOCIAL WELFARE BOARD Voluntary social welfare activity has had a long tradition in India and the number of organisations engaged in it has always been quite considerable. In the course of the past few decades, a number of all- India organisations, interested in one aspect of welfare or concerned with the welfare of one particular section of the population or the other have sprung into existence. There are child welfare organisa- tions, youth welfare organisations, organisations for the welfare of women, organisations interested in the welfare of the physically handi- capped like the blind, the deaf and the mentally handicapped, organisa- tions for rehabilitating delinquent children, community welfare orga- nisations and so on. While this doubtless represents a commendable and welcome development, in a number of cases, the financial re- sources of such organisations are not adequate to enable them to undertake programmes of welfare on any extensive or sustained basis. This deficiency has been sought to be eliminated for the first time through the constitution by the Government of India of the Central Social Welfare Board, in pursuance of a recommendation in the Report of the Planning Commission, and the provision of Rs 4 crores made for the implementation of its assist- ance and co-ordination programmes during the First Five-Year Plan period. The Board's activities have lent point to the concept of social wel- fare in India, invested it with mean- ing and significance, and demon- strated the need for and the poten- tialities of purposeful co-operation between the public and the private sectors in that field. The signifi- cance of the Board's work consists principally in that it has been given to it to infuse life and vigour into a number of voluntary organisations which, starting with highly laudable intentions, have in course of time 633

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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