Increase in AIDS among drug users

There has been a significant increase in the number of HIV-infected transgenders in India as per the UNAIDS Global Aids report 2010. The report also found that the number of HIV-infected female sex workers has been decreasing but more transgenders and drug-abusers are succumbing to the disease.

Dr Charles Gilks, UNAIDS Country Coordinator, emphasised on the importance of looking into this segment at the UNAIDS conference. D.C. Reddy of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said some steps towards deriving more information about the segment is already underway after seeing a significant increase of infected patients in this group. "We are expanding the round of surveillance for transgenders as we have set up two more centres in Mumbai and Delhi."

"As per 2010 statistics, 9.2 % people are infected with the disease through drug usage, 4.9% through sex workers and 7.3% through sexual intercourse between men. Transgenders need more work as we do not have proper information on the statistics. It is the most probable group that tops the list and is at risk," said Gilks. "We are working towards new methods to derive more information about how many people are infected and living with HIV in India in this group. The second group at risk is that of drug addicts," added Gilks. In 2010, WHO issued revised treatment guidelines recommending earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy at a CD4 count of less than 350 cells. This increased the total number of people medically eligible for antiretroviral therapy by roughly 50% — from 10 million to 15 million in 2009. Mariam Claeson, regional programme coordinator, HIV/AIDS South Asia of the World Bank, said this growth can be attributed to all successful interventions working towards spreading awareness about the disease. "All cost-effective interventions have worked well in India such as pure educators, use of condoms, drug reduction encouragement and will work well for transgenders too," said Claeson.

India had coverage of less than 40% eligible adults who were receiving antiretroviral therapy. Dr Charles said the rate of new HIV infections decreased by more than 25% in India in the last decade. "The challenge India will face will be to prioritise prevention when costs are going up," said Claeson. Mihir Mankad, Deputy Country Director, William, J. Clinton Foundation, said funds provided for people living and infected with HIV are insufficient. "There will be shortage of funds globally, and it isn't about subsidy but proper planning," said Mankad.

28 November 2010 — The Sunday Guardian.

Consumer durable players see growth in rural market

Consumer durables companies like Samsung India expect the rural market to contribute 24-25% of their full year sales post Diwali. However, a majority of consumer durables companies in the metros are yet to tap the highly-lucrative rural market after enjoying superb sales during this festive season.

Most players like LG, Haier and Akai, believe that the rural markets have huge potential and they only see it growing from here onwards.

Shanta Roy Sanjeev, Head-Marketing, Haier Appliances India, reckons that they are working out strategies to tap the rural market but currently have no exposure to it. "The rural market remains untapped and we are working towards strategies which will cater to the specifications in this space," said Shanta. For LG, which occupies a majority of consumer durables market, has 5% rural penetration. However, it is going to see it increasing. "Rural market contributes to 15-20% of our total revenue. Currently, LG has 5% penetration in rural market and 34% penetration in urban areas and we plan to further increase its reach to 15% in rural and 40% in urban markets by 2015," said Moon B. Shin, Managing Director, LG India. According to Crisil, a credit rating agency, the consumer durables industry is Rs 25,000 crore in size and growing at 17-18% per annum. However, the rural sector's contribution to the industry could not be ascertained.

Akai India, relatively a new entrant, has a very negligible presence in the rural markets. However, it is also very confident about potential of the rural market. Pranay Dhabhai, Managing Director, Akai India, says, "Indian rural space still emphasises on buying new items during festivals which implies that the market has a lot of potential." He also adds that the over-all rural penetration has been pretty high for the entire consumer durables sector. "It normally changes from product to product. For example, CRT TVs have contributed about 80% of the total sales. And LEDs and LCDs contribute only 20%. Going forward, the rural market will grow for all products considering the market remains untapped." For an early entrant in the market like Samsung, which has been able to get more time to study the rural sector, has found the rural space contributing as much as 25% to their overall sales for the company. Ravinder Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director, Samsung India observes that the rural market seems positive on the growth front and "rural sales should contribute 24-25% of our full year sales in Consumer Electronics."

Shantanu Das Gupta, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Strategy Asia South says that the rural market is hit by food inflation which has affected sales, "If we look at India as divided by income, and not urban and rural, then there are two distinct trends that we are witnessing over the last two or three months. Households with a limited budget have been impacted by food inflation and we are seeing a softening of growth in segments purchased by them, such as low capacity single door refrigerators and semi-automatic machines.

The other half, the relatively wealthier household, continue to buy as usual. Hence, we have seen a slowdown of growth in the mass segments - driven, we believe, by food inflation - while the premium segments continue to thrive."


21 November — The Sunday Guardian.

Workers want regular NDMC muster roll

A union of 6,500 workers is protesting against the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for not regularising their jobs. A majority of them are enrolled in the temporary muster roll (TMT) and want to be on the regular muster roll (RMR). Under the TMR, they are given jobs for four to six months, but under the RMR, they are employed throughout the year. A regular position under the RMR assures them of jobs at construction sites, and as drivers and peons, among others.

Some of the workers have been protesting from as far back as 1989. Sunil Kumar, who works at construction sites, said, "I have been protesting for the past 15 years. For six months I work and for the next six months I have nothing to do. How can they deny us what we deserve? We are devoid of all benefits. This is dirty politics. We worked for 15 hours a day during the Commonwealth Games hoping that our demands would be fulfilled. But Diwali is here and we have no work, which means no money. If they do not meet our demands within a week we will protest outside the NDMC chairman's house."

Another worker, Mukesh, who has been protesting for the last seven years, alleged that some workers had been given regular positions internally. "We get Rs 203 a day and on Sundays, we get nothing even if we work long hours. We are scared to raise our voice because this is our only source of income and we don't have any security. "What if they remove us?" he asked. Sachin, a driver of taxis for NDMC, said it was the same story every year. "The authorities make false promises and persuade us to work for some time. I am not asking for a permanent position but a regular one so that my job is secure," said Sachin.

Anand Tiwari, public relations officer with NDMC, declined to comment on the matter, but said, "A committee was formed last month to look into the matter. We are waiting for the findings, which are expected soon."

7 November 2010 — The Sunday Guardian.

Determined NGO helps end scourge of scavenging

Safai Karmachari Andolan, an organisation working to abolish manual scavenging from India, may actually succeed in eradicating the practice by 31 December this year. The SKA has already put an end to manual scavenging in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana by demolishing "dry latrines", the old-style non-flush toilets. The SKA wants the 1993 court order declaring manual scavenging "unlawful" to be implemented. Accordingly, it has filed a plea in the Supreme Court, where the matter will come up for hearing in the first week of November.

Since 30 September, the SKA has started bus yatras across 20 states to force the Governments there to make manual scavengers leave the illegal profession. The yatras will culminate in Delhi on 31 October. Bezwada Wilson, who initiated the movement, says that manual scavenging still exists in some states: "It is most prevalent in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. But Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are some of the states that have agreed to abolish it."

The SKA is also carrying out an all-India survey to build a database of the people who are still in the profession so that they can be persuaded to leave and be rehabilitated. The SKA wants to take the help of the women who have left the profession to fulfil its goal. "When I initiated this drive, people were ashamed to talk about it. But now they recognise the importance of protesting. The women have started protesting and shouting slogans like 'We are not dirty'," said Wilson. He adds that it is strange that most people are not even aware that manual scavenging is illegal. "What is important is that the Government considers the first step. We are not expecting too much to happen. People do not appreciate these karmacharis' work and look down upon them. This has to change."

The demands made by the SKA include an official apology from the Indian Government for violating the human dignity and rights of safai karmacharis, a rehabilitation package that includes an immediate relief of Rs 10,000, a minimum of Rs 5 lakh, five acres of fertile land, special pension for single women workers, pension for the aged workers, free education for children and job-oriented technical education for the youth.

"On 1 November we have a culmination meeting where we will talk with the Government about our demands," said Wilson.

31 October — The Sunday Guardian

Workers’ body unhappy with NMIZ policy

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has submitted a protest memorandum to the Ministry of Commerce and Labour to oppose the creation of National Manufacturing and Investment Zones. The NMIZ is an initiative by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to push the share of the manufacturing sector in the GDP.

Miffed members of the organisation, which fights for the rights of workers, say that the NMIZ policy takes away their Constitutional right to form trade unions. The BMS members are also opposing the hire-and-fire policy and the non-applicability of Contract Labour Abolition Act in these special zones.

"Such policies of hire and fire cannot be accepted. We want to remove poverty and unemployment through developmental plans and programmes," said Baij Nath Rai, all India general secretary of the BMS.

However, ministry officials say that NMIZ is a positive step toward strengthening the economy.

"The proposed policy will help achieve higher GDP by exempting labour laws and prohibiting formation of trade unions in the zones," said an official from the ministry. Officials say that the idea behind the policy is to initiate flexible labour laws, while providing excellent infrastructure and easier environment norms to the manufacturing sector.

"This will help in increasing the share of the manufacturing sector in the GDP from the current level of 16-17% to 25% by 2022," the official added.

Published on 1 May 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.

The HUL-P&G war: Who’s tiding over whom?

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Procter & Gamble (P&G) India have been washing each other’s dirty linen in public for quite some time now. But, as the dust settles down in this no-holds-barred clash between the two multinationals, some interesting facts are emerging out of the whole imbroglio.

According to informed sources in the advertising industry—who spoke to Moneylife on conditions of anonymity—HUL had been pulled up by the Madras High Court for using an off-white shirt for P&G’s Tide detergent and a brand new white shirt for its own Rin detergent, when the commercial was filmed to ‘judge’ the comparative whitening qualities of both detergents.

HUL has withdrawn the commercial, but the reasons for the same were not publicly known till now. Our sources said that if this ad had been aired with two similar shirts which were either off-white or white, the advertisement would have been justified. Plus, if HUL had backed the advertisement with laboratory data and certification that Rin is a product of superior quality, it could have been accepted by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) as per its standards and code of conduct.

P&G refused to speak on this issue, saying that it does not “comment on its competitor’s strategy.” On the other hand, the HUL spokesperson said that the final court orders are still pending and will be announced in a day or two. In its defence, HUL said that these claims are “quite mischievous in nature” as the court had enquired about the difference in the greyness rather than the colour of the two shirts used in the commercial.

After the Madras High Court passed an order directing HUL to stop airing its ad, the multinational decided to move court again, on P&G’s advertisement which had scenes which seemed to suggest that ‘Tide Natural’ contains “natural sandalwood and lemon.”

In an interim order, the High Court asked P&G to remove those scenes. The Court had also asked P&G to carry a disclaimer saying that Tide Natural “does not contain lemon and sandalwood” throughout the commercial and these modifications were supposed to be implemented by 3 May 2010.

Industry sources claim that P&G is pleased with the order, since the High Court did not agree to HUL’s request for modifying the brand name or packaging of Tide Natural.

P&G told Moneylife, “We have never tried to communicate in our Tide Natural advertising that our product contains lemon and chandan (sandalwood). Our packaging continues to say ‘The freshness of lemon and chandan’, which we do have in the product through the fragrance of lemon and chandan. Usage of terms like these is industry practice and P&G is not drifting (away) from the norm. The Madras High Court believes that a few frames in our TV commercial misrepresent the presence of these ingredients and therefore need to be dropped from the commercial. We respect the court order and will fully comply with the actions and modifications requested of us.”

Interestingly, a decade ago, Unilever also faced flak for its Rin ad which claimed ‘nimbu shakti’ (lime power) when it had no lime, but only the fragrance of lime. Unfortunately, these companies manage to hoodwink customers because the law gives them a lot of leeway in making such claims that may be legal—but not quite ethical.


This appeared on Moneylife's website on 3 May 2010.

Talent crunch hampers international growth of the Indian animation industry

Hollywood is increasingly knocking at the doors of Indian animation studios, but the industry is suffering from high tax rates, dearth of talent and lack of international focus

Indian animation studios are doing a lot of work for Hollywood productions. But why is the Indian animation industry not making any kind of a mark on the international front? Despite great opportunities at hand, the industry continues to remain the back-office of the world as far as animation is concerned.

In India, although several animated films were to be released in 2009, they didn’t make it to the screens because of limited screen space and lowered risk appetite of production studios. Pre- and post-production animation work is mostly driven out of US and Europe, but the script-to-screen journey with a ‘Made in India’ stamp may just take a little longer.

P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Animation India, spoke on some bottlenecks which are hampering the growth of the industry. He told Moneylife, “Primarily, the domestic market is a growing one and as such is not established. There is apprehension about how people would take to a particular animated movie, which deters investors. Secondly, lack of skilled animation professionals impacts quality in-house productions. Animation institutions currently produce software professionals who can use the tools of animation, but are not creatively-inclined individuals who understand the nuances of animation from script-to-screen (production).”

Jehil Thakkar, executive director, media and entertainment, KPMG echoed the same views, “We are not equipped to make an end-to-end product. We won’t be able to make another Toy Story.”

Apparently, outdated animation content is literally dumped on Indian networks as there are no potential buyers for domestic content in India. Mr Jayakumar added, “As a growing industry and in the backdrop of a growing market, the emphasis is on producing movies that base themselves on familiar themes—and mythology is an area where the focus is. This may not suit the international market where a general theme may work well.”

The government is doing its bit, but taxation is also killing the industry. The ministry of information and broadcasting is looking at making it mandatory for all children’s channels to telecast local animated movies on a daily basis during specific slots.

However, the entertainment tax rate—which is different from state to state—varies from 20% to 40%. If you look at Asia, entertainment tax is almost 3% in Japan and Singapore; 7% in Thailand and zero in Hong Kong.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has requested the government for an exemption of entertainment tax on all animation feature films and movies meant for children. Mr Thakkar explained, “I think the waiver is warranted to improve this industry. This will surely help in raising the standards (of the animation industry) across all media platforms.”

The animation and visual effects segment of the entertainment industry registered a growth of 13.6% in 2009 and is expected to grow at a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 18.7% in the years to come to attain Rs4,660 crore by 2014.

Most of the business will depend on outsourced work and co-production deals. But the fact remains that US studios are falling back on Indian talent. According to media reports, companies like Fox, Walt Disney and Warner Bros are using domestic talent to produce Indian-language films. India sold more than 3.2 billion movie tickets in 2009, which amounts to more than double that of the box-office sales in the US and Canada combined, in terms of number of tickets sold. Mr Jayakumar added, “To sum up, I think it’s not too far when we will see Indian studios churning out animated content for the international market.”

This appeared on Moneylife's website on 19 May 2010.