Brazil: A model for curbing malnutrition

A 2016 essay, titled Nutrition and Equality: Brazil’s success in reducing stunting among the poorest, written by Meagan Keefe, attributes the massive advances in the status of child health and nutrition to the rapid progress in health care and economic development in Brazil. This extended to the reduction in poverty, improving nutrition and food security and reducing socio-economic inequalities in malnutrition via a multi-sectoral approach that included targeted income redistribution as well as social protection in the form of universal access to health, education and sanitation services.
 
Brazil’s programs and policies led to dramatic reductions in child stunting levels by about 80% and related socio-economic and geographical inequalities across the country. Other domains of intervention included: family purchasing power, water supply and sanitation, maternal schooling and maternal/child health. The single most crucial factor that led to a decline in child undernutrition was the transformation in women’s education between 1996 and 2007.
 

 
Brazil initiated its national food security policy framework (Fome Zero or Zero Hunger) in 2003 that integrated socio-economic policies to combat poverty and hunger. In 2004, the consolidation of the largest cash transfer program for nutrition and health in the world led to the creation of a broad social protection program called BolsaFamilia, encompassing 54 different initiatives and programmes within the country’s strategy for food security.
 
Through the National School Feeding Program and the Food Acquisition Program, Brazil successfully linked the supply from the small-holder farmers to the demand from food-based social protection programs. This led to an increase in their minimum wages, purchasing power, food and nutritional security as well as expansion in agricultural production, rural incomes, farmer credit and agricultural input procurement programs.
 
In 2009, the government integrated investments in school meals with smallholder agricultural policies to strengthen those and improve the attendance and performance in schools.The redefinition of its National Program for the Strengthening of Family Farms (PRONAF) led to an improvement in production through technical assistance, increased credit access, marketing support and infrastructure to boost the quantity and quality of food produced.
 
The National Program for the Promotion of Breastfeeding was established in 1981 to sensitize decision makers and the general public via advocacy campaigns, about the relationship between optimal breastfeeding and maternal and child health, while also training health workers about lactation and engagement of civil society organizations, such as the International Baby Food Action Network to increase community awareness.
 
A universal tax-funded national health service was established in 1988 as a result of a civil society campaign that demanded health reforms in the 1980s. This led to a radical decentralization process that allowed for greater participation of relevant stakeholders in the decision-making processes. Each level of the government extended support for the implementation of the national health policy. This led to a significant increase in the coverage of prenatal and vaccination care as well as investments in human resources and technology across the country.
 
Brazil’s food security framework was transformed between 1996 and 2006 with institutional structures designed to facilitate the realization of the human right to adequate food. In the 1990s, the country’s civil society proactively brought food and nutrition security to the national agenda as well as the design and implementation of the national nutrition policies. The Food Security and Nutrition Law strengthened Brazil’s legal framework for food security and nutrition, institutionalized this cooperation in 2010 by establishing institutions to facilitate collaboration among ministries and within the different levels of government. The programs were funded in such a manner that it facilitated inter-sectoral cooperation at the local level.
 
The membership of the highly institutionalized National Food and Nutrition Security Council (CONSEA) consisted of the civil society and the government. With its own formal structure, legal standing and budget allocation, it provided a mechanism for the involvement of the civil society in policy processes, especially vis-à-vis the implementation of an information system (including 50 indicators across 6 food security dimensions i.e. food availability, income and living conditions, food production, health, education, nutrition, access to adequate food and water as well as related services) that monitors food security and nutrition, guides policy decisions and documents progress.
 
Brazil’s approach to malnutrition by framing nutritional challenges within a national poverty reduction agenda is a cogent example of how pro-poor policies like investments in human and social capital through health and nutrition programs as well as conditional cash transfers can aid strong political will to combat malnutrition. The sustenance of nutrition security gains depends upon the maintenance of economic growth and policies of income redistribution. This must be supported by the universalization of elementary and secondary education while addressing challenges related to the adequate availability of health care and sanitation services.
 
 
India Outbound
November 19, 2018

source https://indiaoutbound.org/brazil-a-model-for-curbing-malnutrition/

What does the #future of #energy look like? The bigger picture. https://t.co/xIMtrGtvzR

What does the #future of #energy look like? The bigger picture.https://t.co/xIMtrGtvzR

— India Outbound (@india_outbound) November 20, 2018

from Twitter : https://twitter.com/india_outbound

Beholding The World’s Energy Future

Historically, the availability, access and control of oil, as a vital economic resource has shaped global power relations. It has led to the creation of many powerful countries and has been the source of multiple wars and conflicts in the last few decades. For instance, Saudi Arabia was one of the poorest countries in the world during the 1930s, but with the discovery of oil, its fortunes transformed massively. Saudi Arabia amassed $515.6 billion in sovereign wealth funds and became the lynchpin of a mighty oil cartel, exerting pressure on the world economy by rationing the oil supply and regulating prices.
However, today, the Unites States has emerged as a formidable player, by reducing its dependence on Iraq, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) countries. The US underwent the Shale Revolution in 2016, by adopting multi-pad wells, fracking and deep drilling, alongside crunching vast amounts of data to refine their techniques and making IT investments. By innovating and cutting down costs, the US became incredibly efficient, leading to massive government deficits and slumps in the oil revenues of the OPEC countries. Their move to drive oil prices perilously low failed as American free-market capitalism won over 40% of the global oil output. Their subsequent strategy to increase oil prices and impose production limits failed too, as American output increased. The US is now likely to become the world’s largest oil producer by the end of 2019.

The increase in the supply of oil and gas in the world markets has benefitted consumers due to a fall in prices. Oil is meets one-third of the world’s energy and hence, is the primary fuel. By 2040, the world’s energy use is poised to rise by 30%. However, the consumption of oil as fuel is a major contributor to global warming and the processes of extraction are not environment-friendly at all, due to their heavy dependence on resources like water. The rising energy demand must be met by cleaner sources, in order to prevent the devastating impacts of global warming.
Technologies for renewable sources of energy are no longer as expensive as they used to be. In fact, many countries are now racing towards creating and developing new and more efficient technologies to be able to harness their potential and reduce pollution. Securing energy independence and self-sufficiency is a key motivation for these countries and the one leading from the front is China. China is the largest consumer of coal and the second largest of oil. But, it is also leading the world towards clean energy. Today, 33% of the world’s solar and wind panels are installed in China. Moreover, China is responsible for selling more electric cars than any other country in the world.
The long-term transition to clean renewable energy can yield multiple new global challenges. These include the creation of tensions in unstable parts of the Middle-East with heavy reliance on the oil economy as they focus their efforts on preventing the revenue from drying up. Secondly, wind and sunlight are intermittent natural resources and therefore, harnessing them efficiently will mean the establishment of vast shared energy grids that span geo-political borders to ensure efficient and constant supply. Thus, in order for the world to have a shared energy future, a great collaboration needs to be fostered across the major economic powers as well as other countries of the world. Otherwise, any wars that might be fought over scarce resources could possibly be much worse in the 21st century, as compared to the 20th century.

India Outbound
November 16,2018

source https://indiaoutbound.org/beholding-the-worlds-energy-future/

Boosting India’s Fintech Ecosystem

Fintech, a portmanteau of financial technology, refers to technology that enables and supports financial and other banking services, by automating their use and delivery. Fintech goes beyond payments technology to cover sub-segments like lending, wealth management, credit reporting etc. Financial institutions are being transformed in terms of their roles and responsibilities, products and services as well as distribution channels, shaped by changing consumer expectations (need for digital finance and inclusion, smartphone adoption) and regulatory landscapes.
 
The transition of the mobile network in India into a legitimate software services platform has led to an explosion of fintech enterprise and innovation in India. The six benefits of the Indian growth story include access, inclusion, connectivity, ease of living, opportunity and accountability.This has made it an attractive destination for companies and start-ups, with India’s scale having the potential to enable fintech products to go global by reducing costs and risks.The ecosystem has flourished given the considerable efforts of financial institutions, start-ups, the government, regulators and venture capitalists to create a dynamic and collaborative environment. Specifically, the government has adopted a reformist stance towards digital transformation of the economy, based on current and future innovations in areas like artificial intelligence, block chain technologies and data analytics, data intelligence and distributed ledger technology.
 

 
This aggressive promotion of a cashless economy and a strengthened infrastructure for startups is reflected in initiatives like Start-Up India, income tax exemptions for start-ups during the first 3 years, selective tax rebates, RuPay, introduction of UPI or Unified Payment Interface or launching the Application Programming Interface Exchange or APIX). According to PM Modi, fintech can fight global financial crimes, combat money laundering and improve the living conditions of human beings “through direct contact with the most marginalised”. The Indian government is also expediting the shift to a presence, paper and cash-less service delivery system, popularly known as India Stack.
 
Despite funding and unprecedented growth at 135%, fintech startups grapple with multiple structural and operational limitations. The Ministry of Finance reported that financial innovations get stalled because “Indian regulators are disproportionately focused on averting scams. This generates a regulatory bias of blocking innovation in order to be safe, and an industry bias of avoiding untested ideas since they expose firms to the risk of frauds.”
 

 
A KPMG-NASSCHOM study titled Fintech in India – Powering a digital economy, released in September 2018, highlights the transition to a cashless economy, establishment of regulatory sandboxes and access to internet services can help better understand the viability of opportunities available and mitigate inherent risks. Fintech companies need to adopt creative and cost-effective ways to channel domain expertise and achieve due-diligence/regulatory compliance, in embracing existing IT solutions to create robust innovations. While fintech startups are on the rise and are fast becoming key enablers for the businesses of traditional financial institutions, India is yet to see the emergence of a home grown player that will sustainably transform the existing ecosystem with new business models that achieve a competitive edge in unison with global standards.
 
 
India Outbound
November 15,2018
 

source https://indiaoutbound.org/boosting-indias-fintech-ecosystem/

Chinese technological ascension

source https://indiaoutbound.org/chinese-technological-ascension/

How Developing Countries Especially BRICS (namely China, India and Brazil) Are Leading The Way In Solar Energy?

The progress in development of the BRICS countries has been marked by the increase in the quantum of clean renewable energy production. With the continuous rise in population growth, especially in the developing countries, there has been a greater increase in the demand and consumption of energy, thus strengthening concerns regarding environmental degradation and climatic changes. As a result of this, some countries have shown major shifts in critical thinking vis-à-vis solutions for meeting the energy demands, by transitioning from conventional oil and gas to renewables, especially solar energy.

The countries that are located in the arid, tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world have an advantage in terms highest receptivity of solar irradiance, due to their latitudinal positions. Brazil, India, China, and South Africa fall in these red zones. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has developed a loan programme to simulate renewable energy market helping countries like India, Morocco, Kenya, and Tunisia to finance solar power systems. Kenya has become the largest developer of solar power systems in terms of installation per capita in the world.

China is the leader in the world’s solar power sector and has the highest annual power production at 598800 kWh per year. However, there is a striking contrast between the values of per capita energy consumption. In the USA, it is as high as 12877 kWh per year, while China and India consume 3974 kWh per year and 985 kWh per year respectively. Developed countries like Norway, Kuwait, Canada, UAE, Sweden and Iceland have high levels of per capita consumption too.
The domestic solar industry in China is currently experiencing a downturn, as the Chinese government has halted the allocation of quotas for new projects, until further notice. Moreover, the tariffs on the electricity generated from clean energy has been lowered by 6.7-9% depending on the region i.e. 0.05 yuan per kilowatt hour, effective as of June 1, 2018.
In Brazil, the solar sector is progressing regardless of the political and economic environment, with an alignment of certain basic drivers i.e. availability of a competitive technology, a business sector capable of innovation and more consumers wanting the technology, resulting in a growing market. At the beginning of 2018, Brazil reached the historical mark of 1 GW of installed PV capacity and is expected to reach 2 GW at the end of the year. In addition to this, 3.7 GW of solar has been contracted by the government via auctions and the growth of distributed generation is surpassing initial forecasts.
India has the world’s third fastest expanding solar power program, ranked after China and USA. In 2017 alone, India added a record 9,255 MW of solar power with another 9,627 MW of solar projects under development. India launched its National Solar Mission in 2010 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, with plans to generate 20 GW by 2022. India’s Solar Power capacity has increased from 2650 MWe in 2014 to the current level of 12,200 MWe and the tariff has dramatically reduced from INR 13 per kWh in 2014 to INR 2.44 per kWh.

India Outbound
November 12, 2018

source https://indiaoutbound.org/how-developing-countries-especially-brics-namely-china-india-and-brazil-are-leading-the-way-in-solar-energy/

Overview Of India-Netherlands Trade And Investment

Indo-Dutch relations has a history of over 400 years. Official relations, centered on economic and commercial bilateral ties, were established in 1947. The Dutch government identified India as an important economic partner in the early 1980s. Economic relations further strengthened after the liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s. In 2006, former Prime Minister Balkenende declared India, China and Russia as priority countries in Dutch foreign policy. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, PM Modi visited Netherlands in June 2017. This provided a significant boost to the multi-faceted cooperation. In addition to this, a successful festival was organized to showcase Indian music, art and dance. Multiple bilateral agreements and MOUs were signed across diverse areas, covering economic and commercial cooperation, culture, science and technology and education. Moreover, both countries share common ideals of democracy, pluralism and the rule of law.

In the financial year 2016-17, Netherlands was the fifth largest investor of FDI into India (US$ 3.37 billion), the 28th largest trading partner globally and the 6th largest trading partner in the EU. Cumulative investments amounted to US$ 22.63 billion comprising 6% of total FDI inflows between the periods of April 2000 to September 2017. Two-way trade stood at US$ 6.9 billion in 2016-17 with a balance of trade in favour of India of US $ 3.17 billion. Europe is India’s biggest trading partner and 20% of India’s export to Europe enters through the Netherlands. Indian exports to the Netherlands included: petroleum products and related materials (19.8%), apparel and clothing, textile yarns, fabrics and made-up articles (15.3%), organic chemicals (7.9%), vegetables and fruits (5.3%) and electric machinery (3.6%). Dutch exports to India included metalliferrous ores, metal scrap, plastics and general industrial machinery.

Many Dutch MNCs (Shell, Unilever) and major banks (ING, Rabobank) have their production sites and business operations in India. Dutch SMEs with niche technologies and world class expertise are also actively looking to enter the Indian market. India is a source of useful technical know-how, besides FDI, in a variety of sectors – water management, upgrading of ports and airports, dredging, agro-processing, telecommunication, energy, oil refining, chemicals, and financial services. As a result of the transparency, flexibility and stability of the Dutch tax system, there are 174 Indian companies presently based in the Netherlands. Indian companies like Tata Steel, Appollo-Vredestein and Hinduja Group have been involved in mergers and acquisitions and many are exploring possibilities for further tie-ups.

ASSOCHAM, India’s apex chamber, set up an office in Netherlands in December 2015, as a gateway to Europe and in June 2017, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) opened an office in Amsterdam. The Netherlands-India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT) has set up an office in Mumba in February 2016. Netherlands backed India’s Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) membership.

Improvement in ease-of-travel and connectivity, with the successful implementation of the electronic Tourism Visa (eTV) in the Netherlands starting August 15, 2015, has provided a new impetus to tourism and business flows. Jet Airways has daily non-stop flights to and from Amsterdam from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore as well as one from Toronto. As of 2017, the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) is also operating three direct flights per week between Mumbai and Amsterdam.

Water is a prime sector of cooperation as exemplified by the joint water technology initiative, Dutch Indian Water Alliance for Leadership Initiative (DIWALI). Cooperation must be boosted in water conservation and irrigation. Both countries have committed to the climate change accord and hence, need to strengthen cooperation in the development of renewable energy. Thus, India and Netherlands are natural partners in economic cooperation and there is scope for further growth in the trade relations.

India Outbound
November 8, 2018

source https://indiaoutbound.org/overview-of-india-netherlands-trade-and-investment/