Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability

India has been frequently fraught with a substantial degree of severity of both natural and man-made disasters, which have taken a heavy toll on the lives and property of millions of people rendering them homeless and jobless and leaving them with deeply ingrained reflections and memories of pain and trauma which may even take generations to be healed completely. For thousands of years, the arts and crafts have been widely recognized as a medium of interaction, self-expression, empowerment, and resolving conflict by binding together various elements of the society, culture, heritage, environment, and ecology of a region. Thus, there is a dire need to understand the existence of arts and crafts not only within their cultural context but also in terms of their therapeutic usefulness and empowerment aspects in strengthening the voices, sustaining identities, and building capabilities of the disaster-affected victims by exploring various aspects of artistry and creativity associated with a particular craft. In this context, the present study attempts to (i) present a historical narrative of the role of visual arts in mitigating the after-effects of some of the prominent disasters in India by promoting a speedy process of recovery and normalcy of the affected victims over a period of time and (ii) eventually propose resilience-building policy recommendations by the inclusion and promotion of Indian arts and crafts as an important tool in the post-disaster recovery and redevelopment process in mitigating disaster-related aftermaths in India. The study is conducted by holding a series of discussions with some of the well-known NGOs and individuals working in the field of visual arts through telephonic and virtual conversations. Data is analyzed by applying the thematic analysis method.

IntroductionIn recent years, many countries have adopted evidence‐based budgeting (EBB) to encourage the best use of limited and decreasing HIV resources. The lack of data and evidence for hard to reach, marginalized and vulnerable populations could cause EBB to further disadvantage those who are already underserved and who carry a disproportionate HIV burden (USDB). We outline the critical data required to use EBB to support USDB people in the context of the generalized epidemics of sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA).DiscussionTo be considered in an EBB cycle, an intervention needs at a minimum to have an estimate of a) the average cost, typically per recipient of the intervention; b) the effectiveness of the intervention and c) the size of the intervention target population. The methods commonly used for general populations are not sufficient for generating valid estimates for USDB populations. USDB populations may require additional resources to learn about, access, and/or successfully participate in an intervention, increasing the cost per recipient. USDB populations may experience different health outcomes and/or other benefits than in general populations, influencing the effectiveness of the interventions. Finally, USDB population size estimation is critical for accurate programming but is difficult to obtain with almost no national estimates for countries in SSA. We explain these limitations and make recommendations for addressing them.ConclusionsEBB is a strong tool to achieve efficient allocation of resources, but in SSA the evidence necessary for USDB populations may be lacking. Rather than excluding USDB populations from the budgeting process, more should be invested in understanding the needs of these populations.

This article examines the priority accorded to agriculture and allied sectors in India's public expenditure over the last two decades, with specific attention to budgetary spending by the eastern region states. It observes that one of the important reasons for the slowdown of growth in Indian agriculture seems to have been the stagnation in public expenditure on the overall rural economy (i.e. Agriculture and Allied Activities, Irrigation and Flood Control, Village and Small Industries, Rural Development and Special Area Programmes) since the early 1990s. The falling priority given to the rural economy in the last three Five Year Plans of the country would have affected the eastern region states more adversely due to their weaker fiscal health and less developed agricultural sectors. The article also argues that there is a need to redesign the policy framework and provide adequate budgetary support for agricultural activities in dryland/rainfed areas in the eastern region states.