INDICATORS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE COIR INDUSTRY OF KERALA

Transcription

1 Chapter VII INDICATORS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE COIR INDUSTRY OF KERALA The Production function approach to technological change as mentioned in the chapter 5 is arbitrary. So to measure the technological change that has taken place in the Coir Industry of Kerala, the researcher uses the "indicators" and "Characteristics" of technological change viz. (1) increase in the mechanisation of industry, (2) increase in the number of skilled and educated labour force employed in the industry, (3) Progressive improvement in the infrastructure and increase in the expenditure for coir development, (4) changes in productivity, (5) changes in employment, (6) changes in income and (7) changes in dwelling conditions.' Let us analyse these changes in details. 7.1 Increase in the mechanisation of Coir Industry: Coir Board through its research and development efforts designed and developed a large number of machines for different process in Coir Industry. (see chapter 6, Research and Development). Now we can analyse the extent of machanisation in various process of Coir Industry Fibre Extraction: The traditional method of extracting coir fibre was purely manual. Here, after retting, the husks were taken out and washed. The inner short fibre and outer skin of well soaked husks were removed by hand beaten with a wooden mallet ' Stewart, Francis (June 1982): "A Note On Comparative Studies of Technological Change, Methodology And Theory", University Of Lund, Lund, PP.48. Some of these indicators has been adopted by Debesh Bhattacharya (1972); "The Role Of Technological Progress In Indian Economic Development", The World Press Private Limited, Calcutta,

2 against a log to thrash out the nonfibrous tissue. The fibre thus separated was cleaned further by hand, washed if necessary and dried in the shade with occasional light. Then beating with stide to remove the remnants of pith and impurities still left with the fibre.2 From the extraction of fibre by hand beating was replaced gradually by the introduction of a simple mechanical process, that is, the husk beating machine^.^ Now the manual defibering has completely disappeared from Kerala.4 Another innovation in this field was the spread ofthe Kerala Drum, resembling the Ceylon drum for the extraction of fibre during 1960's.The machine consisted of a spiked metallic cylinder and two metallic rollers, all connected by a gear system and driven by electronic motor? From the end of 1960's onwards, the spiked drum method was replaced by a version of the decorticating machine known as kottuvadi or beating rods6 It could process only retted husks. Another type of machine used for the fibre extraction was the retted husk decorticators. Green husk combing machine is another alternative which is used to extract the fibre green husk. Details of defibering mills as on march 2001 is furnished in the table 7.1. Varkey, V.0 (1981): "Development and Working of Coir Cooperatives in Kerala", Poona, P.47. Pylee, M.V (1976): "A Study of Coir Industry in IndiaProblems and Prospects" (1975), Coir Board, Cochin, P.8. The field survey conducted by V. Rajan (SocioEconomic Aspects of Coir Cooperatives of Kerala.1994)in Kayamkulam project area and K.T. Rammohan (Technological Changes in Kerala Industry: Lesson from coir yam spinning 1999 ) in Kollam districts and field enquily made by the research in various coir producing centres. Isaac Thomas. T.M, Stuijvenberg Van P.A, and Nair.K.N (1991): "The Coir Industry in KeralaA study of Modemisastion and Employment Protection", Coir Board, Kochi, PP.124,125. Ibid.

3 ? Table 7.1 Number of Defibering Machines in Kerala in March 2001 S1.No. Items Number Retted Defibering mills Under Private Sector Defibering mills under CoOperative Societies Defibering mills under Private Sector Source: 1) Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various years 2) Coir Directorate, Unpublished data. The retted defibering mills are mainly using Kerala Drums owned by the private entrepreneurs. Those defibering mills which are set up under Integrated Coir Development Project comes to the second category and those units which are financed by coir board under Brown fibre development comes in the third category. Over and above these defibering mills in Kerala, there are an average five numbers of Ginning mills in villages having canals, lakes and lagoons.'these Ginning mills used to ginn the brownlgreen husks fibre brought from Tamil Nadu for further process Spinning of Coir Yarn: Traditionally spinning is done by hand. In this method, spinning is done by twisting the fibre between the palms of the hand. In hand spinning, usual method is to roll the fibre in to short length, giving a clockwise twist by hand. When a sufficient quantity has been made, two of these short lengths are taken in hand together and made yam of two piles by giving a counter twist, using both palms. ' This information is obtained from License Fee Demand Registers of Various Panchayat Offices.

4 When the counter twist reaches near the end of the striking, further pieces of short length kept ready are added are after other, while the counter twist by hand is continued till the required length of yarn for a knot is rea~hed.~ An important innovation that was adopted in the handicraft technology with the expansion of production was the introduction of the spinning wheel or ratt in the latter half of 1 9Ih cent~ry.~ Machine spinning with automatic feeding mechanism, treadle ratt spinning, motorised spinning and motorised traditional ratt are the type of machines used for spinning the yarn in modem times in Kerala. Through Integrated coir Development Project (ICDP) 200 motorised treadle ratt unit was set up in 100 primary coir cooperative societies in Kerala. The details of various spinning machines used in Kerala as on March 2001 was given in the table 7.2. Table 7.2. Details of Equipment used in spinning sector Type of Equipments 1. Traditional Ratt 2. Motorised Ratt (a) Cooperative Societies (b) Private Sector Under Mahila Coir Yojana 3. Automatic Spinning Machine Number 44,266 12,500 1, Source: I) Kerala Statistical Institute (March 1997):Survey of Coir Industry in Kerala, P.22 2) Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various years Unnithan Bhaskaran, K (1970):.' Coir Industry in India with Special Reference to Marketing and Trade", Coir Board, Cochin, P.18. Isaac Thomas,T.N. (1990): "Evolution of Organisation of Production in Coir Yam Spinning Indushy", Working Paper 236, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, P.1.

5 Manufacturing of Mats and Mattings: As most ofthe coir product manufactutingunits are small scale and cottage, handloom weaving predominate this sector. There are some defects in the actual process of weaving coir products on traditional looms such as buckling of mattings, variations in the number of pick per unit area of the same fabric and poor texture due to relatively low number of Pile row in mats. The R and D activities at Central Coir Research Institute (CSRI)have been quite successful in tackling some of these problems. So an improved hand loom can be used in the industry. Still some of the problems of traditional weaving continue. During 1960's under a scheme to machanise one third of the matting capacity, automatic power loom weaving was adopted as an alternative to the hand 10oms.'~ The power loom industry employs all the major types of coir powerlooms, like excentre looms, shaft looms and jacquard looms etc. for the production of mattings as well as creel mat powerlooms. The improved hand loom would facilitate the elimination of some of the defects of the traditional looms, though it cannot achieve the quality improvement which would be possible through semi automatic looms. The introduction of semi automatic loom is the result of the research and development effort made by the CCRI. Thus there are three alternation to the traditional handlooms coir weaving method namely improved hand loom, semi automatic looms and fully automatic power looms. The table 7.3 gives the number and value of equipment used in coir establishment during 'O Isaac Thomas. T.M, Stunjvenberg Van P. A and Nair, K.N (1991): "The Coir Industry in Kerala A Study of Modemisation and Employment Protection", Coir Board, Cochin, P.148.

6 Table 7.3 Details of Equipment used in Spinning Sector Sector Power loom Hand loom Shearing machine Stencilling machine Dyeing Unit machine Spooling machine Pressing machine Spray Painting machine Others Manufacturing Cooperative Societies (1800) Factories Under 2M (103) 86.1 (867) Factories Under Sec.85 Small scale Factories ( 186) (15884) Total (18737) Value Rupees in lakhs Number of looms is mentioned in brackets Source: Kerala Statistical Institute, (March, 1977) :Survey of Coir Industry in Kerala, P.54 The power loom capacity in Kerala as on march 2001 was given in the table 7.4

7 Table 7.4 The Power loom Capacity in Kerala as on march 2001 S1 No Name of Manufacturers Kerala Balers Alleppey Company Aspinwall Company William Goodacre and Sons India Ltd J.R. Export Industries Alleppey N.C.John and Sons Ltd. TAC Floor Company Travancore Mats and Matting Company Hindustan Coir'l Foam Mattings India Ltd. Total No. of Power looms Owned Source: 1) Coir Board, Unpublished source 2) Data collected directly from large manufacturer exporters by the researcher. Apart from powerloom or hand loom, some of the items of machinery used by different types of units are thermo fluid heater, drier, motorised dyeing plant, rubber edging machine, latex mixer, spooling machine, compressor, glowing machine, spray plant, bundling machine, pressing machine, shearing machine etc. Semi mechanised means units own shearing, compressor, stenciling, finishing machine, combing machine, glowing machine, edging machine, power press etc. The number. of semi mechanised units in different sectors are given in table 7.5 " Hindustan Coir was the first Power loom coir matting factory set up by the Coir Board in It is the pioneering effort of the board for introduction of gradual mechanisation of the manufacturing process and development of the industry on modem times. Beginning with the import of 5 looms with ancillary winding machines the factory went on to acquire more sophisticated looms like dobby and jacquard loom. The details of the looms installed by the factory is Ordinary loom 1 mtr width 1 No., 1.5 mtr width I No. and 2 mtr width 2 Nos. Jacquard loom I mtr width I No. Dobby loom 2 mtr width 1No.

8 Table 7.5 Semimechanised coir manufacturing units in different sector SI No Name of the Sector Cooperative sector Small scale sector Large manufacturer/ Exporters No.of semimechanised units Source: UNDP Project on 'Technology Transfer, Modernisation and Capacity building in the Indian Coir Sector, Coir Board, Kochi, May 2000, P.36. Apart from these, the Kerala State Coir Corporation Limited installed a semi automatic loom with a project cost of Rs lakhs during The corporation is still producing coir mattings on the semiautomatic loom Increase in the Number of Skilled and Educated LabourForce Employed in the 1ndust1y.'~ Technological progress requires skilled and educated manpower. Similarly, with technological progress, the educated and trained manpower in the industry also increase. The table 7.6 and 7.7 show the educational status of the coir workers for various years. l2 Government of Kerala, State Planning Board (1995): " Kerala Economic Review", Thiruvananthapuram, P.98. " This indicator has been adopted by D. Bhattacharya (1972)in his book " ~he~ole of Technological Progress in Indian Economic Development", P.26.

9 Table 7.6 Educational Status of the Coir Workers in Kerala in 1988 and 1997: Level of Education 1988 Year 1997 Percentage change over 1988 Illiterate Below S.S.L.C Above S.S.L.C Graduate and above Source: 1) Government of Kerala (I990):Report on coir workers census in Kerala 1988, Department of Economics and Statistics, Thiruvananthapuram, P.13. 2) Kerala Statistical Institute (March 1997):Survey of Coir Industry in Kerala, P.68 Table 7.7 Educational Status of the Coir Workers in three Cluster Area Level of Education Illiterate Thiruvananthapuam MayOl 18 %Change over Cluster Areas Kollnm 1988 May %Change over Alappuzha June00 %Change over 1988 P 7.9 Be1owS.S.L.C S.S.L.C and Above Graduate and Above Source: I) Government of Kerala (I988):Report on coir workers census in Kerala, Op.cit., P.13. 2) Coir Board (May 2001): UNDP Project on the Base Line Survey of coir clusters, Centre: Thiruvananthapuram, Prepared by Tata Economic Consulting Service, P.5. 3) Coir Board (May 2000):UNDP Project on the Base Line Survey of Coir Cluster, Centre: Kollam, Prepared by Tata Economic Consulting Service, Coir House, Kochi, P.6. 4) Coir Board (June 2000):UNDP Project on the Base Line Survey of Coir Cluster, Centre: Alappuzha, Prepared by Tata Economic Consulting Service, Coir House, Kochi. P The table 7.6 and :7.7 reveal that the literacy rate of the coir workers are increasing. The percentage decline in the illiteracy rate from1988 to1997 was The percentage decline in the illiteracy rate in Thiivananthapuram cluster area from 1988 to 2001 was and in Kollam from 1988 to 2000 it was

10 But in Alappuzha there is a marginal rise in the illiteracy rate. Similarly percentage of coir workers having educational status above SSLC also increases considerably during these periods. In Kerala as a whole from 1988 to 1997, the percentage increase was and in cluster areas it was ,291.45, ansd in Thiruvananthapurarn, Kollam and Alappuzha respectively. The number of coir workers possessing graduation also found to increase during these periods. On an average, now 50% coir workers are literate with SSLC and above. Skill development is identified to be the most important input of development effort through state intervention. Hence the coir Board organises appropriate training programmes for coir workers. The Coir Board through its training centre and field extension centres trained 9817 persons through its various programmes conducted up to march 2001.'5 Rest of the workers of this industry are getting only in house training. The cluster area study conducted by the Tata Economic Consultancy service reveals that in Alappuzha for small scale production units, training is fully in house and only 15% of units received training from external sources and 13% only from Coir Board.I6 The increase in the percentage of educated persons employed and generation of more and more skilled and trained workers indicate the technological potential of this sector Infrastructural Improvement And Expenditure Incurred: As coir industry involves different process, it required very large infrastructural " As Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala dominate in coir indushy, for comparison of educational level, monthly income and housing conditions of coir workers over different periods, the researcher consider these three districts only. " See chapter 6, table 6.1 ' Coir Board (2000): UNDP Project on " Technology Transfer, Modernisation and Capacity Building in the Indian coir sector", Coir House, P.58.

11 313 improvement and it took place considerably in the industry. The outlay and expenditure for coir development increased continually over the years. The major programmes for coir development viz. modernisation of the industry, research and development, training, cooperativisation of coir industry etc. were financed by the Central and State Government and with the assistance from National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), UNDP etc. The following schemes for the development of infrastructure directly or indirectly help technological progress in the Coir Industry State Development Schemes: Government of Kerala formulated an yearly programme known as 'Coir Development Scheme' with the objective of revitalisation or modemisation of Coir Industry. Through the scheme it provides assistance to coir cooperatives (in the form of share capital contribution, working capital loan, interest subsidy, grant in aid, godown subsidy and loans, loans for opening of sales depots, loans for restructuring of coir cooperatives, grant and loans for purchase or modernisation and renovation of ratt, looms and other equipment etc.), formation of coir project investment, investment on Kerala State Coir Corporation and Foam mattings (India) Ltd, investment on coirfed, state share for central scheme of cooperativisation, loans for coir development, setting up of raw material banks, implementation of ICDP etc. Government of Kerala implemented these programmes through the Directorate of Coir Development.For these purpose, the government of Kerala have provided a separate budgetary allocation for the coir sector. The yearwise budgetory allocation and utilisation of funds from to are given in the table 7.8 below.

12 31 4 Table 7.8. Budget Allocation for Coir Development from to Year Budget provision (Rs.lakhs) % change over previous year Actual expenditure (Rs. lakhs) N. A N. A N.A N.A N. A N. A N.A N. A N. A N. A N.A N. A N. A N. A N.A N.A Source: I ) Government of Kerala, Explanatory Memorandum on the Budget (Various Issues), Printed by S.G.P. Thiruvananthapuram. 2) Coir Board, Annual Report of Various Years. 3) sign indicate decrease 4) NANot Available

13 It is obvious from that table 7.8 that the budgetory allocation for coir development has increased from 57 lakhs in to lakhs in From onwards there was a considerable increase in the budgetory outlay for coir development. Except for some years the percentage increase in the budgetory allocation for coir development was found to be raising from to The actual expenditure incurred as a percentage of budget provision from to reveals that it increases from 87 percent during the first four years to 96 percent during the last four years ( to ) See table 7.9. Table 7.9 Budgetory Allocation and Actual Expenditure from to Year Budget Allocation ( Rs. Lakhs ) Actual Expenditure ( Rs. Lakhs ) Expenditure as a Percentage to ( 4 years ) to ( 5 years ) to ( 4 years ) Source: Coirfed (July2000): Coir Vyavasayam (Malayalam), Coir fed Head Off~ce, Alappuzha, P Centrally sponsored scheme for cooperativisation: The cooperativisation programme has been adopted as an important measure for revitalising Coir Industry in the state. The aim of cooperativisation was to be made the entire coir workers under the purview of cooperative sector. The central scheme of cooperativisation in coir industry was introduced in 1982

14 based on the recommendations of High Power Committee chaired by Shri. B. Sivaraman. The scheme was in operation during the 6" and 7Ih plan and continued to be in force thereafter in ,9192 and The Ashim Chattergee Committee appointed by the Government of India in 1990 has recommended the continuation of the scheme during the 8Ih plan period on selective basis. The scheme is still continuing. The scheme provides the following assistance Share capital assistance for existing societies and for formation ofnew societies by way of loans to primary and product societies Managerial subsidies for placement of competent persons in supervisory or managerial position in the primary and weavers cooperative societies by way of grant for 5 years. The share capital assistance and managerial subsidy will be shared on 50:50 basis between the state and central government, and Assistance for purchase or modernisation or renovation of equipment or looms to cooperatives. The pattern of assistance is from central government 25%, state government 25% and borrowing societies 50%. The maximum amount of assistance for primary societies is Rs. 1.5Olakhs and composite societies Rs. 7.51akhs. Two third of the assistance for equipment will be in the form of loan and 1/31d in the form of subsidy." The details of the funds allocated for various heads under centrally sponsored scheme of cooperativisation is presented in the table " Coir Board ( ): 46* Annual Report, Coir House, Kochi, P.36.

15 31 7 Table 7.10 Centrally sponsored scheme of Cooperativisation Year Share capital Assistance (Rs.lakhs) Managerial Subsidy (Rs.lakhs) Marketing Assistance (Rs.lakhs) Equipment Assistance (Rs.lakhs) ICDP (Rs.lakhs) Total (Rs.lakhs) OO OO 1.SO 1.OO Source: Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various Years Common Facility Centre : This scheme is being implemented to provide modem facilities for bleaching and dyeing coir fibre and yam to the small scale units engaged in the manufacture of export quality coir products. The scheme provides for grant of one time assistance for the purpose. The services of these centres would be available to those small scale units which situated within e radius of 2 krn of the society. Two cooperative societies, Alleppey small scale coir mats manufacturers cooperative society and Aryad Block small scale fibre mats manufacturers cooperative society were selected for establishment of these centres during

16 Vl~ese societies started functioning during TWO more societies, small scale coir mats manufacturer's societies at Kanjikuzhi and Cherthala were selected for establishment of common facility centre during Up to , the Coir Board has released a total assistance of Rs lakhs to these four small scale units in Kerala.1 During the period , an amount of Rs.4 lakhs had been sanctioned for the establishment of 2 more common facility centres at Ambalapuzha coir mats and matting cooperative society and Cherthala taluk small scale coir matting producer's cooperative ~ociety.~' Mahila Coir Yojana: Mahila Coir Yojana ( MCY )is first women oriented self employment programme in the industry. The scheme envisages the distribution of 4000 motorised coir yam spinning ratts to women workers who are trained to operate the motorised ratt and are able to raise the beneficiary contribution by means of own resources or loan. The Coir Board will provide one time subsidy of 75% of the cost of ratt subject to a maxirnum of Rs The remaining 25% of the cost has to be raised by the beneficiary through voluntary organisation or financial institution or own source. The scheme was launched on This is a self employment programme which would not only provide employment, but would improve productivity, quality, better working conditions, reduction of stress and strain of the worker and higher income to the ~pinner.~ As part of the implementation of the scheme two months training course is being conducted in all the training centres and field training centres of the Board. The societies or institutions which " Coir Board (199192):"38" Annual Report", Op.cit., P.28. l9 Coir Board (199394):"40" Annual Report", Op.cit., P.33. 2o Coir Board (199798): "44' Annual Report", Op.cit., P.56. Coir Board ( ): "46Lh Annual Report", Coir House, Kochi, P.36. 2' Coir Board (199495): "41" Annual Report, Op.cit., P.61.

17 were distributed motorised ratt under International Trade Centre (1TC)ISwedish International Development Agency ( SIDA) project are also imparting training in spinning on motorised ratt. Besides, the successful trainees can also impart training to others on their motorised ratt. Such trainees who pass the test conducted by the Board are also became eligible for subsidy under the ~cheme.~' From to Coir Board has released an amount of Rs lakhs to 1405 beneficiaries. (see table ) Table 7.11 Yearwise Expenditure for MCY Year Total No.of beneficiaries Expenditure subsidy ( Rs.lakhs ) Source : Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various Years Model Coir Village Programme: With a view to improve the quality of coir products and provide basic amenities and improved working conditions for coir workers in villages which had a predominant coir activity, Coir Board implemented the programme of model coir village. The scheme of model coir village was first approved by the Board " Coir Board (199899): 45' Annual Report, Op.cit., P.58

18 on Under this programme, amenities such as houses for SClST coir workers, sanitary latrines, smokeless choolas, workshed ( ran and beating shed ), bunding of retting site, community hall, drinking water scheme, rest rooms, godowns, electrification of houses, provision of approach roads and construction of foot bridge across the canal to work site, provision of country cart or boat for transportation of husk or fibre or yarn etc. The progress of the programme from to is giveninthetable7.12. Table 7.12 YearWise Spending For Model Coir Village Programme Year No.of Villages Amount spent(rs lakhs) Source: Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various Years Out ofthe construction sanctioned during the period from to more than 85% have been completed as shown in the table 7.13.

19 321 Table 7.13 Projects Completed Under Model Coir Village Programme Up To Scheme No.of Construction cleared No. of construction completed Percentage of completion Houses for SCIST Sanitary Latrine Smokeless Choola Drinking Water Scheme Ratt shed Beating shed Community Hall Electrification of SC Houses Colour TV Set Small Implement Kits Furniture for Anganavadi Foot Bridge Godown Bund Total Source: Coir Board, 38Ih Annual Report, , P.35 The Board stopped the model coir village programme from the year to But the programme was resumed in Accordingly, 10 villages were selected and the amount spend during was lakhs. Then for the Board stopped the scheme. In , 16 model coir villages were selected for implementation of the programme and Rs.48 lakhs was spent towards this.24 The implementation of the programme in sixteen model coir village selected during was under various stages during ' Coir Board ( ): 46' Annual Report, Op.cit., P.40.

20 Assistance for the construction of work shed to small scale producers: In order to assist the small scale manufacturers to modernise their production infrastructure, assistance for construction of work shed was implemented by the Coir Board during the year According to this scheme, grant was given to the small scale coir product manufacturing units to meet the non recurring expenses for the construction of the work shed at a total cost not exceeding Rs.6000 per shed.*' The cost of the scheme was borne by the Coir Board and state government on a 50:50 basis. During 1991 the scheme was revised and the Board evolved a modified scheme for construction of loom sheds with beneficiary participation. Having regard to cost escalation the unit cost of the shed was revised from Rs.6000 to Rs.8797 per unit. The modified scheme which would be directly implemented by the Board envisages sanction of assistance of Rs to eligible beneficiaries who are able to mobilise Rs.2000 and contribute the balance of Rs. 797 by way of loans.26 The number of beneficiaries and the expenditure incurred for the construction of work shed from to is shown in the table " Coir Board (198788): "34* Annual Report", Op.cit., P.2. l6 Coir Board (199091): "37' Annual Report", Op.cit., P.59.

21 Table 7.14 Expenditure For The Construction Of Loom Shed To Small Scale Manufacturers By Coir Board Year Expenditure ( Rs.lakhs ) No.of beneficiaries 100 N A NA NA Source: Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various Years Brown Fibre Development : To motivate entrepreneurs to take production, manufacturing or diversification activity in the brown fibre sector, the government of India introduce a scheme of subsidy for establishment I modernisation I renovation of the coir unit.under this scheme subsidy is available to coir entrepreneurs for setting up new units or modernisation of existing units. So far Rs lakhs has been allotted for 40 brown fibre units as shown in the table 7.15.

22 324 Table 7.15 Expenditure for brown fibre Development Year Total No.of Units Amount of Expenditwe (Rs lakhs) OO Source: Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various Years Raw Material Bank : Before the formation of the raw material bank, coir fed supplied its member cooperative societies with yarn and fibre. Other raw materialsthe dyes and chemicals used are purchased by the societies individually, from different sources, mostly outside Kerala. This not only adds to their cost, but may also result in variations in the finished product quality, caused by sourcing them from different centres. The raw material bank set up by the coir fed in August 2000 were purchased the dyes and chemicals in bulk and these raw materials were supplied to member societies at subsidised rates, throughout the year. The services of this bank can also be availed by the entire coir indu~try.~' The government of Kerala spent Rs.1 crores for the raw material Bank facilities. The advantage of the raw material bank are " Coir Board, "Annual Plan Proposed of coir board for ", Coir house, Kochi, P.3 I.

23 member soc~eties are assured of uniform high quality dyes and chemicals, at all times The high quality specified by coir fed is possible through the centralised sourcing The subsidised rates and elimination of middlemen means greater savings for societies, and Improved quality will increase the demand which means stepped up produ~tion.~~ Expenditure for Research and Development : There is a very large increase in the expenditure for R and D by Coir Board. It increased from 2.79 lakhs in to Rs. 332 lakhs in The percentage increase in expenditure in each year over previous years also shows that it is more than twenty five percent except for some years (see table 7 16 ) Coir fed (September 2000): Coir Vyavasayam ( Malayalam ), Coir fed head office, Alappuzha, P.25.

24 326 Table 7.16 Coir Board's Expenditure for Research and Development : Year Expenditure ( Rs lakhs ) % change over previous year Source: Coir Board, Annual Reports of Various Years ' ' sign indicate percentage decrease over previous year

25 Expenditure fort'raining : By considering the unportance of skill formation, the government of India through Coir Board spends large amount for training. The expenditure incurred for training to coir workers increased from Rs.74,719 in to Rs. 15 lakhs in ( see table 7 17 ) 7 Table 7.17 Expenditure for Training. By Coir Board Year Expenditure ( Rs.lakhs) Source: Coir Board, Annual Report of Various Years

26 Other infrastructural facilities provided by the government of Kerala are the setting up of model coir factories, coir park and coir geo textile development programmes etc The government of Kerala have set up 3 model coir factories at Alappuzha, of which one is in the public sector ( under the control of Kerala state coir corporation ) and other two are in the cooperative sector ( The Karappuram coir mats and matting cooperative society and Alleppey coir mats and mattings cooperative society Ltd. ). A sum of Rs. 5 lakhs as loan and Rs.5 lakhs as share were sanctioned for the purpose of establishing the fa~tory.~ Two coir parks, one in the public sector and the other in private sector in Alappuzha district and these were set up by the government of Kerala for producing new and diversified coir products An amount of Rs. 8651akhs was spent for coir geotextile development during Out of this Rs. 675 lakhs was government share and Rs. 190 lakhs from different agencies. Government's plans to implement 100 coir geotextile projects during this period. For that geotextile development division was set up under Coir fed and Coir C~rporation.~ O Modern Dye House, the mechanised dyeing unit set up by the Central Coir Research Institute provides facilities for bulk dyeing of coir yarn or fibre to Hindustan coir as a routine basis and as per request by private coir entrepreneurs (exporters and small scale manufactures). 'O Coir Board (198990): "36L Annual Report, Op.cit., P.64. Coir fed (July 2000): "Coir Vyavasayam" ( Malayalam), Op.cit., P.26.

27 7.4. Changes in Productivity : Low productivity of labour is the main curse of coir industry in Kerala. One of the important objectives of technological change is to raise the productivity of workers employed in the industry. The increase in productivity has raised the economic conditions of workers. In the light of this an attempt was made to analyse the productivity of coir workers in different machines. A study conducted by NCAER, New Delhi, reveals that technological upgradation that take place in the c.oir industry will improve the labour productivity to a considerable e~tent.~ ' The comparative labour productivity of traditional and modem machines are given in the following tables 7.18,7.19, and Table 7.18 Comparative labour productivity in fibre productions: Manual Nature of machine Kerala Drum Defibering machine No.of coir workers husks Out put tworkertday (No. of husks ) Source: Isaac, Thomas,T.M, Stuijvenberg, Van, P.A and Nair, K.N (1991): " The Coir Industry in Kerala A Study of Modernisation and Employment Protection", Coir Board, Kochi, P.136. The mechanical extraction of fibre no doubt raises the labour productivity. It became 400 (number of husks defibered per worker per day ) in the defibering machine than 150 in manual process. " Coir Board (September 20, 1999 ): "Rationale of minimum Export Price for Export of Coir and Coir products", Coir News, Volume XXVIII., No. 9, P.26.

28 Table 7.19 Comparative Productivity of labour in Coir Yarn Production Hand Spinning Ran Spinning Nature of Machine Spinning Machine Treadle Ran Motorised Ran No.of workers Out putlday (kg) Out putlworkers (kg) I Source: lbid Motorised ratt would be an effective method for enhancing the labour productivity than traditional hand spinning or ratt spinning. The machine spinning is the most productive technique than all other machines. Table 7.20 Comparative Productivity of Labour in the Production of Mats and Mattings. No.of workers required for weaving 850sq.m I day Productivity I 100m /day (:sq.m) Productivity 1 workerldayi' (sq.m) Hand loom Type of Machine SemlAutomatic loom Automatic loom Source: Ibid. Both power loom and semiautomatic looms are superior to Hand loom in terms of labour productivity Effects on Employment : The immediate effect of technological change on employment is to reduce employment. Several studies ( Thomas Isaac, Vanstuijvenberg, and K.N.Nair, M.V. Pylee, study group on mechanisation of coir industry, Task force report,

29 Employment studies of coir industry etc. ) came to the conclusion that complete mechanisation will displace large scale laboures from coir sector. Therefore, the task force recommended an intermediate technology in the Coir Industry.'* The semiautomatic looms in weaving, motorised or treadle ratt in spinning and decorticating or combing machine in defibering etc are the examples of intermediate technologies in the coir industry. Studies on employment in the coir industry conducted by various agencies from 1971 show that employment increased in industry. It increased from 1.59 lakhs in 1971 to 3.83 lakhs in The estimate ofkerala Statistical Institute reveals that the total employment in the coir sector in 1997 was 3.63 lakhs excluding ancillary workers. Ifwe include ancillary workers also it becomes approximately 4 lakhs. (See table 7.2 l).as 1 data shows that in the registered factory sector in the coir industry employment increased from in to 5006 in Table 7.21 Employment Estimate of Coir Industry. SI.No. Source Reference Period Employment Census of India IIM, Banglore Department of Eco.and Statistics Department of Eco.and Statistics Department of Eco.and Statistics Kerala Statistical Institute Source: 1) Department of Economics and Statistics, Report on Survey of Coir Workers 1981, Thiruvananthapurm. 2) Department of Eco~iomics and Statistics (1990): Report on Coir Workers Census in Kerala 1988, Thiruvananthapuram, P.5. 3) Kerala Statistical Institute (1997): Survey of Coir Industry in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, P ) Coir Board, Isaac Thomas.T.M, Vanstinjvenberg and Nair K.N., Op.cit., P.36. ' Government of India, State Planning Board (1990): "Report of the Specia! Task Force on Coir Industrf',Thimvananthapuram, PP

30 7.6. Effects on Earning: One of the major objectives of the technological change and development in the coir industry was to enhance the earnings of the coir workers. The average monthly income of a coir household from coir sector was Rs in 1988.j It increased to Rs.2400 in 2000."That is there is a 2429% increase in the income over More than half of the coir households have a monthly income Rs.1000 and below and only less than 4% of the coir households are having an average monthly income of more than Rs About 40% of the coir households are in the monthly income of Rs. 501 and RS.IOOO.~~ Changes in the percentage distribution of coir households by monthly income in three cluster area in 2000 with that of 1997 shows that there is a considerable increase. Similarly the percentage distribution of households in the lowest income groups shows a decline and a corresponding rise in the highest income groups. See table I3 Government of Kerala, Department of Economics and Statistics (1990): "Report on Coir Workers Census in Kerala 1988". Thiruvananthapuram, P. 15. " Coir Board, UNDP project on " Technology Transfer, Modernisation and Capacity Building in the Indian Coir Sector", Op.cit., P.15. " Kerala Statistical Institute, Survey of Coir Industry in Kerala, Op.cit., P.33.

31 Table 7.22 Distribution Of Households By Monthly Income. Income Level Thiruvananthapuam I997 2WI % changc over Kollam 2000 %change over Alappuzha 2MO %change over 1997 up to And Above Total Source : I) Kerala Statistical Institute (March 1997): Survey of Coir Industry in Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, P.66. 2) Coir Board (May 2001): UNDP project on the Base Line Survey of Coir Clusters, Centre: Thiruvananthapuram, prepared by Tata Economic Consultancy Service, P.6. 3) Coir Board (June,2000): UNDP project on the Base Line Survey of Coir Clusters, Centre: Kollam, prepared by Tata Economic Consultancy Service, P.7. 4) Coir Board (May 2000):UNDP project on the Base Line Survey of Coir Clusters, Centre: Alappuzha, prepared by Tata Economic Consultancy Service, P.12. ' 'sign indicate percentage decrease over previous period Effects on Housing: Another objective of technological change was to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the coir workers who are economically and socially backward. Decent housing is one of the primary necessities of life. With the improvements in earnings and consequent increase in the living standard, there is improvement in the housing conditions also. See table 7.23 and

32 334 Table 7.23 Distribution of Coir Workers households according to ownership of residential houses in three cluster Area (As a Percentage ) Kollam Alappuzha State Total Thiruvananthapurm I 90.83% I 92.7% 93.63% 97.71% 96.90% 95.40% 90.00% N.A Source : 1) Government of Kerala, Report on Coir Workers Census in Kerala 1988, Op.cit., P 14 2) Coil Board, UNI)P project on Rase Line Survey of Coir Clusters, Centre; Thiruvananthapurrn, Kollarn and Alappuzha, Op.cit., PP The table 7.23 shows that about 96.69% of the households were owning houses and the remaining 3.31% of the households were not having own houses during The number of coir workers households who own residential houses improve in 2000 when compared to The percentage distribution of households according to the material of roof of their houses shows that about 53% of the households had houses made of thatched roof and 47% were of tiles. Less than one percent of the households had concreted roofs.36 Compared to 1988 during 2000 the roof type of coir worker households in the three cluster areas changed considerably that more and more coir workers were owning R.C.C and tiled roof than thatched roofs. See table In Thiruvananthapuram during 1988,83.10% of coir workers households had thatched house. It declined to 56.9 in (i.e % decline over 1988). In Kollam and Alappuzha the corresponding figures were 42,40 (35.48% decline over 1988) and and 35 (27.78 % decline over 1988). The l6 Government of Kemla (1988): "Report on Coir Workers Census in Kerala 1988". Op.cit., P.14.

33 number ofhouseholds with tiled roof increased from to 32.2% in 1988 to 2001 (i.e % increase over 1988) in Thiruvananthapuram. InKollam it was increasing from to 46 (i.e % increase over 1988). In Alappuzha it increased from to 58 (i.e % increase over 1988).in 1988 to Similarly, the number of households who had R.C.C houses also increase in all the three areas. There respective increases were 1.62 to 10.9 in Thiruvananthapuram (i.e % increase), 1.76 to 14% in Kollam (i.e %increase) and 0.37 to 7% in Alappuzha (i.e % increase) in 1988 to Table 7.24 Percentage of Distribution of Coir Workers households according to types of roof of houses Source: Same as table 7.23 ''sign indicate % decline over1988 From the above analysis of the indicators and characteristics of technological change in the Coir Industry of Kerala, it is very clear that there is a considerable improvement in the mechanisation in different process of coir production, number of skilled and educated labour force, infrastructure and expenditure for infrastructure, productivity, employment, earnings and housing conditions. This is an indication that technological progress achieved in the Coir Industry of Kerala to a very great extent.