Background

• Social justice in India faces several issues that need to be addressed to ensure the well-being of people and development of the country. 
  • These issues include poverty, lack of access to healthcare and education, gender inequality, and discrimination against marginalised communities. 
• The process of increasing the knowledge, skills,  and capacities of all people in the society can be termed  as Human Resource Development. 
• The concept of Human Resource Development is more about expansion of freedom, enhancement of capabilities, providing equal opportunities to all and ensuring a long, healthy and prosperous life. 

Concept of Inclusive Human Resource Development

• Inclusive Human Resource Development is an encompassing concept which aims to remove the barriers and include all citizens of the country to enhance their capacity and capabilities. 
• Inclusive Human Resource Development may be considered a logical extension and ultimate end to the right to equality (Article 14-18) in order to unify the potential and productivity of all the people in the country. 
• Inclusive and faster Human Resource Development has been emphasised upon in the 11th five-year plan.

Relationship of Human Resource Development with Social Justice

• Social justice and Human Resource Development are the two facets of the ultimate goal of progress. 
• Social justice is fundamental to Indian Democracy and can be traced in the preamble of the Indian constitution. 
• Human Resource Development is important to increase and enhance the economic growth of any country, as human resources yield an array of economic benefits over their working life.

Important issues that hinder inclusive Human Resource Development:

• Poverty: Poverty limits access to education, healthcare, and other essential resources, hindering human development.
• Unemployment: Unemployment leads to economic hardship. Creating job opportunities is essential for providing people with the means to support themselves and their families.
• Rural Infrastructure: Investing in rural infrastructure is essential for bridging the gap between rural and urban areas and ensuring equitable development.
• Financial Inclusion: Promoting financial inclusion is crucial for empowering individuals and businesses, especially in rural areas.
• Balanced regional development: Ensuring balanced regional development is essential for promoting social cohesion and reducing regional tensions.
• Gender equality: Promoting gender equality is essential for ensuring that women have the same opportunities as men and can contribute fully to economic and social development.
• Lack of basic amenities like sanitation, drinking water, housing etc.

Measures taken by Government to ensure Human Resource Development in Budget 2024-25

• Education: 

• • • Education Loans: For helping our youth who have not been eligible for any benefit under Government.
    • Internship Opportunities: 
    • Samagra Shikhsa Abhiyan: It was revamped to create a new education structure, pedagogy, assessment pattern, regulation and governance that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st century education. 
    • PM SHRI Scheme: The scheme emphasises on the emergence of exemplary schools that will provide high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive and joyful environment that takes care of the diverse background, multilingual needs and different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process.
    • Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM- USHA): This scheme provides funds to States/UTs institutions, with the vision to attain higher levels of access, equity, and excellence in the State higher education system for developing Quality Teaching & Learning processes with greater efficiency, transparency, accountability, and responsiveness.
  • Skill Development: Skill development is one of the key components of Human Resource Development to realise the goal of Viksit Bharat. 
    • Centrally sponsored Skilling programme: Twenty lakh youth are planned to be skilled over a period of 5-years and one thousand Industrial Training Institutes are to be upgraded with outcome based orientation. 
    • Skilling Loans- Model Skill Loan Scheme: This is a measure which is expected to help 25,000 students every year.
    • Some flagship schemes include PM Kaushal Vikas Yojna 4.0, Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Craftsmen Training Scheme, Aspirational Skilling Abhiyan etc.

• Employment Generation: Employment generation is crucial so that the skilled workforce can convert resources towards economic growth. The Union Budget(2024-25) has envisaged implementing three schemes for ‘Employment Linked Incentive’, as part of the Prime Minister’s package. 

• Scheme A-First Timers: This scheme aims to provide one-month wage to all the persons who are newly entering into the workforce under all formal sectors. 

• Scheme B- Job Creation in manufacturing: This scheme aims to incentivize additional employment in the manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time employees. 

• Scheme C-Support to employers: This employer-focussed scheme will cover additional employment in all sectors. All additional employment within a salary of Rs. one lakh per month is to be counted. 

• Innovation & Research

• Anusandhan National Research Fund: This shall be established  in order to support basic research and prototype development, by allocating Rs. 1 lakh crore to spur private sector-driven research and innovation at a commercial scale and also to expand the Space economy fivefold in the next 10 years by establishing a venture capital fund of Rs. 1,000 crore.

• Women-led development:  Dedicated financial support for women entrepreneurs and skill programmes shall significantly bear an impact on women’s economic participation & development. 

• • Encouraging participation of women in the workforce through setting up of working women’s hostels in collaboration with industry, and establishing crèches. 
  • Organise women-specific skilling programmes, and promotion of market access for women Self Help Group (SHG) enterprises.
  • Vatsalya pension scheme:  It shall be a contributory pension scheme with contributions from parents & guardians.

Schemes to ensure Social Justice

• Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan: 

• It aims to improve the socio-economic condition of tribal communities by adopting saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts.

• Purvodaya Schemes: 
  • It focuses on the all- round development of the eastern region of the country covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. 
  • This aims to cover Human Resource Development, infrastructure, and generation of economic opportunities to make the region an engine to attain Viksit Bharat.

Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice are an integral part of growth in all sectors of economy. All stakeholders’ i.e. government and civil society organisations need to coordinate together and implement effective policies and programs that focus on reducing poverty, improving access to healthcare and education, promoting gender equality, and protecting the rights of marginalised communities.