CONTEXT  India is one of the largest welfare states in the world yet, amidst the pandemic of COVID-19, the state failed to provide welfare for its most vulnerable citizens.

EFFECT OF PANDEMIC

• The country witnessed multiple crises: mass inter- and intra-migration, food insecurity, and a crumbling health infrastructure.
• The pandemic has pushed an estimated 75 million people into poverty. The second wave has affected even the middle and upper-class citizens.
• Economic capital, in the absence of social capital, has proven to be insufficient in accessing healthcare facilities.

CONCERNS

• The country has over 500 direct benefit transfer schemes for which various Central, State, and Line departments are responsible.
• However, these schemes have not reached those in need.
• The pandemic has revealed that leveraging our existing schemes and providing universal social security is of utmost importance.

FILLING THE GAPS IN EXISTING SCHEMES

Ease of application:

• Existing schemes cover a wide variety of social protections.
• However, they are fractionalised across various departments and sub-schemes. This causes problems beginning with data collection to last-mile delivery.
• Having a universal system would improve the ease of application by consolidating the data of all eligible beneficiaries under one database.
• It can also reduce exclusion errors.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) is one scheme that can be strengthened into universal social security. Currently, it already consolidates the public distribution system (PDS), the provision of gas cylinders, and wages for the MGNREGS.

Removing exclusion barrier:

• Having a universal scheme would take away the access/exclusion barrier.
• For example, PDS can be linked to a universal identification card such as the Aadhaar or voter card, in the absence of a ration card.
• This would allow anyone who is in need of foodgrains to access these schemes. It would be especially useful for migrant populations.
• Thus, making other schemes/welfare provisions like education, maternity benefits, disability benefits etc. also universal would ensure a better standard of living for the people.

Consolidation of schemes:

• There is a need to map the State and Central schemes in a consolidated manner.
• This will avoid duplication, inclusion and exclusion errors in welfare delivery.

Detailed study:

• There is a need for comprehensive study to understand costs of welfare access for vulnerable groups.This will help give a targeted way forward.
• The implementation of effective universal social security schemes is only possible through a focus on data digitisation, data-driven decision-making and collaboration across government departments.

These measures, if followed in spirit, will help to absorb the impact of external shocks on our vulnerable populations.

EXAMPLE FROM IRELAND

• An example of a social protection scheme is the Poor Law System in Ireland.
• In the 19th century, Ireland, a country that was staggering under the weight of poverty and famine, introduced the Poor Law System to provide relief that was financed by local property taxes.
• This system not only provides timely assistance but also maintains the dignity and respectability of the poor while doing so.
• The assistance under it is not designed as hand-outs but as necessary responses to a time of economic crisis.
• Today, the social welfare system in Ireland has evolved into a four-fold apparatus that promises social insurance, social assistance, universal schemes, and extra benefits/supplements.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/making-social-welfare-universal/article34433217.ece