SOCIAL JUSTICE

• Social justice means ensuring that everyone’s human rights are

respected and protected and everyone has equal economic,
political and social rights and opportunities. Basic principles of
social justice include human rights, access, participation, and
equity.

WELFARE SCHEMES FOR VULNERABLE SECTIONS OF THE SOCIETY

• High incidence of poverty and low educational attainment are the
two major challenges faced by weaker sections in India. Other
challenges include high levels of malnutrition and limited
opportunities for meaningful economic engagement.

• India has introduced several laws to address the oppression,

inequality, and discrimination faced by the historically
disadvantaged castes and tribes, disabled, transgenders etc. and
to improve their socioeconomic positions.

Issues concerning SCs & STs:

• Prejudice against SCs and STs persists – Despite abolishing
untouchability, prejudice against SCs and STs persists in some
form or the other. For ex. They are prohibited from entering
temples and public wells.

• Landlessness – More and more Dalits and Adivasis are becoming

landless and are joining the ranks of agricultural labourers.
• Poor representation in higher level govt services – Despite
providing reservation quotas in jobs, the representation of SCs
and STs in the higher levels of all public services remains poor.

• Poverty and exploitation – According to the global

multidimensional poverty index (MPI), 2018, 50 per cent of all
tribals in the country are poor as are 33 per cent of Dalits and 33
per cent of Muslims.

• Economic backwardness – They have very few assets and

employed in lower-income occupations. About 71 per cent of
Scheduled Caste farmers are agricultural labourers.

• Inclusion and exclusion errors in welfare programmes – SCs and

STs communities are excluded from benefits of various schemes
due to their illiteracy, unawareness, lack of documents,
administrative apathy etc.

• Cultural humiliation and political marginalisation – They are

subjected to discrimination due to their food habits, attire etc.
and they are excluded from religious functions. In politics too
despite reservation they end up being proxies of dominant
leaders.

• Poor implementation of schemes – The State Economic Survey

2019-20 has said that less than 40% of the funds allocated for the
Scheduled Caste Component Schemes (SCCS) and Tribal
Component Scheme (TCS) were spent in the current fiscal up to
December 2020.
Welfare Programmes for SCs
• Educational Empowerment – Various scholarships are provided
to the (SCs) students.

• Pre-Matric Scholarship to SC Students & Post matric Scholarship

to SC Students - It covers approximately 55 lakh students per
year, studying at the post matriculation or post-secondary stage,
right up to PhD.

• Top Class Education for Scheduled Caste Students - Provide

financial support for pursuing studies beyond 12th class.

• National Fellowship - Provides financial assistance for pursuing

research studies. There are 2000 slots for Scheduled Caste every
year for all the subjects. 3% fellowships are reserved for Persons
with Disabilities candidates belonging to SC categories.

Economic Empowerment
• National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development
Corporation – NSFDC assists the target group by refinancing
loans, skill training, Entrepreneurship Development Programmes
etc.

• National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development

Corporation – Provides credit facilities to beneficiaries amongst
Safai Karamcharis, manual scavengers and their dependents for
income generating activities. To promote mechanized cleaning, it
provided concessional finance to the tune of Rs.31.96 Crores to 21
 ULBs in various States(2019-20). IT facilitated skill development
training to 19033 beneficiaries.

• Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes –

To promote entrepreneurship amongst the Scheduled Castes.

Social Empowerment
• The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 – Provides punishment
for the preaching and practice of Untouchability.

• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 2015 – Provides for more stringent provisions for
prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes. Its amendment to the original 1989 act.

• SC Upheld the constitutional validity of the Scheduled Castes &

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act,
2018.The amendment had brought in to nullify an SC order
diluting stringent provisions of the law.The 2018 judgment had
diluted the original 1989 legislation, saying the SCs/STs were using
the provisions to file false criminal complaints against innocent
persons.

SCHEDULED TRIBES - Basic data and facts about ST’s

• Scheduled Tribes are defined under the article 342 and they
comprise 8.2 % of the Indian population (2011 Census) and
89.97% of them live in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas.
• The essential characteristics of these communities are – Primitive
Traits, Geographical isolation, Distinct culture, Shy of contact with
the community at large and economically backward. Broadly the
STs inhabit two distinct geographical areas – the Central India and
the North- Eastern Area.Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha have
the largest ST population.

PVTGs
• PVTGs are less developed among the tribals. In 1973, the Dhebar
Commission first recognised them as Primitive Tribal Groups. In
2006, the Government renamed the PTGs as Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).Basic characteristics of PVTGs –
They are mostly homogenous, with a small population, relatively
physically isolated, social institutes cast in a simple mould,
absence of written language, relatively simple technology and a
slower rate of change etc.

Issues concerning PVTGs

• Inequalities – The level of inequalities in social and economic
conditions is very high amongst PVTGs.

• Declining population – The growth of PVTGs’ population is either

stagnating or declining, compared to the general population
growth particularly in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where
the declining rate is very high.
• Poor Health – They fare poorly in health indicators due to factors
like poverty, illiteracy, lack of safe drinking water, bad sanitary
conditions, difficult terrain, malnutrition, poor maternal and child
health services, unavailability of health and nutritional services,
superstition etc.

• Livelihood – Due to deforestation, climate changes and new

forest conservation policies, their Non timber forest produce
collection is getting hampered. Because of the lack of awareness
about the value of NTFP produce, PVTGs have been exploited by
the middle men.

General Issues concerning STs

• Tribal Culture – Education, urbanization, industrialization and
sanskritization has affected tribal culture and led to an identity
crisis among them.

• Forest Rights – Forest policies and regulations have jeopardized

the traditional rights of tribal people and thus activities such as
food gathering, shifting cultivation have been affected.

• Land alienation – Since the colonial period, tribal land has been
acquired for developmental activities and agriculture expansion
and gradually they have been reduced to agriculture landless
labourers.

• Lack of Education – Inadequate schools, absence of quality

education, absence of competent teachers, lack of education in
mother tongue has led to low literacy among tribals. The tribal
 drop-outs at primary and secondary level is much higher than that
of the general population.

• Lack of basic infrastructure – Absence of roads, pucca houses,

electricity, drinking water and sanitation facilities, schools,
hospitals etc.

• Displacement & enforced migration -It has led to an increasing

number of Scheduled Tribes working as contract labourers in the
construction industry and as domestic workers in major cities.

Welfare programmes for STs

• Educational Empowerment – Pre-Matric & post matric
Scholarship Scheme, National Fellowship and Scholarship for
Higher Education etc.

• Vocational Training Centres in Tribal Areas – To upgrade the skills

of the tribal youth in various traditional/ modern vocations.
Ministry of Road & Transport announced the government is
working to set up Driver Training Centres in tribal areas and in the
115 poorest districts in the country.

• Scheme of Strengthening Education among the ST Girls in Low

Literacy Districts – The scheme aims to bridge the gap in literacy
levels between the general female population and tribal women,
in the identified districts or blocks.
 Economic Empowerment
• Institutional Support for Development and Marketing of Tribal
Products/Produce. – The scheme has poor record as only 8 states
have been granted aid under the scheme Chhattisgarh was
granted funds (Rs. 2.32 crores) only once in 2014 but the State did
not utilize them. Tripura is the only State to have been granted
funds each year since 2014 until 2018 and it has utilized all the
funds allocated to it.

• Micro Credit Scheme for Self Help Groups comprising ST

members. – As per MoRD data, the Rs 2.8 lakh crore leveraged
from the banking system to SHGs. The number of enterprises per
village went up by 79 per cent, per capital monthly income by 22
per cent. STs also benefitted greatly.

• Stand Up India Scheme – To promote entrepreneurship among

aspiring Women and SC/ST entrepreneurs. The scheme failed to
make any impact, only to 57 entrepreneurs received loan under
the scheme till 2018.

Social Empowerment
• Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan – Provided by the
MOTA to the States for family-oriented income-generation
schemes in sectors of agriculture, horticulture, sericulture etc.

• Development of Forest Village – It was launched during the 10th

Plan to raise the HDI and provide basic facilities and services for
inhabitants.
 • The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled
Areas) Act, 1996 – The Act extended the provisions of Panchayats
to the tribal areas of nine states that have Fifth Schedule Areas.

Recommendations of Dhebar commission (1960) regarding education

• Provide the mid-day meal, clothing, free book, reading and writing
materials, etc. to all the tribal children in backward areas, opening
of schools in localities where there were at least 30 school-going
children, adjustment of timing, vacations, and holidays of schools
to suit the tribal social and cultural life, create an atmosphere of
tribal culture in the schools etc.

• The Kothari Commission endorsed the recommendations of the

Dhebar Commission and also suggested the need to educate
parents simultaneously.

Xaxa Committee recommendations for welfare of STs

• Regarding legal & administrative framework-Empower Tribes
Advisory Council, widening its scope and responsibilities and
transforming it into the Tribes Advisory, Protective and
Developmental Council.

• Autonomous Councils must be covered under the State Finance

Commission and FC must lay down appropriate principles of
resource distribution between the State and the Autonomous
Council.

• Socio-economic development-Ensure due share in socio-

economic progress for tribals, including facilities like health,
 education, livelihood, drinking water, sanitation, roads, electricity
and sustainable income.

• Regarding Education- Teachers for schools in the tribal regions

should be recruited locally.New teacher training institutions
should be opened and the curriculum for the training should be
compatible with the socio-cultural milieu, tribal ethos, language
etc.

• Reservation for tribal women (one-third) as well as smaller tribal

groups in the ADCs and other political institutions.Establish agro-
based training institutions and related labour-intensive processing
industries in tribal regions.All steps must be taken by the
Government for skill development among the tribal youth to
make them employable or self-employed.

• The State Governments should develop a policy for multilingual

education, so that early learning is conducted in the local
language.Inclusion of local culture, folklore and history in the
curriculum can help in building confidence of tribal children and
enhance the relevance of education in their lives.

• Residential schools should be set up specifically for Nomadic

Tribes.Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act,
2009 should be stringently implemented.

• Regarding Culture-Respect and protect tribals customary rights to

land, forest, culture and sources of livelihood. Allow to participate
in the protection and management of forests.
• The right to preservation of their language, culture and traditions,
and to protect themselves against the loss of identity, must be
recognized, protected, documented and allowed to thrive as a
dynamic living culture.

MSP for Minor Forest Produce

• MFP are non-wood forest products. It includes bamboo, canes,
fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins and many forms of food
including nuts, wild fruits etc.MFP is a major source of livelihood
for Tribals. Collection and sale of MFPs contribute 40 – 60 % of
tribal annual earnings.

• MFP provides food, shelter, medicines and cash income for forest
dwellers. The MFP sector has the potential to create about 10
million work days annually.Most of the Minor Forest Produces are
collected and used/sold by women, thus it also ensures women
empowerment.

MSP for MFP

• GOI introduced a minimum support price (MSP) for a select list of
MFP through the Scheme of Mechanism for Marketing of Minor
Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price in 2011.

Scheme of Mechanism for Marketing of MFP through MSP

• The scheme is designed as a social safety net for improvement of
livelihood of MFP gatherers by providing them a fair price for the
MFPs they collect.
 Institutions for Tribal Development
• National Scheduled Tribe Finance and Development Corporation –
Work for economic upliftment of the STs by extending
concessional financial assistance to the target group.

• Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) – It is

a national level cooperative body est. in 1987. Its objective is
socio-economic development of tribal people by way of marketing
development of the tribal products.

Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition

of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
• Popularly known as Forests Rights Act, 2006 was enacted to
protect the marginalised socio-economic class of citizens and
balance the right to environment with their right to life and
livelihood.It recognizes the rights of the forest dwelling tribal
communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest
resources, on which these communities are dependent for a
variety of needs including livelihood.

• The Act encompasses Rights of Self-cultivation and Habitation

which are usually regarded as Individual rights; and Community
Rights as Grazing, Fishing and access to Water bodies in forests,
Habitat Rights for PVTGs etc.
Importance
• It seeks to undo the historical injustice occurred to the forest
dwelling communities .The act ensures land tenure, livelihood and
food security of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other
traditional forest dwellers.

• It strengthens the conservation regime of the forests by including

the responsibilities and authority of Forest Rights holders for
sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of
ecological balance.

Challenges for implementation

• Lack of Political will: There is no political will to implement this
act as assertion of power of forest dwelling communities is in
direct conflict with the agenda of ease of doing business.

• Systemic issues: There is lack of coordination between the tribal,

revenue and forest department on implementation of the Act.
There are multiple laws that are in conflict with FRA and to
operationalise FRA on the ground.

• Functional/implementation barriers: There are number of

implementation challenges. A large number of claims are being
rejected; pending or limited rights are recognised. The area
recognized has been drastically reduced from the area, which has
been claimed without any proper reasons.
Role Played by NCST and NCSC in progress of SC/ST
National Commission for STs
• The 89th Amendment bifurcated the erstwhile National
Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and set
up the NCST under Article 338-A to oversee the implementation
of various safeguards provided to STs under the Constitution.

Functions
• To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards
provided for the STs under the Constitution or under any other
law and to evaluate the working of such safeguards.To inquire
into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights
and safeguards of the Scheduled Tribes.

• To participate and advise in the planning process of socio-

economic development of the STs and to evaluate the progress of
their development under the Union and any State.To present to
the President, annually and at such other times as the
Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those
safeguards.

Role played by NCST in welfare of SC/ST

• NCSC took Suo-moto recognition of atrocities against SC and ST
communities in recent Bengal post-poll violence.It started online
complaint portal for complaints of atrocities against scheduled
castes.
• Commission requested government to file a review Subhash
Mahajan case which had diluted SC/ST (prevention of Atrocities)
act, 1989. and subsequently government restored original
provisions.Raised cases of exploitation of Scheduled Caste Labour
in the Brick Kiln Sector.

National Commission for SCs

• It is a constitutional body established under article 338 to provide
safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes and
Anglo-Indian communities to promote and protect their social,
educational, economic, cultural interests and special provisions
made in the Constitution.

Role played by NCSC in welfare of ST

• Raised issue of displacement and rehabilitation of STs due to
developmental projects with MOEFCCC and recommended
measure to safeguard tribal rights. It presented two reports to
president regarding this – Indira Sagar Polavaram Project Affected
Tribal People and Rourkela Steel Plant on Rehabilitation &
Resettlement of Displaced Tribal.

• Represented in legal matters related to interest of tribals. For ex

in Chhattisgarh HC regarding the denial of promotion of SCs & STs
officers of Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board.
 Challenges/ Limitations
• Recommendations of NCSC & SCST are not binding on the
government.Lack of proper infrastructure, human resources,
power to implement its own decisions.Both commissions are
plagued by vacancies and delayed appointments.

Suggestions
• The Commission should work with legislators to identify four or
five priorities across all government schemes and reorient all
spending (SCP) around those priorities. The Commission could
also have a role in facilitating economic empowerment and
entrepreneurship.

• It shall work to promote skills and small business development in

the service economy.The Commission has a constitutional
mandate to participate in the social and economic planning for SC
welfare — it should use this mandate to guide such a group.

RESERVATION FOR SC/ST AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL

EMPOWERMENT
• Reservation is a system of affirmative action to ensure social
justice for historically disadvantaged groups by improving
representation in education, employment and politics.103rd
amendment act 2019, provided 10% additional quota for the
economically weaker sections amongst the erstwhile unreserved
category students.
Reservation for SCs & STs
• Article 15(4) – The special provisions/reservation for the
advancement of SCs & STs.

• Reservation in jobs and education – 15 % and 7.5 % reservation

to services and educational institutions is provided for SCs and STs
respectively.

• Political Reservation – Article 330 & 332 provides reservation of

seats for the scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok
Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.Article 243D provides
reservation of seats for SCs and STs in every Panchayat.

• Reservations in promotions (Article 16 -4A) – 85th constitutional

amendment act 2001 provided reservations to SCs and STs in
matters of promotion as well.

Need for reservation

• Discrimination – These social groups have faced Social, political
and economic discrimination in the past and they still face it in
many parts of country.

• Backwardness – They are socially backward and they face various

forms of caste-based discrimination.

• Untouchability – They were subjected to the practice of

untouchability, which takes the form of various social restrictions.
 • Representation – Inadequate representation of backward classes
in the public services.Education and positions of power and
lucrative jobs were denied to them.

How Reservation is undermined ?

• lateral entry – It undermined the reservations system because the
quotas did not apply.

• Judiciary – For ex. The SC Ruled that reservation in job

promotions was not a fundamental right.SC upheld UGC
notification which sought to shift the unit of provision of
reservations from a university as a whole to the departmental
level.

Suggestions to achieve desired goal

• Sub-categorization of SC & ST communities and priority for most
poor people to avail reservation benefits.Limit the reservation
benefits to 1 or 2 generations. It can be discontinued for the next
generation of government servants.Apply Creamy- Layer concept
to SC and ST communities.

• As the public sector jobs are declining the government should

devise other programs for the capacity building and overall
development of backward communities.To stimulate
entrepreneurship in SC/ST communities; reservation in
government contracts and projects for enterprises promoted by
SC/ST professionals should be introduced.Strengthen the legal
and judicial protection of Dalits under the Scheduled Castes and
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
OTHER BACKWARD CLASS
Constitutional provisions for OBC’s
• In the Indian Constitution, OBCs are described as socially and
educationally backward classes. The Mandal Commission
estimated the OBC population at 52 per cent while NSSO
estimated 41.7 per cent (2009-10).Lists of OBCs are maintained by
both the National Commission for Backward Classes and the
individual states.

Schemes for welfare of OBCs

Educational Welfare
• Pre-Matric Scholarship to OBCs – The aim of this Scheme is to
motivate children of OBCs studying at the pre-matric stage.
• Post-Matric Scholarship to OBCs – Provide financial assistance to
the OBC students studying at post-matriculation to enable them
to complete their education.

Economic welfare
• Saksham – This is a special scheme under Term Loan for young
professionals belonging to Backward Classes of the target group.

• Shilp Sampada – The objective of this scheme is to upgrade the

technical and entrepreneurial skills of Backward Classes by
providing training and financial assistance.
• Krishi Sampada – To provide concessional loans under
Microfinance to small farmers, vegetable vendors of the target.
 group for requirements of funds during Rabi & Kharif or any cash
crop.

Social Welfare
• Assistance for Skill development of OBCs/ DNTs/EBCs – Involves
the Voluntary Organization and National Backward Classes
Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) to improve
educational and socio-economic conditions of the
OBCs/DNTs/EBCs.Constitutional status to National Backward class
commission for the overall progress of the backward
communities.

OBC Reservation
• Second Backward Class Commission – The GOI had appointed the
Mandal Commission in 1979. It submitted a report in 1980 and
recommended 27 % reservation in favor of OBCs. The government
accepted it in 1990.

• • Socially and Educationally Backward – OBCs were considered

socially and educationally backward classes and granted
reservation in Education – article 15 (4) and Jobs – article 16 (4) to
ensure their social and educational development.

Impact of OBC Reservation

• They have made considerable progress in education, their
representation in employment increased, in politics too they have
become powerful.Their percentage in the CPSEs jumped from
 16.6 per cent in 2004 to 28.5 per cent in 2014. At the same time,
poorer sections within OBCs have not got reservation benefits.
Thus, the demand for subcategorization within the OBCs has
received serious attention.

Subcategorization Of OBCs
• It refers to creating categories within OBCs for the reservation to
ensure “equitable distribution” of representation among all OBC
communities. The President of India appointed a commission
headed by Retd Delhi HC Chief Justice G Rohini, to Examine Sub-
categorisation of Other Backward Classes in 2017.

Need of Subcategorization
• OBCs are Heterogeneous – OBCs include diverse social groups
and communities with different socio-economic backgrounds.
Only a few affluent communities among them have secured a
major part of this 27% reservation.

• Implemented in states – OBC sub-categorization is already being

implemented at the State level in more than 10 states and has
resulted in the betterment of the most backward sections among
the OBCs.

• NCBC recommendation – It had recommended sub-categorization

of OBCs into three groups: Extremely Backward Classes, More
Backward Classes, and Backward Classes back in 2015.
• Better distribution of reservation benefits – Ensuring a sub-quota
as per their population share will ensure just and fair distribution
of reservation benefits.

National Commission for Backward Classes

• The NCBC has urged the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment to collect data on the population of Other
Backward Classes (OBCs) in the country “as part of Census of India
2021 exercise.

About NCBC
• It was set up in 1993 as a statutory body under the Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment. 102nd amendment 2018
inserted Article 338B and provided it constitutional status.The
commission was the outcome of Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union
of India. The SC had directed the Government to constitute a
permanent body for entertaining, examining and recommending
upon requests for inclusion and exclusion in the list of OBCs.

Power and Duties

• To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards
provided for the SEBC and to evaluate the working of such
safeguards.To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the
deprivation of rights and safeguards of the SEBC. To present to
the President reports upon the working of those safeguards.
• To recommend measures that should be taken for the effective
implementation of safeguards and other measures for the
protection, welfare and socio-economic development of SEBC.

Role of NCBC as an agency for welfare of OBC

• Recently NCBC, summoned the Government Medical College and
Hospital, Chandigarh regarding non-allotment of seats in the
institute to OBC students as per the provision of the
reservation.National Commission for Backward Classes has issued
a notice to the health ministry complaining that the post-Mandal
27 per cent quota was not implemented systematically.

Limitations
• Non-Binding Recommendations – Recommendations are not
binding on the government.

• Multidimensional challenges – Mere granting constitutional

status will not result in advancement of OBCs as it consists of very
diverse communities with different socio-economic backgrounds
and challenges.

Suggestions
• Composition: Mandatorily include experts and females in order to
ensure gender sensitivity.

• Transparency: Recommendation of commission and tracker of

action taken shall be available in the public domain.
• Effective implementation of existing government policies and
impact evaluation for timely course correction.

• Other steps required: Coordination with civil society, Incentivise

Good Social Work, entrepreneurship promotion etc.

Constraints In performance of welfare schemes for SC/ST/OBC –

critical examination
• Poverty and Inequality – Problems of isolation, exclusion and
occupational subjugation are major obstacles to main streaming
these social groups in the socio-economic development of the
country.

• Poor Governance – Governance including lack of inter-ministerial

convergence and suboptimal targeting of beneficiaries is another
major issue.

• Ground realities are ignored – Mainstreaming these groups has

also been hampered by the inability to incorporate specific
cultural and social requirements of SC/ST groups while designing
interventions.

• Poor outcomes – Each ministry is supposed to set aside 15 per

cent of its spending in a Scheduled Caste Sub Plan, but often their
outcomes are insignificant.
WOMEN
• Women constitute almost 50 % of the population of India. Thus,
ideally, they should have equal share in education, health,
employment, politics etc. But, in contrast, many women in India
continue to face significant difficulties and they lag on
developmental parameters.

Constitutional Provisions
• Article 15(3) - Allows for positive discrimination in favour of
women.
• Article 23 - Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced
labour
• Article 42 - Allows for provisions to be made by the State for
securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity
relief.

Status of women in India- fact and data

• Literacy – The literacy rate in the country is 74.04 per cent, 82.14
for males and 65.46 for females (2011 Census).
• Sex Ratio – The sex ratio in the country had always remained
unfavourable to females. It was 940 in 2011 (2011 Census).

• Child Sex Ratio – Declined from 927 in 2011 to 918 in 2011

census.
• Women Workforce participation Rate – In 2019, about 20.7
percent of women were in the labor force across India, down
from approximately 30 percent in 1990 (WB).

• Health – More than 50 per cent women are anaemic in the

majority of the states. (National Family Health Survey 2019-20).

• Domestic Violence – One in three (34%) married women (aged

15-49) have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by
their husband or partners (NCRB).

Legislative Interventions for women welfare

THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE
(PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013
Key Provisions
• Internal Complaints Committee – Every employer is required to
constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or
branch with 10 or more employees.
• Local Complaints Committee – The District Officer is required to
constitute a Local Complaints Committee at each district, and if
required at the block level.
• Power of civil Court – The Complaints Committees have the
powers of civil courts for gathering evidence.
• Punishments – Non-compliance with the Act is punishable with a
fine of up to ₹ 50,000. Repeated violations lead to higher
penalties and cancellation of licence or deregistration to conduct
business.
Challenges
• Exception – The act is not applied to Armed forces which are
largely male dominated.

• Not gender neutral – it does not consider sexual harassment

experienced by transgenders and males etc.

• Monitoring – There is no authority to ensure a proper mechanism

for monitoring its implementation.

• lack of awareness among majority of the employees working

both in organised and unorganised sector.

THE MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2017

Key Provisions
• Enhanced maternity leave from existing 12 weeks to 26
weeks.Extended maternity benefit to adopting mothers and
commissioning mothers.Introduced an enabling provision relating
to "work from home" for women, which may be exercised after
the expiry of the 26 weeks' leave period.

• Women employees would be permitted to visit the crèche 4 times

during the day.Makes it mandatory for employers to educate
women about the maternity benefits available to them at the
time of their appointment.
 ISSUE WITH ACT
• Do not recognises paternity leaves, thus it stereotypes women
into their traditional gender roles o The Bill excludes paternity
leave. Therefore the benefit burden may discourage employers to
hire women. O Ignores roughly 90 per cent of the Indian women
who are employed in the unorganised sector.

THE MUSLIM WOMEN (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON MARRIAGE) ACT,

2019
• It makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic
form, to be void and illegal. It makes declaration of talaq a
cognizable offence, attracting up to three years’ imprisonment
with a fine. A Muslim woman against whom talaq has been
declared, is entitled to seek subsistence allowance from her
husband for herself and for her dependent children.

Other acts
• Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 – To prevent the giving or receiving
of a dowry.

• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides for payment of equal

remuneration to men and women for same work or work of
similar nature.

• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 - To

protect women from domestic violence.
 • The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 – It was enacted to
remove gender discriminatory provisions in the Hindu Succession
Act, 1956. Under the amendment, the daughter of a coparcener
shall by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same
manner as the son.

CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
• It was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and is often
described as an international bill of rights for women.The
Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between
women and men through ensuring women’s equal access to, and
equal opportunities in, political and public life.

Key Provisions
• It focuses on non-discrimination, sex stereotypes, and sex
trafficking.It outlines women’s rights in the public sphere with an
emphasis on political life, representation, and rights to
nationality.

• Describes the economic and social rights of women, particularly

focusing on education, employment, and health.It outlines
women’s right to equality in marriage and family life along with
the right to equality before the law.
Welfare Schemes/ programmes for women PRADHAN MANTRI
UJJWALA YOJANA
• Launched in 2016 to safeguard the health of women and children
by providing free LPG connections to women of Below Poverty
Line (BPL) families.Union Budget 2021-22 announced to give out
one crore more free cooking gas connections under the scheme.

Performance of the scheme

• 8 crore free LPG connections were provided to poor women
households. In just four years (2016-20) household LPG coverage
grew to 98% from 56% in 2014-15. The scheme led to an increase
in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014.

Impact on women
• It will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.
This measure will empower women and protect their health.It will
reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking.

Concerns
• Ujjwala beneficiaries return to unclean cooking fuel because of
the high cost of refilling cylinders.There has been only a 20%
increase in the overall usage of clean cooking fuel despite 98 %
LPG coverage.
Institutions for women welfare MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
• The broad mandate of the Ministry is to have holistic
development of Women and Children.The Ministry formulates
plans, policies and programmes; enacts/ amends legislation,
guides and coordinates the efforts of both governmental and
NGOs working in the field of Women and Child Development.

• The major policy initiatives undertaken by the Ministry in the

recent past include universalisation of ICDS, Kishori Shakti Yojana,
Poshan Abhiyan.

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN

• It was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National
Commission for Women Act, 1990 to:

• Review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women.

• Recommend remedial legislative measures.

• Facilitate redressal of grievances.

STEPS TAKEN BY NCW WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

• The Commission completed its visits to all the States/UTs except
Lakshadweep and prepared Gender Profiles to assess the status of
women and their empowerment.It received a large number of
complaints and acted suo-moto in several cases to provide speedy
 justice.It took up the issue of child marriage, sponsored legal
awareness programmes, Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats.

• It conducted workshops/seminars for gender awareness and took

up publicity campaign against female foeticide, violence against
women etc. in order to generate awareness in the society against
these social evils.

SCHEMES FOR HEALTH/NUTRITION/MATERNITY

• National Nutrition Programme (Poshan Abhiyan) – The
programme through the targets strive to reduce the level of
stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies.

• The Mother and Child Tracking System 2009 – To monitor the

health care system to ensure that all mothers and their children
have access to a range of services, including pregnancy care,
medical care during delivery, and immunizations.

• Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana – Provides Conditional

Maternity Benefit for pregnant and lactating women aged 19 and
over for their first two live births.

SCHEMES FOR WOMEN SAFETY

• Universalisation of Help line – A single uniform number (181) to
provide 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response to
women affected by violence.National Cyber Crime Reporting
Portal – This portal caters to complaints pertaining to cybercrimes
only with special focus on cybercrimes against women and
children.
• Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (She-Box) – Online complaint
management system for registering complaints related to sexual
harassment at workplace by women.

TO INCREASE WFPR
• Reservation in police force – GOI directed to all State
Governments to increase representation of women in police to
33% of the total strength.Rashtriya Mahila Kosh – The main
objective of RMK is to provide micro-credit to poor women for
various livelihood support and income generating activities.

• Scheme for working women hostel – To promote availability of

safe and conveniently located accommodation for working
women, with day care facilities for their children.

SCHEMES FOR POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT

• Training for women heads of panchayats – In order to empower
women heads of panchayats, WCD has initiated a massive
programme to train over 2 lakh women heads of Panchayats.

• Gender Champions – It is being implemented through educational

institutions to sensitize young students and create awareness on
laws, legislations, legal rights and life skills education.
SCHEMES FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
• Women of India Exhibitions/Festivals – To provide a platform for
women entrepreneurs and farmers especially from rural India to
exhibit and sell their products.

• Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls

(SABLA)- To help young women become self-reliant, including
nutritional supplementation and education, health education and
services, and life skills and vocational training.

• SWADHAR Greh (A Scheme for Women in Difficult

Circumstances) – For rehabilitation of women in difficult
circumstances. The scheme covers women who are deserted and
without any social and economic support, victims of domestic
violence, family tension and natural disasters

SCHEMES REGARDING MARRIAGES

• Dhanlaxmi Scheme – Aimed at doing away with child marriage by
offering parents an attractive insurance cover, and encouraging
parents to educate their children as well as covering certain
medical expenses for girl babies.

• NRI Matrimonial Disputes – MWCD has prepared Standard

Operating Procedures for women involved in NRI matrimonial
disputes. These SoPs narrate the step wise correct legal recourse
to be undertaken by women to facilitate speedy access to justice.
India’s measures for women empowerment

Key Recommendations
• 50 per cent reservation for women in all decision-making
bodies.The Parliamentary Committee on the Empowerment of
Women must examine the gender implications of all proposed
legislation.

• The National Commission for Women, must go beyond ‘reactive

interventions’ to fulfil the proactive mandate of studying,
recommending and influencing policies, laws, programmes and
budgets to ensure full benefits to the stakeholders.

• Suggested to appoint a separate panel to study the status of

Muslim women in the country.Separate law to fight “honour”
killings and changes in the Muslim and the Christian family laws as
they are loaded against women. Complete ban on the practice of
“oral, unilateral and triple talaaq (divorce)” and polygamy.
About the BDPfA
• It was adopted at The Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995.
It is widely known as the most progressive blueprint for advancing
women’s rights.It reaffirms the fundamental principles adopted
by the World Conference on Human Rights, that the human rights
of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and
indivisible part of universal human rights.

Progressed made so far

• Over the past decade, 131 countries have passed laws to support
women’s equality, including to increase access to health care and
good quality education, and to promote women’s political
participation. Yet, progress has been too slow. Not a single
country has achieved gender equality.Women and girls are facing
disproportionate impacts of pandemic with far-reaching
consequences.

Recent Challenges for gender equality

• COVID-19 – Pandemic has created barriers to women
participation and removing choices that enable empowerment of
women. For ex – women have resumed the role of unpaid carers
within the home, including home schooling, at the cost of
employment.

• Climate change – Especially for low-income and middle-income

countries (LMICs), the climate crisis carries substantial risk of
exacerbating poverty and inequalities. Attempts to address
 gendered implications of the climate crisis have largely been
overlooked.

Suggestions
• Enabling the political, social, and cultural transformation required
for robust sustained gender equality.
• Facilitating women’s empowerment beyond parity.
• Greater and more effective investment in human capital and
resources that support engagement with and participation of
women.
• Gender sensitisation of all public institutions.

From Insights to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19’

– UN Women Report
• ‘The impacts of coronavirus on women and girls are far more than
their counterparts. Even within the same gender, marginalized
groups are more likely to die from COVID-19. In comparison to
white women, Indian women are at 2.7 times likely to die of
COVID-19.

• Coronavirus pandemic has also gravely affected women’s financial

health. More women have lost their jobs or businesses as a result
of COVID-19 (25% of women vs. 21% of men).

• The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted the

mental health of women due to the significant increase in unpaid
care and domestic work. While the violence against women and
 girls has spiked multi folds since the outbreak of COVID-19, the
reporting of the same has dropped.

CHILDREN
• Universally children are defined as a person male or female who is
below 18 years of age. Children are the first call on the agenda of
human resource development because the foundation for lifelong
learning and human development is laid in these crucial, early
years.The problems and challenges faced by the Indian children,
laws have been introduced and various policies and programmes
are being implemented for the welfare of children in India.

Constitutional Safeguards for Children

• Article – 21 A – The State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age 6- 14years.

• Article-243 G – Provides for institutionalisation of child care by

seeking to entrust programmes of women and child development
to Panchayat (item 25 of Schedule 11).

• Article 24 – Prohibits employment of Children below the age of 14

years in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous activity.

• Article – 45 – The State shall endeavour to provide early

childhood care and education for all children until they complete
the age of six years. Manner and in conditions of freedom and
dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against
exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.
Issues related to children
• Child Abuse – Two out of every three children were physically
abused. 53.22% children reported having faced one or more
forms of sexual abuse (MWCD study in 2007).

• Child Marriages – India is home to the largest number (⅓ rd of the

world) of child brides in the world & ranks 4th among the eight
South Asian countries in terms of child marriage prevalence.

• Drop-out rate of students – The all-India average dropout rate of

primary students is 4.13 per cent while it is 17.06 per cent in the
secondary levels (Educational Statistics at a Glance, 2018).

• Child Pornography – At least 25,000 images of child sexual abuse

are uploaded every day from India (U.S. National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children).

• Child Labours – There are around 12.9 million child labours in

India (ILO,2016). The number of child labourers in India is 10.1
million as per the census of 2011.

Invisible Pandemics – COVID 19 pandemic impact

• COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated four other existing
pandemics: Malnutrition, poverty, violence, and mental health
issues.Extended periods of lockdown have also added to the
heightened vulnerabilities to Gender based Violence (GBV) and
violence against children for those already at risk.
Legislative Interventions for children Welfare
• The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act
1994 – Prohibits determination of sex of foetus and killing of
female child in the mother’s womb. The Act also bans the
advertisement using pre-natal diagnostic technique for sex
determination.

• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 –

Prohibits the engagement of children in certain employments and
regulates the conditions of work of children in certain other
employments.

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 – Prohibit child

marriage, protect and provide relief to victim and enhance
punishment for those who abet, promote or solemnize such
marriage.

• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 – To

protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual
harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of
Special Courts for trial of such offences and related matters and
incidents.

POCSO Amendment Act 2019

• The Act has enhanced punishment under various sections of the
Act including punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual
assault to be increased to include death penalty.It also increased
the minimum punishment for penetrative sexual assault from
 seven years to 10 years and, if the child is below 16 years of age,
the minimum punishment has been increased to 20 years.

• Punishment for possessing pornographic material in any form

involving a child, even if the accused persons have failed to delete
or destroy or report the same with an intention to share it.

UN CONVENTION ON CHILDREN RIGHTS

• It is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil,
political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.It
obliges parties to take all appropriate legislative, administrative,
social and educational measures to protect the child from all
forms of physical or mental violence.The Convention forbids
capital punishment for children.

National Policy on children , 2013

• The policy reiterates commitment to the right based approach in
addressing the continuing and emerging challenges in the
situation of children.It recognizes that every child is unique and a
supremely important national asset and special measures and
affirmative action are required to diminish or eliminate conditions
that cause discrimination.

• Survival, health, nutrition, development, education, protection

and participation are the undeniable right of every child and are
the key priorities of this Policy.
Recommendations
Education
• Promote affordable and accessible quality education up to the
secondary level for all children. Address discrimination of all forms
in schools and foster equal opportunity, treatment and
participation.Prioritise education for disadvantaged groups by
creating enabling environment through necessary legislative
measures, policy and provisions.

Survival, Health & Nutrition

• Provide universal and affordable access to health services and
protect children from all water-borne, vector-borne, blood and
other childhood diseases.Improve maternal health care, including
antenatal care, safe delivery by skilled health personnel, post
natal care and nutritional support.

• Address key causes and determinants of child mortality and

Secure the right of the girl child to life, survival, health and
nutrition.

Protection
• The State shall promote and strengthen legislative, administrative
and institutional redressal mechanisms at the National and State
level for the protection of child rights.The State shall protect all
children from all forms of violence and abuse, harm, neglect,
stigma, discrimination, deprivation, economic exploitation sexual
exploitation etc.
Institutional Framework for children welfare
THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS
(NCPCR)
• It is a statutory body established under the Commission for
Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Act 2005 to protect, promote
and defend child rights in the country.

Functions
• Examine and review the safeguards provided by or under any law
for the protection of child rights and recommend measures for
their effective implementation.Inquire into violation of child rights
and recommend initiation of proceedings in such cases.

• Look into the matters relating to the children in need of special

care and protection including children in distress, marginalized
and disadvantaged children, juveniles’ children etc.Spread child
rights literacy among various sections of society and promote
awareness of the safeguards available for protection of these
rights.

Welfare schemes for children Education & Health

• The Integrated Child Protection Scheme – ICPS brings together
multiple existing child protection schemes under one
comprehensive umbrella, and integrates additional interventions
for protecting children and preventing harm.
• National Health Mission – Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn,
Child and Adolescent (RMNCH+A) Strategy of NHM
comprehensively integrates interventions that improve child
health and nutrition status and addresses factors contributing to
neonatal, infant, under-five mortality and malnutrition.

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – Aimed at the universalisation of primary

education “in a time bound manner.

• Mid-Day Meal – To enhance the enrollment, retention and

attendance and simultaneously improve nutritional levels among
school going children studying in Classes I to VIII.

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

• Launched in 2018. It subsumed the three Schemes of Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
(RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).

Objectives –
• Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes
of students; Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education;
Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education;
Ensuring minimum standards in schooling provisions; Promoting
Vocationalisation of education; Support States in implementation
of RTE Act, 2009.
For children in distress
• Khoya-Paya Portal – To provide a platform to the public to share
the details of missing/found/ sighted children with the public at
large. Over 3355 children have been united/rehabilitated
between 2015 -2017.

• CHILDLINE – Nation-wide 1098 helpline number for rescuing and

assisting children in distress conditions.

• POCSO e-Box – It is an online complaint box for reporting child

sexual abuse.

Child Labour
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 – prohibits
the engagement of children in certain types of occupations and
regulates the condition of work of children in other occupations.

• Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 –

Provides for complete prohibition on employment or work of
children below 14 years and also prohibits employment of
adolescents (14-18 years) in hazardous occupations and
processes.

• The National Child Labour Project – Started in 1988 for

rehabilitating the children withdrawn from employment thereby
reducing the incidence of child labour.
Child Labours in India
• There are 10.1 million child labours in India of which 5.6 million
are boys and 4.5 million are girls (2011 Census). In India, 20
percent of all children aged 15 to 17 years old are involved in
hazardous industries and jobs (ILO).

• Measuring the exact scale of child labour in India is difficult as it is

often hidden and under-reported.Reasons – Poverty, inequalities,
illiteracy, cheap labours, poor implementation of laws, gender and
caste discrimination etc.

Schemes for Girl Child

• Udaan – Initiative of the Central Board of Secondary Education to
enable girl students to soar to higher education from schools, and
to eventually take various leadership roles in future.

• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojna (2015) – A small deposit scheme,

launched as a part of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ to encourage
parents of a girl-child to stock a fund for their education and
marriage. Within 2 months of launch, 1,80,000 accounts had been
opened under the scheme.

• Kanyashree Prakalpa (west Bengal) – To improve the status and

wellbeing of girls, specifically those from socio-economically
disadvantaged families through Conditional Cash Transfers.
Female gender ratio in higher education institutions in Bengal has
gone up from 42% in 2010 to 47.3 % in 2020. The scheme had
won UN Public Service Award in 2017.
Critical analysis of Beti Bachao
Beti Padhao scheme Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.
• Objective – To address issues from declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR),
women empowerment, removal of gender inequality to
protecting a girl child.The key elements of the scheme include the
enforcement of the PC and PNDT Act, and a nationwide
awareness and advocacy campaign.

• BBBP’s emphasis is on changing mindsets through training,

sensitisation, awareness-raising and community mobilisation on
the ground.

Way Forward
• A change in mindset towards the girl child is not only essential for
gender equality and women empowerment but also to realise the
vision of a new India because any nation cannot progress, leaving
its 50% population behind. A first step towards women
empowerment is to ensure the survival of girl children and the
BBBP campaign is a right step in the right direction.

Analysis of Integrated Child Development Scheme

• Launched in 1975, ICDS provides food, preschool education,
primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral
services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
Objectives
• To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the
age-group 0-6 years.To lay the foundation for proper
psychological, physical and social development of the child.To
reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and
school dropout.

• To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal

health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition
and health education.

Shortcomings
• Anganwadi (childcare centre) services have a poor reach among
the key beneficiaries – the poorest of the poor and uneducated
mothers.AWCs are overburdened, underpaid and mostly
unskilled. Nearly a fourth of the operational AWCs lack drinking
water facilities and 36 per cent do not have toilets.

• Service delivery is not consistent in quality and quantity across the

country.World Bank – Inability to target the girl child
improvements, participation of wealthier children more than the
poorer children and lowest level of funding for the poorest and
the most undernourished states of India.
Suggestions
• Convergence of complementary services, which is essential for
realisation of ICDS goals.The existing monitoring system of ICDS
needs to be strengthened and revamped.

• Strengthening of infrastructure, human resources and incentive

structure of health workers).The institution of Gram Sabha should
be utilised to sensitise people about entitlement of
food/medicine/other facilities, the rights of children and services
available at AWC.

THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES (POCSO)

RULES, 2020
Key Provisions
• Mandatory police verification of school and care home
staff.Procedures to report sexual abuse material such as
pornography and imparting age-appropriate child rights
education.

• The state government have been asked to formulate a child

protection policy based on the principle of zero tolerance to
violence against children.The central government and every state
government shall provide periodic training including orientation
programmes, sensitisation workshops and refresher courses to all
persons, whether regular or contractual, coming in contact with
the children, to sensitise them about child safety and protection.
SENIOR CITIZENS
• As per the Census figures of 2011, the population of senior
citizens (60 + age) in India is 10.38 crore i.e., 8.06% of the total
population. The share of elderly persons increased from 5.6% in
1961 the proportion has increased to 8.6% in 20 11.A report
released by the United Nations Population Fund and Help Age
India suggests that the number of elderly persons is expected to
grow to 173 million by 2026.

Key facts
• More than 70% of the population of senior citizens live in rural
areas. Feminization of the elderly population – Sex ratio of the
elderly has increased from 938 women to 1,000 men (1971) to
1,033 in 2011 and is projected to increase to 1,060 by 2026.
(UNFPA Report).Increase in the number of older people (persons
above 80 years).

Challenges faced by senior Citizens

• Poverty – Major proportion of the elderly women were poorer;
received the lowest income per person; had the greatest
percentage of primary level education.

• Disintegration of traditional joint families – With the emerging

prevalence of nuclear families the elderly are likely to be exposed
to emotional, physical and financial insecurity.
• Lack of Social Support – The elderly in India are much more
vulnerable because of the less government spending on the social
security system. The elderly in urban areas rely primarily on hired
domestic help to meet their basic needs.

• Lack of physical infrastructure – It is a major deterrent to

providing comfort to the aged. Many elder citizens need better
access to physical infrastructure, both in their own homes and in
public spaces.

Welfare schemes for senior citizens

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment – Develops and
implements Acts, Policies and Programmes for welfare of Senior
Citizens to ensure that Senior Citizens may lead a secured,
dignified and productive life.

• Integrated programme for senior citizens – To improve the

quality of life of the Senior Citizens by providing basic amenities
like shelter, food, medical care and entertainment opportunities

• Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana – It provides Physical Aids and

Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens belonging to BPL
category. Till Jan 2019, 77 distribution camps have been organised
benefitting 70939 senior citizens belonging to BPL Category.

• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme – Scheme

provides social assistance for the old age persons.
• The National Policy on Senior Citizens, 2011 – Envisages state
support for financial and food security, health care, shelter and
protection against exploitation.

Suggestions
• Fulfilling needs for services and social protection for senior
citizens, protection of their rights and enabling them to contribute
in the development process.Better equip people in earlier age
cohorts, so that they remain in good physical and mental health
and continue their involvement in family and community
throughout the ageing process.

• Stronger partnerships between civil society, community and

families are necessary to complement the actions taken by
Governments.

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens

(Amendment) Bill, 2019.
• The Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended to
include provisions for counselling services and It also suggested
digital and financial literacy services for seniors in its report on the
Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens
(Amendment) Bill, 2019.
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES / DIVYANG
• “Person with disability” means a person with long term physical,
mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction
with barriers, hinders his full and effective participation in society
equally with others.According to the world health organization,
nearly 15 % of the world population has some form of disability.

Key Facts
• Over 18 million in the rural areas and just 8.1 million enumerated
in the urban settings. The percentage of men with disabilities is
2.41 as against 2.01 in women. According to the Census 2011, 27
per cent of disabled children between the ages of 5-19 had never
attended an educational institution.

• 73.6% of persons living with disabilities in India are outside the

labour force. Those with mental disabilities and women with
disabilities and those in rural areas are most neglected (ILO).

PWD Welfare
• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(Divyangjan) – A separate Department of Disability Affairs was
established for welfare and empowerment of the Persons with
Disabilities.

• National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2006 – Aims to

create an environment that provides equal opportunities for
protection of their rights and full participation in society. It
 outlines specific measures and strategies for ensuring protection
of rights of PwDs and their inclusion in the society.

• Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme – To create an

enabling environment to ensure equal opportunities, equity,
social justice and empowerment of persons with disabilities.

• Assistance to Disabled persons for purchasing / fitting of aids /

appliances scheme – To assist the needy disabled persons in
procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured,
modern, standard aids and appliances.

• India signed the UN Convention on Protection and Promotion of

the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. It puts an
obligation to take appropriate measures to ensure persons with
disabilities access, to the physical environment, to transportation,
to information and communications, and to other facilities and
services.India is a signatory to the ‘Declaration on the Full
Participation and Equality of People’ with Disabilities in the Asia-
Pacific Region.

Constraints in implementation of welfare programmes

• Accurate identification of the disabled population, because People
tend to hide their disability to avoid facing social stigma.Beyond
Census statistics, there is a lack of appropriately disaggregated
data for PwDs generated at regular intervals.

• Suboptimal implementation: The implementation of the Schemes

for Transgender Persons is suboptimal.Disability related issues
 require multi-sectoral action, which has been difficult to achieve
in practice.Absence of institutional architecture and policy
framework.

Suggestions
• Provide access to adequate food, water, shelter, clothing and
health care through the provision of income, family and
community support and self-help.

• Ensure employment generation for PwDs including job fairs.

• Ensure access to appropriate educational and training

programmes.

• Provide them Quality Vocational Training with high employability.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016

• The RPWD Act, 2016 provides that “the appropriate Government
shall ensure that the PWD enjoys the right to equality, life with
dignity, and respect for his or her own integrity equally with
others.”

Key provisions
• Widened scope – Disability has been defined based on an
evolving and dynamic concept. The types of disabilities have been
increased from 7 to 21.
• Education – Every child with benchmark disability between the
age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.

• Reservation in higher education – 5% reservation in seats in

Government and Government aided higher educational
institutions for persons with benchmark disabilities.

• Financial support – Creation of National and State Funds to

provide financial support to the persons with disabilities.

• Penalties for offence against PWDs – The Act provides for

penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities.

LGBT COMMUNITY
Basic data
• As per the 2011 census about 6 Lakh transgender people lives in
India. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) face certain
social and legal difficulties.

Issues Concerning LGBT

• Discrimination in matters of employment, housing, health and
education among other areas.

• High dropout rate and lower average of school years.

• They face exploitation, and exclusion. Ambedkar thought of the

village as a unit of violence and that is most true for LGBT issues.
• Lack of awareness among the LGBT community about welfare
schemes and their rights.

• Lack of sensitivity of government, public institutions, people etc

towards LGBT communities.

Steps taken for LGBT Welfare GOVERNMENT

• National Portal for Transgender Persons – To help a transgender
person in applying for a Certificate and Identity card digitally from
anywhere in the country.

• Garima Greh – To provide shelter to Transgender persons, with

basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care and recreational
facilities. It will provide support for the capacity-building/skill
development of them.

JUDICIAL INTERVENTIONS
• NALSA Judgement, 2014 – The Court upheld the right of all
persons to self-identify their gender. It also directed the
government to recognize third gender persons as a “socially and
educationally backward class of citizens”, & provide reservations
in educational institutions and public employment.

CIVIL SOCIETY
• Popular TV shows such as Satyamev Jayate and The Tara Sharma
Show have helped raise awareness among parents about LGBT
 issues.Social media and corporate initiatives have created
increasing awareness of LGBT rights.

• UGC Regulation on Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions –

Prohibits discrimination, bullying and ragging targeted at a
student on the ground of their sexual orientation or gender
identity.

Suggestions
• There should be compulsory sexuality/gender education at grade
school and at college level. School and college administration
need to be sensitized on issues of stigma.Establishing platform for
political entry of transgenders. There should be a Transgender
Welfare Board in every state.

• Welfare schemes applicable in each state should cater to the

category of “Gender Minorities.Housing and Land allocation
schemes for gender non-conforming persons should be
effective.Sexual harassment mechanisms should be gender
neutral and domestic violence based on gender should be
recognized as a separate offense.The parliament should pass an
Anti-Discrimination Bill that penalizes discrimination and
harassment on the basis of gender.

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 – critical

evaluation
• The act was enacted with objective to provide for protection of
rights of transgender people, their welfare, and other related
matters.
Key Provisions
• Defines a trans person as someone whose gender does not match
the one assigned at birth.Prohibits discrimination against them in
employment, education, healthcare and other services.Allows
self-perception of gender identity. But mandates their recognition
on the basis of a certificate of identity issued by a district
magistrate.

• Established National Council for Transgender Persons – The

Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment will be
Chairperson and Union Minister of State for Social Justice &
Empowerment will be Vice-Chairperson.

The council has following functions

• To advise the Central Government on the formulation of policies,
programmes, legislation and projects with respect to transgender
persons.To monitor and evaluate the impact of policies and
programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation
of transgender persons.

MINORITIES
• Although the constitution uses the word minority and recognises
linguistic and religious minorities, it does not define the term.
Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Jains have
been notified as minority communities under National
Commission of Minorities Act, 1992. They constitute about 19% of
the population of the country.
• The Ministry of Minority Affairs is established to improve the
socio-economic conditions of the minority communities through
affirmative action and inclusive development.

.Constitutional safeguards for minorities

• Article 25 – Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice
and propagation of religion.

• Article 26 – Freedom to manage religious affairs.

• Article 28 – Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or

religious worship in certain educational institutions

• Article 29 – Right to conserve the distinct language, script or

culture of any citizen in India.

• Article 30 – Right of all religious and linguistic minorities to

establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Socioeconomic status of minorities

• Attendance rates in educational institutions were higher among
males than females, also higher in urban areas than in rural areas
(NSO).Jains have the highest percentage of literates (86.73%)
above 7 years. Muslims, on the other hand, have the highest
percentage of illiterates (42.72%) as per 2011 census.

• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for male was much
higher than females for all religious groups (NSO).
Institutions for Minorities welfare
The National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation
(NMDFC)
Objective –
• To promote economic activities amongst the backward sections of
notified minorities.To achieve its objective, NMDFC is providing
concessional finance for self-employment activities to families
with income below double the poverty line.

National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions

• It is a statutory body established by the National Commission for
Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004, to protect and
safeguard the educational institutions, established by the religious
minorities in India.It ensures rights of religious minorities to
establish and administer educational institutions of their choice as
provided in the Article 30 of the Constitution of India.

It was set up under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. It
has following functions:
• Evaluate the progress of the development of Minorities & monitor
the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in
laws.Make recommendations for the effective implementation of
safeguards for the protection of the interests of Minorities.
• Look into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and
safeguards of the Minorities and take up such matters with the
appropriate authorities.

Important work of NCM

• Commission has investigated matters of communal conflict and
riots. In 2012, a team was sent to Assam to investigate the Bodo-
Muslim clashes, and their findings were submitted to the
government.

.Challenges
• The commission has been without a chairman since May 2020
• Insufficient investigative powers.
• Annual reports of NCM were never have not been tabled in
Parliament since 2010.
• Recommendations are not binding and never implemented by the
government.

Schemes for minority welfare

EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT
• Pre-matric Scholarship Scheme – Scholarship is given to the
students studying from class I to X to encourage the parents so
that their children complete the school education.
• Post-matricc Scholarship Scheme – Under this scheme
scholarship is given to meritorious students studying from class XI
to Ph.D. 30% of the total scholarship is given to girl students
under the scheme.
• Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme – To pursue technical and
professional courses at Graduate and Post-Graduate level from a
recognised institution.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
• USTAAD – The Scheme aims at upgrading Skills and Training in
preservation of traditional Ancestral Arts/Crafts of minorities.

• Nai Manzil – Aims to engage constructively with poor minority

youth and help them obtain sustainable and gainful employment
opportunities.

OTHER SCHEMES
• Minority Cyber Gram – To introduce digital literacy skills in
identified minority clusters in India through designated Digital
Fellows towards knowledge empowerment and entitlement gains
of minority focused groups and beneficiaries.

• Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme – To ensure that an

appropriate percentage of the priority sector lending is targeted
for the minority communities and that the benefits of various
government sponsored schemes reach the disadvantaged sections
of the minority communities.

• PM Jan Vikas Karyakram – To improve socio-economic conditions

of minorities and provide basic amenities and reduce imbalances
in comparison with national average in the identified Minority
Concentration Areas.
 Way forward
• Minorities in India enjoys constitutional and legal safeguards,
despite they lag on several socio-economic indicators. In the
recent time, human rights violation and cases of hatred and
violence are increasing against them, especially against the
Muslims.

• The Government must take strong actions against the culprits and
ensure justice for the victims. Along with-it Government shall
implement the welfare programmes in latter and spirit to uplift
minorities and bring on par with the rest of the population so that
Unity in the diversity is preserved because socio-economic -
political inequalities shakes the fraternity and thus unity of the
nation.

ISSUES RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL

SECTOR/SERVICES RELATING TO HEALTH, EDUCATION, HUMAN
RESOURCES.
HEALTH Introduction
• Health is a foundational investment in human capital and in
economic growth—without good health, children are unable to go
to school and adults are unable to go to work.Access to timely,
acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality is
the right of every person.The WHO Constitution (1946) envisages
“the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right
of every human being.”
Constitutional Provisions
• Article 39 € - Directs the State to secure the health of workers,
men, women and children.

• Article 42 – Directs the State to create just and humane

conditions of work and maternity relief.

• Article 47 – State to raise the nutrition levels and standard of

living of people and to improve public health.

• Fundamental Right – The SC in Bandhua Mukti Morcha v Union of

India & Others interpreted the right to health under Article 21. In
State of Punjab & others v Mohinder Singh Chawla the SC
reaffirmed.

Key Facts
• World Malaria Report, 2020-India is the only high endemic
country which has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as
compared to 2018.India achieved a reduction of 83.34% in malaria
morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the year 2000
and 2019, thereby achieving Goal 6 of the Millennium
Development Goals.

Disease burden in India

• In 2017, there were about 9·7 million deaths and 486 million
DALYs in India. More than a third of national DALYs arose from
communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional disorders
 (Lancet Report).The contribution of most of the major non-
communicable disease groups to the total disease burden has
increased all over India since 1990. In 2016, three of the five
leading individual causes of disease burden in India were non-
communicable.

Challenges/ Health Issues in India

• Poor investment in health – India’s spending on healthcare ie.
1.28 % of the GDP is among the lowest in the world while in
developed countries, it is somewhere between 10-18 per cent.

• Unequal public health systems – States in India have unequal

public health systems, primarily due to restricted technical
expertise and fiscal constraints (2019 NITI Aayog report).

• Poor governance of the health sector – Malpractices such as

overbilling, unnecessary diagnostic tests and surgical procedures
etc are prevalent in hospitals. There is also a lack of accountability
across both private and public clinics in India.

• Low quality care – Low quality care is prevalent due to

misdiagnosis, under trained health professionals, and the
prescription of incorrect medicines.

• Inter-state variation in health expenditure – Developed states

like Kerala, Delhi spends more than the poorer states such as
Jharkhand Bihar, Uttar Pradesh etc.
Universal Health Coverage
• UHC means that all individuals and communities receive the
health services they need without suffering financial hardship.
Achieving UHC is one of the targets (SDG3.8) the nations of the
world set when adopting the SDGs in 2015.

• Protecting people from the financial consequences of paying for

health services out of their own pockets reduces the risk that
people will be pushed into poverty because unexpected illness
requires them to use up their life savings, sell assets, or borrow –
destroying their futures and often those of their children.

• A lack of universal access to quality, affordable health services

also endanger countries’ long-term economic prospects and
makes them more vulnerable to pandemic risks.

Constraints
• Inadequate focus on comprehensive preventive care and primary
care in the past.The multiplicity of government-sponsored
insurance schemes has resulted in the fragmentation of the risk
pool.

• There is an acute shortage of motivated human resources for

health.84 per cent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
for drugs manufactured in India are imported.
Government Interventions
The long-term objective of this strategy is to establish a system of
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country.Following are Key
points of it –
• Substantial expansion and strengthening of the public sector
health care system, freeing the vulnerable population from
dependence on high cost and often unreachable private sector
health care systems.The expenditure on health should increase to
2.5 percent of GDP by the end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan.

• The provision of clean drinking water and sanitation should have

high priority in health-related resource allocation.Financial and
managerial system will be redesigned to ensure efficient
utilization of available resources and achieve better health
outcomes.

• Increasing the cooperation between private and public sector

health care providers to achieve health goals.A large expansion of
medical schools, nursing colleges, and so on, is necessary to
increase the availability of skilled human resources, and public
sector medical schools must play a major role in the process.

• A series of prescription drugs reforms, promotion of essential,

generic medicine and making these universally available free of
cost to all patients in public facilities as a part of the Essential
Health Package will be a priority.
NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY, 2017
• Goal – The attainment of the highest possible level of health and
wellbeing for all at all ages, through a preventive and promotive
health care orientation in all developmental policies, and
universal access to good quality health care services.Key Targets o
Increase health expenditure by Government as a percentage of
GDP from the existing 1.15 % to 2.5 % by 2025.

• Increase Life Expectancy at birth from 67.5 to 70 & reduce TFR to

2.1, reduce Under Five Mortality to 23 by 2025. O Reduce MMR
from current levels to 100 by 2020, reduce neonatal mortality to
16 and still birth rate to “single digit” by 2025.

• National Health Mission – Envisages achievement of universal

access to equitable, affordable & quality health care services that
are accountable and responsive to people’s needs. Core
components – universal coverage, achieving quality standards,
Continuum of Care and Decentralised Planning.

• India Newborn Action Plan – For accelerating the reduction of

preventable new-born deaths and stillbirths in the country with
the goal of attaining ‘Single Digit Neo-Natal Mortality Rate (NMR)
by 2030’ and ‘Single Digit Still Birth Rate (SBR) by 2030’.

• National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly – To

provide accessible, affordable, and high-quality long-term,
comprehensive and dedicated care services to an Ageing
population.
 Suggestions
• Increase the government spending on the health sector and
address the gap in health infra service and medical
infrastructure.Strengthen the public-private partnership and assist
the private sector in realising public health goals.Utilize integrated
digital technologies while preparing for COVID-like challenges in
future.

• Research should focus on preventive measures to tackle future

outbreaks of serious infectious diseases.Improve health related
governance as certain regulations are needed to check the
undesirable practices like over-billing.

Way Forward
• Inequality in the distribution of health services has adversely
affected the country’s progress, the need of the hour is political
will and policy making. The right to health must be enjoyed
without discrimination on the grounds of race, age, ethnicity or
any other status. Non-discrimination and equality require states
to take steps to redress any discriminatory law, practice or policy.

RECENT ISSUES CONCERNING HEALTH

Antibiotic Resistance
• Antibiotic resistance occurs when microorganisms become
resistant from the effects of antimicrobials. As a result, standard
treatments/ medicines become ineffective. It occurs naturally too
but the situation is likely to be grave due to manmade reasons.
• WHO describes it as an invisible pandemic & called it one of the
biggest health risks, estimated to kill 50 million people by 2050.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES TO TACKLE AR

• Schedule 1 drugs – Mandatory prescription of the doctor for
purchase of schedule 1 drugs.

• National Action Plan on AR – Unveiled National Action Plan on

Antimicrobial Resistance in 2017, aligned with Global Action Plan
to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance.

• Awareness campaigns – Apart from it, the government is

spreading awareness about Antibiotic Resistance through
campaigns, advertisements, and civil society.

• International cooperation – Govt is collaborating with WHO

which has launched AWaRe- Online Tool For safer use of
antibiotics and curb resistance.

• Swachh Bharat – Besides that Swachh Bharat helps to contain

Antibiotic resistance by adequate sanitation and improved
hygiene.

Vision 2035: Public Health Surveillance in India

• It is a white paper released by NITI Ayog, envisaged to serve as a
vision document to propel public health surveillance in India and
establish India as a global leader in the area.It lays out India’s
 vision 2035 for public health surveillance through the integration
of the three-tiered public health system into Ayushman Bharat.

• It is a continuation of the work on health systems strengthening.

It contributes by suggesting mainstreaming of surveillance by
making individual electronic health records the basis for
surveillance.

Public health surveillance

• Public health surveillance is an important function that cuts across
primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care. Surveillance is an
important Public Health function and it is an essential action for
disease detection, prevention, and control. Surveillance is
‘Information for Action’.

Challenges
• Data Management – Effective data management is critical to the
public health surveillance mission. Poor quality of data is also a
major limiting factor.

• Inadequate Computing Resources – With the increase in number

of sources and volume of data available for analysis, insufficient
resources in the computing environment might be a limiting
factor on timely processing of data and communication of results.

• Shortage of Skilled Staff – Human resources to accomplish

analytic data management, statistical analysis, visualization of
 data and effectively communicating uncertainty in health-data
evidence are needed in public health surveillance.

Suggestions
• Developing and mobilizing technologies and methodologies.
Establish a governance framework that is inclusive of political,
policy, technical, and managerial leadership at the national and
state level.

• Identify broad disease categories that will be included under

Public Health Surveillance.Enhance surveillance of non-
communicable diseases and conditions in a stepwise
manner.Improve core support functions, core functions, and
system attributes for surveillance at all levels;National, state,
district, and block.

National Digital Health Mission

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a National Digital Health
Mission while addressing the nation on the occasion of 74 th
Independence Day.

About NDHM
• Digital health ecosystem: NHDM is a digital health ecosystem
under which every Indian citizen will now have unique health IDs,
digitised health records with identifiers for doctors and health
facilities.The Mission is expected to bring efficiency and
transparency in healthcare services in the country.
• Reduce medical errors: As part of its consultation, Niti Aayog
proposed a Digital Health ID to “greatly reduce the risk of
preventable medical errors and significantly increase quality of
care.As envisaged, various healthcare providers — such as
hospitals, laboratories, insurance companies, online pharmacies,
telemedicine firms — will be expected to participate in the health
ID system.

Health ID
• The national health ID will be a repository of all health-related
information of a person.According to the National Health
Authority (NHA), every patient who wishes to have their health
records available digitally must start by creating a Health ID.

• Patient’s consent: Each Health ID will be linked to a health data

consent manager — such as National Digital Health Mission
(NDHM) — which will be used to seek the patient’s consent and
allow for seamless flow of health information from the Personal
Health Records module.

• The Health ID is created by using a person’s basic details and

mobile number or Aadhaar number. This will make it unique to
the person, who will have the option to link all of their health
records to this ID.
PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Scheme
• The scheme announced in Budget 2021 to develop capacities of
primary, secondary, and tertiary care health systems, strengthen
existing national institutions, and create new institutions, to cater
to detection and cure of new and emerging diseases.

About the scheme

• Under this scheme, “budgetary investment in the health sector
has been increased to strengthen healthcare services, health
emergency preparedness and response and thereby strengthen
IHR core capacities.

Main interventions
• Critical care hospital blocks in 602 districts and 12 central
institutions o Strengthening of the National Centre for Disease
Control (NCDC), its 5 regional branches and 20 metropolitan
health surveillance units.

• expansions of the Integrated Health Information Portal to all

States/UTs to connect all public health labs.17 new Public Health
Units and strengthening of 33 existing Public Health Units.
Regional Research Platform for WHO South-East Asia Region

Conclusion:
• This scheme will help fulfil the SDG goal related to health and will
also help uphold the health objectives envisioned in National
health Policy 2017.
WASH Programme
• WASH is an acronym that stands for “water, sanitation and
hygiene”. Universal, affordable and sustainable access to WASH is
a key public health issue and is the focus of the first two targets of
Sustainable Development Goal.World Health Organization in 2019
found that “Worldwide, 1.9 million deaths and 123 million DALYs
could have been prevented in 2016 with adequate WASH.

Importance of WASH
• Improving access to WASH services can improve health, life
expectancy, student learning, gender equality, etc. This can
reduce illness and death, and also affect poverty reduction and
socio-economic development.

• Lack of sanitation contributes to about 700,000 child deaths

every-year due to diarrhoea, mainly in developing countries. The
WASH-attributable disease burden amounts to 3.3% of global
deaths. Lack of WASH facilities at schools can prevent students
(especially girls) from attending school, and reduce their
educational achievements and later work productivity.

Challenges
• Infrastructure – Migration to urban areas, resulting in denser
clusters of poverty, poses a challenge for sanitation
infrastructures.
 • Urban Slums – Insufficient supply, demand constraints that limit
people’s access to these services and institutional constraints
prevent the poor from accessing adequate urban services.

• Improper water distribution systems – The World Health

Organization estimates that 25%-45% of water in distribution lines
is lost through leaks in developing countries. Cross-contamination
of wastewater into potable water lines has resulted in major
disease outbreaks.

• Climate change – Climate change poses increased risk to WASH

systems, particular in poor and developing countries where access
to safely managed basic sanitation is low.

INDIA’S FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

Covid-19 first case in India
• The first case of COVID-19 infection reported in Kerala, in Jan
2020. Till June 12, 2021 total 2.94 crore cases were detected out
of which 2.8 crore recovered and 3.70 lakh people lost their lives
in India. Despite these horrifying facts, looking at the huge
population, density and minimal health services, India tackled
COVID pandemic successfully.

• With the ‘whole of government’ and ‘whole of society’ approach,

India was able to fight the pandemic much better than other
countries.
Challenges before India
• Disease burden – The prevalence among Indian adults of diabetes
and hypertension is 10% and 25%, respectively. India has high
rates of TB and pneumonia.

• Awareness – The awareness about disease dynamics is very poor,

even among the wealthier and more educated parts of the
population.

• Denying service to poor – Private hospitals denial of health

services to common people and overcharging patient was major
concern during the pandemic.

Health related challenges

• Inadequate Ventilators – India had just 20 000 ventilators. That is
a 98% shortfall.

• Low testing rate – India had an abnormally low testing rate of 18

per million population (South Korea 6931, Italy 5268, UK 1469,
USA 1280.Acute shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE),
oxygen, health personnel, medicines, beds etc.

Initiatives taken to fight pandemic

• Voluntary public curfew – People have been urged to voluntarily
stay indoors to check the spread of coronavirus while public
transport will be suspended or curtailed and all markets andshops
except those dealing in essential items will be closed on the day.
• Amendment to Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987 – To provide
protections for healthcare personnel combatting epidemic
diseases and expands the powers of the central government to
prevent the spread of such diseases.

• COVID-19 Emergency Fund – It is based on voluntary

contributions from all the SAARC member countries to combat
COVID-19 in the region. The fund can be used by any of the
partner countries to meet the cost of immediate actions.

• Project ‘Extension of Hospitals – To plug a major health

infrastructure gap in India’s fight against Covid-19, especially in
rural areas and smaller towns, India has started project ‘Extension
of Hospitals’ in various states.

• Spread Awareness – PM personally addressed nation eight to

nine times.Caller tune was set to inform Covid-appropriate
behaviour.

• Chase the virus’ campaign/ The Dharavi model – It was launched

by Maharashtra government. It involves a proactive approach
including early detection, hospitalisation, treatment, and of
course, testing to limit the spread of Covid-19. The campaign was
globally hailed and followed by other countries for ex –
Philippines.

• India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System

Preparedness Package – govt approved significant investments to
the tune of Rs. 15,000 crores for development of diagnostics and
COV1D-dedicatcd treatment facilities, centralized procurement of
 essential medical equipment and drugs required for treatment of
infected patients.

Result of early measures / Impact of Lockdown

• India was the first country to respond within an hour when WHO
declared COVID-19 a pandemic. India’ s early measures resulted in
positive outcome for ex – India’s recovery rate was 97 % and its
fatality rate 1.44 was the lowest in the world.The lockdown
provided essential buy time to prepare for the eventual flood of
cases.

• The country took the bold decision to become Aatmanirbhar (self-

reliant) by ramping up PPE manufacturing to 5 lakh kits
daily.Model-based estimates produced in March 2020 had
indicated that a national lockdown could reduce the number of
infections at the peak of the pandemic—expected in early May—
by 70–80%.

Medical Oxygen Crisis during second COVID wave

• Indian faced acute shortage of oxygen in second wave of COVID
19. As per one estimate Close to 512 deaths have taken place
between April and May 21 either due to lack of oxygen, shortage
or denial in India during its second wave of Covid-19.The
Allahabad High court observed that “death of Covid patients just
for non-supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and
not less than a genocide”.
 Reasons for shortage
• Regional Imbalance – Most oxygen producers are based in India’s
east, while the soaring demand has been in cities in the western
and northern parts of the country.

• Poor Governance – There is no centralized coordination of oxygen

supply and distribution.

• Inadequate transport and storage capacity – Liquid oxygen at

very low temperatures has to be transported in cryogenic tankers
to distributors, which then convert it into gas for filling cylinders.
But India is short of cryogenic tankers.

Initiatives taken By Govt.

• GOI directed most of the country’s supply of industrially produced
oxygen toward the health care system.The Centre pressed into
service trains and defence aircraft to transport medical oxygen
and cryogenic tankers across the country to save the lives of
COVID-19 patients.

• Central government issue guidelines on judicious use of oxygen

and warned hospitals of indiscriminate use of non-invasive
ventilation methods on patients.Centre-appointed Empowered
Group-2, formed to monitor the supply of essential medical
equipment during the pandemic focused on 12 high burden states
and channelized surplus oxygen to these states.
• Smaller manufacturers that produced industrial oxygen, were
allowed to produce medical oxygen by changing certain
specifications.The government issued orders to convert argon and
nitrogen tankers into oxygen ones.

Role of ASHA Workers during COVID

• ASHAs, had been working against all odds ever since the COVID-19
pandemic started. 1.6 lakh Accredited Social Health Activists
(ASHAs) have tracked in two phases over 30.43 lakh migrants who
returned to Uttar Pradesh during the COVID-19 lockdown.They
assisted the state government in contact tracing and community
surveillance.

• They counselled the family members and explained in detail the

steps to be taken during home quarantine.They enhanced
awareness about essential and non-essential healthcare services
and how to access these.ASHAs have assisted the Panchayati Raj
Department in development of the community quarantine
centers.

CHALLENGES FACED BY ASHA WORKERS

• ASHA workers were not treated in the same manner as doctors
despite the fact that both are in the frontline in the fight against
the pandemic.ASHAs have not been supplied with adequate PPE
as they perform contract tracing and interact with newly infected
cases in the community.
• There has also led to multiple cases of violence against ASHAs and
their families. They also did not have access to priority or free
testing. If tested positive for COVID-19, ASHAs were not receiving
support for their treatment.

SUGGESTIONS
• Recognition of ASHAs’ work by the government and their
communities through financial and non-financial incentives.
Development of institutional mechanisms for feeding ASHAs’
experiences, needs and class, caste and gender realities in
policymaking.

• Development and dissemination of clear and concise guidelines

for ASHAs in a timely manner.Establishment of a capacity building
strategy, particularly in relation to use of technology and initiate
supervision initiatives for ASHAs.Development of support systems
for ensuring the physical and mental well-being of ASHAs.

Vaccine hesitancy
• Refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite
availability of vaccine services. It is influenced by factors such as
complacency, convenience and confidence.

• Reasons – Lack of awareness, fear based on inaccurate

information, Cost and cultural issues, Confidence deficit,
conspiracies and disinformation, illiteracy etc.The consequences
of vaccine hesitancy are disastrous. If herd immunity does not
develop disease outbreaks and pandemic will prevail.
• The slower the vaccination rate, the wider the spread of infection
and greater the chances of mutations and the emerging new
variants.

Suggestions to tackle it
• Quash rumours and conspiracies with truth and reliable
information.Appeal influential members and leaders to take
vaccines to set the precedent.Engage with community leaders to
encourage people to take vaccines.Publicity to testimonies of
vaccinated persons on TV advertise and newspapers.

Mental Health & effect of covid 19 on mental health

• According to survey conducted by the Indian Psychiatry Society
there has been a 20 percent rise in mental illness cases, with at
least one in five Indians suffering from it.People have been living
in fear of losing their jobs, businesses, etc due to the lockdown,
resulting in mental distress.

Steps taken by government

• GOI issued “Minding our minds during the COVID-19 pandemic”
guidelines which includes various ways to deal with such issues
during coronavirus pandemic.Manodarpan initiative under
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, aims to provide psycho-social
support to students for their mental health and well-being.
EDUCATION
• Education transforms lives and is at the heart of building peace,
eradicating poverty and driving sustainable development.
Education is a human right for all throughout life and that access
must be matched by quality.

• Constitutional provisions 86th amendment act, 2002 It added the

right to education as a fundamental right under article 21 A,
changed the subject matter of article 45, and added a
Fundamental duty under article 51 A.

• Article 45 – Provide early childhood care and education for all

children until they complete the age of six years.

• Article 51 A – Every parent or guardian to ensure that their child

or ward was provided opportunities for education between the
ages of six and fourteen years.

Digital education – exclusionary mode of learning

• Pandemic has caused school closure due to migration and loss of
livelihood. The digital pivot in India’s schooling system risks
pushing it into deeper inequality.Only about one-third of the
surveyed children had access to online learning; only 11 per cent
had access to live online classes.
UNESCO’S GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT, 2020 –
PANDEMIC IMPACT
• The COVID-19 pandemic has widened inequalities in education
systems across the world.Education budgets were cut by 65 % of
low and lower-middle income countries after the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic.

• Education systems responded with distance learning solutions, all

of which offered less or more imperfect substitutes for classroom
instruction. India has used a mix of all three systems for
educational continuity i.e. Radio and television and online
learning platforms.

Challenges
• Primary and secondary education – Poorly resourced public
schools, lack of infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, Quality of its
education in government run schools, High stakes associated with
board examinations, absence of life skills training, poor teacher-
student ratio, Neglect of Indian languages etc.

• Higher education – Gross Enrolment Ratio (26.3% in 2018),

Unqualified and untrained teachers, absence of fundamental
facilities like drinking water, urinals and power, furniture and
study materials, poor Quality, Expensive education, Unsafe
environments for girls, political interference, Inadequate research,
privatization etc.
Government Interventions-Primary Education
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – Aimed at the universalisation of primary
education “in a time bound manner.

• Mid-Day Meal – To enhance the enrolment, retention and

attendance and simultaneously improve nutritional levels among
school going children studying in Classes I to VIII.

• RTE Act, 2009 – It was enacted to enforce article 21 A. It states

that all children of the age of 6-14 years should be provided free
and compulsory education. It also provides 25% reservation for
economically disadvantaged communities in admission to Class I
in all private schools.

Secondary Education
• Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan – Launched in 2009 with
the objective to enhance access to secondary education and to
improve its quality. Other objectives include removing gender,
socio-economic and disability barriers, providing universal access
to secondary level education.

• National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education –

It aims to promote enrolment of girl children in the age group of
14-18 at secondary stage.

• Scheme of Vocational Education – Integrates vocational

education with general academic education. The major aim is to
prepare educated, employable and competitive human resources
for various sectors of the economy.
Recent measures
Primary & Secondary Education
• Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS)
project – Envisions improving the overall monitoring and
measurement activities in the Indian School Education System
through interventions in selected states.

• Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan – It subsumed the three Schemes of

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha
Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). Objectives –
Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes
of students; Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school
education etc.

• Technical Education in Mother Tongue – The education ministry

has set up a taskforce to prepare a roadmap to implement
technical education in the mother tongue. Students may soon
pursue professional courses such as medicine, engineering and
law in their mother tongue.

New Education Policy, 2020

• School education – the policy focuses on overhauling the
curriculum, “easier” Board exams, a reduction in the syllabus to
retain “core essentials” and thrust on “experiential learning and
critical thinking”.
• Higher Education – Opening up of Indian higher education to
foreign universities, dismantling of the UGC and the All-India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE), introduction of a four-
year multidisciplinary undergraduate programme with multiple
exit options, and discontinuation of the M. Phil. Programme.

E-Education
• It is a method of delivering educational information through the
Internet. It is the process of sharing knowledge through various
channels such as e-books, CDs, webinars and more.It is flexible
and self-paced and suited for distance learning. It has
revolutionized the conventional method of chalk and board style
of learning imparted to the students.

Benefits
• Convenience and flexibility – Teachers can teach from anywhere
in their preferred time and students can learn Courses anytime
and anywhere.
• Effective learning - Applying e-learning to all levels of schooling
helped to ensure students grasp the lessons adequately at a faster
pace.
• Disciplined learning - The audio-visual method of teaching leads
to a disciplined learning environment. There are an effective tutor
and student engagements.
• Cost effective - save time, money and reduced transportation
cost.
• Global level education- Tutors can provide online education in
multiple languages and people from different time zones.
• More Engagement – Digital learning is a more engaging
experience as compared to traditional learning. Through digital
learning, a course can be designed in a way that makes it
interactive and fun through the use of multimedia.

Challenges
• Digital Illiteracy of parents, teachers and students.
• Affordability of e - gadgets such as tablets, laptops etc.
• Internet connectivity in villages and remote areas.
• Lack of content in local language.
• Practical oriented subjects such as chemistry has limitation in e
learning
• Teachers’ unfamiliarity and resistance to change.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
• SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring
Minds – It is an integrated platform for online courses, using
information and communication technology (ICT) which covers
school (9th to 12th) to Post Graduate Level. It also offers online
courses for students, teachers and teacher educators.

• DIKSHA – The DIKSHA platform offers engaging learning material,

relevant to the prescribed school curriculum, to teachers,
students and parents.

• PRAGYATA guidelines on digital education – The guidelines

recommend a cap on the screen time for students. It includes
 eight steps of digital learning that is, Plan- Review- Arrange-
Guide- Yak (talk)- Assign- Track- Appreciate.

Way Forward
• Education has been one pf the biggest casualties of the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. In this unprecedent time the digital
education is being seen as a viable alternation for traditional
schools and learning.To resolve those challenges government and
private sector must work together and ensure that education
remain available, accessible and affordable for all and realise the
SDG 4 i.e. to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for
all.

HUMAN RESOURCE
• India is a country today with 65% of its youth in the working age
group. If ever there is a way to reap this demographic advantage,
it has to be through skill development of the youth so that they
add not only to their personal growth, but to the country’s
economic growth as well.

• Around 85% of the work force in the unorganized sector does not
imbibe any form of skill development.The annual incremental
requirement of trainers is approximately 20,000, whereas at
present the current annual capacity of the trainers is only 2,000.
Challenges
• Unawareness & Apathy towards entrepreneurship – About 70%
of Indian youth is not aware of schemes, according to a recent
study “Young India and Work” by the Observer Research
Foundation and World Economic Forum (WEF).

• Insufficient training capacity – Current infrastructure facilities

available in the educational institutions are inadequate
considering the huge demand for skilled labour. In India, around
12 million people are expected to join the workforce every year
whereas the current total training capacity of the country is
around 4.3 million.

• job creation for skilled youth – india needs to create 100 million
more jobs by 2030. Creating more jobs is the biggest development
challenge. No country can achieve its full potential and meet 21 st
century challenges without the full participation of the working
population.

• Uneducated rural youth – private sector provides skill training as

required by service sector mainly to educated youth (especially
12th pass) and largely in urban regions. Ultimately, hundreds of
workers in unorganized sector do not get any kind of skill
training..

Government Interventions
• Skill India – Launched to empower the youth of the country with
skill sets which make them more employable and more
productive in their work environment.
• National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship,
2015 – Aimed to provide an umbrella framework to all skilling
activities being carried out within the country, to align them to
common standards and link the skilling with demand centres.

• Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE)

project – To improve the relevance and efficiency of skills training
provided through Industrial Training Institutes (it is) and
apprenticeships.

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana – To encourage aptitude

towards employable skills and to increase working efficiency of
probable and existing daily wage earners, by giving monetary
awards and rewards and by providing quality training to them.

Suggestions
• Capacity building and empowerment of state skill development
missions in many States in order to upscale quality skill
development.Create economic incentive for skilling, and for
industry to realize the productivity gains linked with skilled
manpower

• Human resource needs: Address human resource needs by

aligning supply of skilled workers with sectoral requirements of
industry and the country’s strategic priorities.
 • Increased participation: Promote increased participation of
women in the workforce through appropriate skilling and gender
mainstreaming of training.

Recommendations From UNICEF

• Combining education with workforce readiness, soft skills,
technical skills and entrepreneurship so that the youth can easily
adapt to the work environment.To increase women participation,
providing subsidised childcare facilities and paid leaves.

• Gender sensitization workshops will also help to increase

awareness for the requirement of female workforce.Spending on
secondary education with a focus on quality and relevance and
the availability of teachers.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION
• Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring access to financial
products and services needed by vulnerable groups at an
affordable cost in a transparent manner by institutional players.

• Marginal farmers, landless labourers, unorganised sector workers,

urban slum dwellers, migrants, minorities and socially excluded
groups, senior citizens, transgenders and women are excluded
from the preview of financial inclusion.
 Significance
• The World Bank Group considers financial inclusion a key enabler
to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It has
been identified as an enabler for 7 of the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals.

• It strengthens the availability of economic resources and builds

the concept of savings among the poor.Financial inclusion is a
major step towards inclusive growth. It helps in the overall
economic development of the underprivileged population.

Financial Literacy
• Financial literacy supports the pursuit of financial inclusion by
empowering the customers to make informed choices leading to
their financial well-being.

• National Strategy for Financial Education 2020-2025 o It has

suggested a ‘5-Core Actions’ approach for promoting financial
education.The five Cs, outlined by the strategy paper, are:
Content, Capacity, Community, Communication and
Collaboration.

HUNGER AND POVERTY

Definition
• Hunger is defined as a condition in which a person cannot eat
sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained
period.While India produces enough food to feed its population,
 the country is home to 25 percent of the world’s hungry
population.

Key Facts
• Micronutrient deficiencies cause an estimated 1.1 million of the
3.1 million child deaths that occur each year as a result of
undernutrition (IFPRI).Severe anaemia contributes to the death of
50,000 women in childbirth each year. Nearly 18 million babies
are born with brain damage due to iodine deficiency each year
(IFPRI).

• Vitamin A deficiency Causes night blindness, inadequate iodine

intake causes goitre. Vitamin A and zinc deficiencies weaken the
immune system.

Global Nutrition Report 2020

• India is among the 88 countries that are likely to miss the global
nutrition targets 2025. It is also a country with the highest rates of
domestic inequalities in malnutrition.One in two women is
anaemic and rate of obesity and overweight continue to rise.

• Inequality is a cause of malnutrition. Inequalities in food and

health systems exacerbate inequalities in nutrition outcomes that
in turn lead to more inequity, perpetuating a vicious cycle.
Causes of Hunger in India –
• Lack of availability, accessibility and affordability – In the more
rural parts of India, markets are not easily accessible and often
have limited availability. Further, affordability of the nutritious
food such as meat and dals is major reason of it.

• Poverty– More than 20% of India’s population lives on less than

$1.25 per day. This lack of money makes it so that many cannot
get enough of the nutritious food they need.

• Gender Inequality – Access to food and water is really tilted first

towards the men, then the children, and then the mother who is
always the last to eat

• Low productivity of agriculture – Low productivity of agriculture

due to its rainfed nature, lack finance, technology limits the
availability of food in India.

• Climate change – Climate change has added to the enormity of

India’s food security challenges.The frequent occurrence
disasters, floods and draughts has affected food availability and
quality of the food.

Poverty and Hunger

• Poverty, food prices and hunger are inextricably linked. Poverty is
the main cause of hunger in the world. Millions live with hunger
and malnourishment because they simply cannot afford to buy
enough food, cannot afford nutritious foods or cannot afford the
 farming supplies they need to grow enough good food of their
own.

Hidden Hunger
• Hidden hunger occurs when the quality of food people eat does
not meet their nutrient requirements, so the food is deficient in
micronutrients such as the vitamins and minerals that they need
for their growth and development.

• Causes of Hidden Hunger – Micronutrient deficiency, Poor diet,

Lack of availability, accessibility & affordability of nutritious food
ex – Meat, fruits, vegetables etc. Lack of awareness, lack of safe
drinking etc.

Hidden Hunger Crisis in world

• More than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from hidden hunger,
more than double the 805 million people who do not have
enough calories to eat (FAO, 2014).Much of Africa south of the
Sahara and the South Asian subcontinent are hotspots where the
prevalence of hidden hunger is high.

• Many developing countries face a phenomenon known as the

“triple burden” of malnutrition— undernourishment,
micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity.
Impact
• Children & adolescents – Stunting & wasting, mental impairment,
frequent infections, adverse effects on child health and survival,
high mortality rate etc.

• Pregnant Women – Increased mortality, Increased perinatal

complications etc

• Adult – Poor health, low productivity, and even death,

Malnutrition, increased risk of chronic diseases, Even mild to
moderate deficiencies can affect a person’s well-being and
development.

• Impacts development of nations – In addition to affecting human

health, hidden hunger can curtail socioeconomic development,
particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Solutions to address hidden hunger

• Supplementation – It is a technical approach in which nutrients
are delivered directly to the desired population by means of syrup
or pills. Supplementation programs are used only as a short-term
measure and are then replaced with long-term, sustainable food-
based measures such as fortification and dietary modification.

• Food Fortification – Food fortification refers to the addition of

micronutrients to processed foods.It includes restoring nutrients
lost during food processing, a process known as enrichment and
adding nutrients that may not be present naturally in food, a
process known as fortification.
 • Food diversification -It means increasing both the quantity and
the range of micronutrient-rich foods consumed.It is the
preferred way of improving the nutrition of a population because
it has the potential to improve the intake of many food
constituents like antioxidants and probiotics, not just
micronutrients simultaneously.

POVERTY
• Poverty refers to lack of enough resources to fulfill the necessities
of life—food, clean water, shelter and clothing. The World Bank
defines extreme poverty as living on less than US$1.90 per day.
Absolute poverty refers to those whose incomes fall below a line
set by a given country. Below this line people are unable to meet
their basic needs for food, water and shelter.

• Relative poverty refers to a state of living where people can afford

necessities but are unable to meet their society’s average
standard of living.

Poverty in India
• The Tendulkar committee (2011) – 21.9% of the population under
BPL.Rangarajan committee (2014) – 29.5% of the population
under BPL. Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2020- India is
62nd among 107 countries with an MPI score of 0.123. India lifted
271 million citizens out of poverty between 2006 and 2016.
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
• The MP is an international measure of acute multidimensional
poverty covering over 107 countries. It is computed by scoring
each surveyed household on 10 parameters based on -nutrition,
child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking
fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and household
assets.

• Poverty is not just economic measures but measures of human

rights and access. It is no longer confined to the income level but
it is deprivation of choices available for an individual to live the
life and the deprivation of the individual’s abilities to exercise that
choice.

Reasons for poverty

Social factors –
• Inequality – Inequality is a problem in itself but also a challenge to
the eradication of extreme poverty.Inequality on the basis of
income, gender, race, caste, ethnicity, religion, region, and
disability status limits education, health, employment, housing
facilities etc and hinders the progress of an individual, resulting
into poverty.

• Caste system – Caste system imposed several disabilities on lower

caste people. Majority of them are landless and face
discrimination and exclusion in social-economical-political sphere
which results into less avenues for social, economical and political
mobility and poverty persist and perpetuates.
• Discrimination & Exclusion – Discrimination and exclusion from
the political, social and economic sphere often leads to human
rights violation, lack of education, absence of livelihood
opportunities leads to poverty and also makes poor poorer. For ex
– it is among the main cause of poverty among the transgender
communities and lower caste groups.

• Overpopulation – Where rapid population growth outpaces

economic development, countries struggle to invest in the human
capital needed to secure the well-being of its people and to
stimulate further economic growth. Overpopulated countries are
characterised by food shortage, water and scarcity, lack of
education, inadequate health facilities, poor resources and
stunted economic growth.

Economic factors –
• Inflation – If a person’s income level does not increase at as high a
rate as the inflation increases, they will become poorer. A country
with high inflation is likely to have high poverty rates as well.

• Unemployment – Unemployment leads to financial crisis and

reduces the overall purchasing capacity of a nation. This in turn
results in poverty followed by increasing burden of debt.

• Low agriculture productivity – In India more than 50% of the

population is dependent on agriculture but its low productivity
due monsoon dependency, lack of input etc pushes thousands of
people into poverty.
Other –
• Corruption – Corruption delays, distorts and diverts economic
growth. Corruption and poverty are interlinked and affect each
other. Poverty invites corruption while corruption deepens
poverty.

• Climate change – It disrupts livelihoods, forces families from their

homes and pushes people into poverty. For ex – Droughts alone
impact around 55 million people every year.

• Covid Pandemic and lockdown – According to the pandemic and

global recession may cause over 1.4% of the world’s population to
fall into extreme poverty.

Impact of poverty
• Impact on Children – Poor children stand the risk of being
malnourished and compromising their confidence and learning
ability. They are more likely to be poor as adults, more likely to
drop out of high school.

• Domestic Violence – The poor are at greater risk for family

problems, including divorce and domestic violence. For ex-
National Commission for Women (NCW), domestic violence
complaints have increased by 2.5 times since the nationwide
lockdown and resulting poverty.
• Health – Poverty is its effect on physical and mental health. Poor
people face physical health challenges, including malnutrition,
hunger and high infant mortality rates.

• Housing and Homelessness – The poor are more likely to be

homeless than the nonpoor but also more likely to live in
dilapidated housing and unable to buy their own homes.

• Lack of opportunities – Poor people are deprived of basic

amenities such as education, health services, access to banking
and capital and thus they are deprived of opportunities.

COVID PANDEMIC IMPACT ON POVERTY

• Global extreme poverty rose in 2020 for the first time in the last 2
decades due to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, which
compounded the forces of conflict and climate change, which
were already slowing poverty reduction progress.About 120
million additional people are living in poverty as a result of the
pandemic, with the total expected to rise to about 150 million by
the end of 2021.

• UN Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to

COVID- 19 – Calls for an extraordinary scale up of international
support and political commitment to ensure that people
everywhere have access to essential services and social
protection.

• UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund – To support low-

and middle-income countries as well as vulnerable groups who
 are disproportionately bearing the socio- economic impacts of the
pandemic.

Covid Pandemic impact on India

• Pew Research Centre – Estimated that the number of poor in
India has more than doubled from 60 million to 134 million in just
a year due to the pandemic-induced recession.

• Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.Over 10 million or 1 crore

people lost their jobs because of the second wave of coronavirus.
97 per cent of households’ incomes have declined since the
beginning of the pandemic last year.

Suggestions to reduce poverty

• Improve opportunities, Invest in education from early childhood.
• Increase in employment and avenues for supplementary income
• Provide the necessary supports for the mothers and families
• Enhance agricultural productivity and increase its resilience to
climate change
• Provide skill training to poor people and enhance their
employability.

Poverty alleviation programmes in India

• Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana – To provide housing for
the rural poor in India. A similar scheme for urban poor was
launched in 2015 as Housing for All by 2022. So far, 1.26 crore
 houses have already been built across the country under the
scheme (June 2021).

• National Rural Livelihood Mission – It is a poverty alleviation

project to organize the poor into SHG (Self Help Groups) groups
and make them capable of self-employment.

• National Urban Livelihood Mission – To reduce poverty and

vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling them to
access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment
opportunities.

• MGNREGA – The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one

hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult
members of any rural household willing to do public work-related
unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.

• National Food Security Act, 2013 – The Act legally entitles upto
75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to
receive subsidized food grains under Targeted Public Distribution
System.

Impact of MGNREGA
• Women Empowerment – Representation in the MGNREGA
workforce is 52% on average for 2010-12.
• Poverty Alleviation – MGNREGA reduced up to a 32 % and
prevented 14 million people from falling into poverty.
• Financial Inclusion increased and reliance of moneylenders
declined.
 • Asset creation: benefit agri. And rural development and
environment protection.

• Gender Equality – It has reduced the traditional gender wage

discrimination and has had a positive impact on the socio-
economic status of women.

MGNREGA during pandemic

• Played a critical role in providing wage employment during the
pandemic with significant participation of women getting work
under it.The number of households that worked under the
scheme crossed 6 crores between April and August 2020, which is
the highest ever.

Why poverty still persists in India ?

• Rural Distress – Rural distress is mainly driven by the agriculture
failure due to rising input costs, decreasing land holding, climate
change etc. Further lack of industrialisation and employment
opportunities in other sectors than agriculture are the main
impediment to alleviating poverty.

• Pandemic Impact – COVID Pandemic and consequent lockdown

resulted in shut businesses, lost jobs and falling incomes. It is
estimated that the number of poor in India has more than
doubled.
• Stagnant Manufacturing sector – The share of manufacturing
sector which leads to the creation of large employment, has
stagnant around 15- 16% of the GDP.

• Failure of anti-poverty schemes – Insufficient funds, bureaucratic

apathy, inclusion & exclusion errors, corruption, poor
implementation, Top-to Down approach led to failure of poverty
alleviation programmes and limited their success.

RECENT IMPROVEMENTS
• Greater opportunities – The growth-oriented approach has been
reinforced by focusing on specific sectors which provide greater
opportunities to the people to participate in the growth process.

• Capacity Building – Governments have considerably enhanced

allocations for the provision of education, health, sanitation and
other facilities which promote capacity-building and well-being of
the poor.

• Empowerment of vulnerable sections – Special programmes have

been taken up for the welfare of scheduled castes (SCs) and
scheduled tribes (STs), the disabled and other vulnerable groups.

• Curb Corruption – Initiatives such as Digitalization, Direct Benefit

Transfer, Financial inclusion and provisions of social audits have
been taken to plug the leakages in implementation of schemes.
• Sustainable and Inclusive development – To address regional
and sector based growth imbalance in growth, govt has initiated
programmes such as Green Revolution 2.0, Blue Economy, North
Eastern Region Vision 2020 for the development of the NER etc.

Urban Poverty /poor

• The pace of urbanisation in India is set to increase, and with it,
urban poverty and urban slums. As per the census 2011 – 17.7%
of urban population comprising 65 million people lives in slums.

• The nature of urban poverty poses distinct challenges for

housing, water, sanitation, health, education, social security,
livelihoods and the special needs of vulnerable groups such as
women, children and the aging.

Causes
• Uncontrolled migration, population pressure on existing physical
and social infrastructure, Inadequate investment and
opportunities, Lack of livelihood opportunities in Rural areas,
agricultural recession, regional imbalance in growth and
development.

• Government Initiatives –Self Employment Programme of urban

poor, Jal Jeevan Mission Urban , Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-
National Urban Livelihoods Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awaas
Yojana(Urban), Atal Pension Yojana, etc.
COVID Impact on Urban Poor
• The pandemic has left the urban poor in India poorer, hungrier
and with less nutrition than their rural counterparts.Incomes
reduced by half or a quarter for more than half the urban
respondents.Decline in nutritional quality and quantity was more
among the urban respondents.

• Other impact – Loss of livelihood, affected emotional well-being,

forced to live in poor housing conditions, Violence increased
against women and children, migrant workers forced to walk
hundreds of miles back to their villages, aggravated the
deprivation and denial of health facilities and inadequate
nutrition to women and children.

Way Forward
• It is easily within the capacity of the global society to eradicate
poverty and hunger but there must be political will to achieve
this. Economic growth, especially broad-based growth in
agriculture and the rural economy, is a necessary condition for
sustainable poverty and hunger reduction.

• Priority action needs to be taken to reduce hunger directly. The

need to achieve substantial and sustainable poverty reduction,
requires that concrete steps be taken to promote agriculture and
rural development.
Development processes and the development industry- the role of
NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities and
other stakeholders
Participation’ and ‘empowerment’ gained wide currency in recent
development literature
• Decades of development efforts have provoked a feeling of
disenchantment with the conventional growth-oriented strategy
of development not producing the desired trickle-down effect.
The failures sensitized the planners and administrators to the
need for drawing on the indigenous knowledge system of the
local people.

• Unless people themselves participate, the programmes

administrated by external agencies remain exogenous to the rural
community thereby affecting results. A people-centred vision is
being advanced by citizen’s organisations working to create an
alternative world order based on economic justice, environmental
stability and political inclusiveness.

The following different forms of community organisations representing

collective action by the underprivileged people to improve their socio-
economic conditions:
• First, there are grassroots organisations that are basically
economic in nature, undertaking income-generating activities
with the help of internal resource mobilization supplemented by
resource and knowledge support from outside.

• Second, there are other organisations that emerge in ‘pressure

group’ activities. They resist exploitation or oppression by other
 groups, assert economic, social and human rights including
women’s rights, or demand services from the public agencies.

• Third, some of the organisations undertake social and cultural

activities in such areas as health, education, culture and so on.

• Fourth, some aim at the promotion of holistic life by way of

activities that integrate spiritual advancement with economic and
social development.

• Fifth, community organisations to promote ecologically oriented

socio-economic life are also growing in many areas such as
organic agriculture, social forestry, coastal fishing etc.

The value of participation as a facilitative development process has

been widely recognised and major benefits have been identified as
follows:
• The participatory process provides important information in the
planning, programming and implementation stages thereby
ensuring congruence between objectives and community values
and preferences.By rationalizing manpower resources utilization,
the process reduces project cost.

• Any change brought about through development is more

acceptable to the community if the local people are involved, also,
mistakes are more tolerable if these are made by people who
have to live with them.
• The community learns from its own involvement and from this
point of view, participation is a 2 way learning process in which
the administrator and the people become co-learners

Role of state
• The state plays a fundamental role in helping or hindering
participation. Different social science theories evoke different
images of state-society relationships. While Marxian and elite
theories are pessimistic about the possibility of community
participation, liberal-democratic and pluralist theories are much
more helpful.

• State’s actions depend upon the definition and purpose of

community participation, state’s perception about its role and the
political will to decentralize power and resources to local
institutions

• Anti-participatory mode: The state in a capitalist system is

interested, not in ameliorating the conditions of the poor, but in
promoting the interests of capital and the ruling class. Power is,
therefore, concentrated and not dispersed to facilitate
accumulation of wealth

• Manipulative mode: The state follows a diplomatic approach and

the state support to community participation is intended to
ensure political and social control as well as reduce local
development costs and facilitate successful project
implementation. State seeks to neutralize political opposition by
co-opting autonomous movements with the ulterior motive of
 gaining control over them. The rhetoric of participation is invoked
to mobilize local labour in state’s development activities and to
give legitimacy to the regime in power.

• Participatory mode: Characterized by state’s own initiative to

create institutions of community participation to ensure effective
involvement at the grassroots level. There are no ulterior motives
and genuine popular involvement is ensured by providing
resources to local bodies and sensitizing bureaucracy through
training and directives. Within an overall development planning
framework, the central, regional and local development policies
and activities are harmonized through positive political will and
bureaucratic support.

NGO
• Private organization that pursues activities to relieve suffering,
promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment,
provide basic social services, or undertake community
development”. In other words, NGOs are legally constituted
organizations, operate independently from the government and
are generally considered to be “non-state, non-profit oriented
groups who pursue purposes of public interest”.

• The primary objective of NGOs is to provide social justice,

development and human rights. NGOs are generally funded
totally or partly by governments and they maintain their non-
governmental status by excluding government representatives
from membership in the organization.
• In a democratic society, it is the state that has the ultimate
responsibility for ushering development to its citizens. In India,
through the progressive interpretation of the Constitution and its
laws and policies, the scope of development has been significantly
broadened to include not just economic progress for citizens, but
also promotion of social justice, gender equity, inclusion, citizen’s
awareness, empowerment and improved quality of life.

• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as the operational arm

of the civil society therefore have an important role in the
development processes.

Different types of civil society organizations

• Civil rights advocacy organizations: to promote human rights of
specific social groups e.g. women, migrants, disabled, HIV, sex
workers, Dalit people, tribal people, and the like.

• Civil liberties advocacy organizations: to promote individual civil

liberties and human rights of all citizens, rather than focusing on
particular social group

• Community based organizations, citizen’s groups, farmers’

cooperatives: to increase citizen’s participation on public policy
issues so as to improve the quality of life in a particular
community.

• Labour unions: to promote the rights of employees and workers.

• International peace and human rights organizations: to promote
peace and human rights.

• Media, communication organization: to produce, disseminate, or

provide production facilities in one or more media forms; it
includes television, printing and radio.

the interaction and relationship between the Indian state and

NGOs like
• In India the state policies have significantly influenced the
formation of NGOs and their activities. The government
sponsored and aided programmes provided financial assistance to
NGOs either as grants or as matching grants to support the
implementation of social development projects. The need for the
involvement of voluntary organisations has been acknowledged
by a number of official committees dealing with development.

• Rural-Urban Relationship Committee, 1966: Local voluntary

organisations can be very helpful in mobilizing popular support
and assistance of the people in the activities of local body. It is
possible to maintain constant and close contact with the people
through these organisations.

• The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985- 1990), envisioned a more

active role for NGOs as primary actors in the efforts towards self-
reliant communities. This was in tune with the participatory and
empowerment ideologies, which was gaining currency in the
developmental discourse at that time Government support and
 encouragement for NGOs continued in the Eighth Five- year plan,
where a nation-wide network of NGOs was sought to be created.

• The Ninth Five-year plan proposed that NGOs should play a role
in development on the public-private partnership model. Also, the
agricultural development policies of the government and its
implementation mechanisms provided scope and space for NGOs.
A case in point is the watershed development program, which has
led to the growth of NGOs working for rural development.

• The Government declared Planning Commission as the nodal

agency for GO-NGO interface. The message was clear-
government has to and will work with the voluntary sector. A
‘Civil Society Window’ was started in 2004, in the hope that it
would enable people to engage with the Planning Commission
and offer the benefit of their field experiences

National Policy on the Voluntary Sector, 2007

• Recognizes the contribution of the voluntary sector and the need
for Government- Voluntary Sector partnership and that project
grants are a useful means for both the Government to promote its
activities without its direct involvement and a valuable source of
support to small and medium Voluntary Organizations.

• It highlights the need for Government to encourage all Central

and State Government agencies to introduce pre-service and in-
service training modules on constructive relations with voluntary
organizations. It recognizes the difficulties faced by the voluntary
 sector in accessing government schemes and suggests ways to
tackle this.

• The main objective of the National Policy on the Voluntary Sector

is to identify systems by which the Government may work
together with the Voluntary Organizations on the basis of the
principles of mutual trust, respect and shared responsibility. It
also recognizes the importance of independence of voluntary
organizations, which allows them to explore alternative models of
development.

India benefitted from NGOs

• Voluntary organizations were active in cultural promotion,
education, health, and natural disaster relief as early as the
medieval period. During the second half of the 19th century,
nationalist consciousness spread across India and self-help
emerged as the primary focus of socio-political movements. The
early examples of such attempts are Friend-in-Need Society
(1858),Arya Samaj (1875), the National Council for Women in
India (1875).

• In India, it was the 1970s which saw rapid growth in the formation
of formally registered NGOs and the process continues to this day.
Most NGOs have created their respective thematic, social group
and geographical priorities such as poverty alleviation, community
health, education, housing, human rights, child rights, women’s
rights, natural resource management, water and sanitation; and
to these ends they put to practice a wide range of strategies and
approaches.
• Primarily, their focus has been on the search for alternatives to
development thinking and practice; Achieved through
participatory research, community capacity building and creation
of demonstrable models.

• Many NGOs have worked hard to include children with disability

in schools, end caste- based stigma and discrimination, prevent
child labour and promote gender equality resulting in women
receiving equal wages for the same work compared to men.
During natural calamities they have played an active role in relief
and rehabilitation efforts, in particular, providing psycho-social
care and support to the disaster affected children, women and
men.

• NGOs have been instrumental in the formation and capacity

building of farmers and producers’ cooperatives and women’s
self- help groups.NGOs have implemented the JeevanDhara
programme for creation of wells for safe drinking water;

• Promoted community toilets for total sanitation, and supported

the public health programs on immunisation and for eliminating
tuberculosis and malaria. The much celebrated NREGA, ICDS, ICPS,
Nirmal Gram and SwasthyaBima of the government have their
roots in the work of many NGOs.

• NGOs have significantly influenced the development of laws and

policies on several important social and developmental issues
such as the right to information, juvenile justice, ending corporal
punishment in schools, anti-trafficking, forests and environment,
 wildlife conservation, women, elderly people, people with
disability, rehabilitation and resettlement of development
induced displaced people to name a few.

• NGOs can and should play the “game changer” to pro-poor

development through leadership on participatory research,
community empowerment and search for development
alternatives.With the increasing role of the NGOs in development
activities they are now attracting professionals from various other
sectors, and capacities are being built in support areas such as
financial management, resource mobilization, human resources,
leadership development, governance procedures and practices
and institutional development.

• At another level NGOs have been addressing the social service

issues and empowerment related advocacy efforts have been
increasing.The favourable disposition of the governments and the
political will to involve NGOs is more pronounced in
implementation of the welfare schemes addressing causes of
women and children.Further, the industrial policies have
influenced the formation and relations between the businesses
and NGOs.

The key governance challenges facing NGOs

• Transparency and accountability are key ingredients of
Governance in the NGO Sector as these determine operational
efficiencies and risk mitigation. Over the years, corporate sector
has been able to recognize and implement best governance
practices through appropriate institutional framework.
• NGOs play an increasingly active role in today’s political and social
arenas. Civil society organizations are increasing in number all
over India. Of late, some of the local and national NGOs have
been found involved in malpractices and acting irresponsibly, thus
undermining the credibility of civil society.

• There is a huge flow of funds into the non-government

organization sector and this requires prudence and good practices
to maintain accountability and transparency to the benefit of all
stakeholders. Although NGOs do internal auditing but for more
accountability and transparency.

• The challenge is multidimensional, and is compounded by

the‘unorganised’ nature of the sector, lack of regulatory
frameworks and the fact that India boasts of more than a million
NGOs of different roles, structures and sizes. In particular, the
Indian voluntary sector urgently needs self-regulatory guidelines
and transparency mechanisms to increase the trust and
awareness as to how the philanthropic funds are being utilised.

• This is a critical challenge that creates a barrier to raising funds

and capital for the sector. The general lack of transparency in the
functioning of a large proportion of NGOs leads to aversion in
donating funds for charitable causes since the general public is
largely cynical about the ‘genuineness’ of the non-profit spirit of
the sector.

• It is in the self-interest of the NGOs to realize the fact that to

implement a structure of ‘corporate governance’ principles would
provide the real value to the stakeholders. Also, this would enable
 to track the potentially dubious sources of funding coming in for
the voluntary sector – an aspect which has gained impetus in the
wake of the increased number of terror attacks and extremist
activities.

• The Union Home Ministry has identified some NGOs as security

threat to the country. Such security considerations have
underscored the rising need of improving the governance
practices in the Indian NGOs and exercising better regulatory
mechanisms, disclosure norms, and management processes
including financial management and budgeting systems as well.

Suggestions:
• The implementation of a strategic framework is essentially
important in the management of an NGO. The endorsement of
such a framework brings in professionalism and internal control
mechanisms, which further makes the organization’s performance
more effective. Developing strategies also include establishing a
mechanism of consistent monitoring of whether they are being
implemented and linking the results to the organization’s goals.

• Public donation is an important source of funds for the NGO

sector and one that can and must increase substantially.Tax
incentives play a positive role in this process. The Government
could simplify and streamline the system for granting income tax
exemption status to charitable projects under the Income Tax Act.

• The Government should encourage all relevant Central and State

Government agencies to introduce pre-service and in-service
 training modules on constructive relations with the voluntary
sector. Such agencies need to introduce time bound procedures
for dealing with the VOs. These could cover registration, income
tax clearances, financial assistance, etc. There must be a formal
system for registering complaints and for redressing grievances of
NGOs.

SHGs
• Self-Help Groups are informal associations of people who choose
to come together to find ways to improve their living conditions.
They help to build Social Capital among the poor, especially
women.

The most important functions of a Self-Help Groups are :

• to encourage and motivate its members to save
• to persuade them to make a collective plan for generation of
additional income
• to act as a conduit for formal banking services to reach them.
Such groups work as a collective guarantee system for members
who propose to borrow from organised sources.

• Consequently, Self-Help Groups have emerged as the most

effective mechanism for delivery of micro-finance services to the
poor.
Evolution of the SHG movement in India:
• The first organised initiative in this direction was taken in Gujarat
in 1954 when the Textile Labour Association (TLA) of Ahmedabad
formed its women’s wing to organise the women belonging to
households of mill workers in order to train them in primary skills
like sewing, knitting embroidery, typesetting and stenography etc.

• In 1972, it was given a more systematized structure when Self

Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) was formed as a Trade
Union under the leadership of Ela Bhatt. She organised women
workers such as hawkers, vendors, home based operators like
weavers, potters, papad / agarbatti makers, manual labourers.

The primary objective

• (a) increasing their income and assets;
• (b) enhancing their food and nutritional standards; and
• (c) increasing their organisational and leadership strength. The
overall intention was to organise women for full employment.

• The positive experience gained from the above programmes has

led to the emergence of a very strong consensus that the twin
concepts of (a) small group organisation and (b) self-management
are potent tools for economic and social empowerment of the
rural poor. Efforts have been made almost in all parts of the
country to adopt this model as a necessary component of the
poverty alleviation programmes.

• Forming small groups and linking them to bank branches for credit
delivery has been the most important feature of the growth of the
 SHG movement in our country. The SHG-Bank linkage programme
was started as a test project in 1989 when NABARD, the Apex
Rural Development Bank in the country.

• The Ministry of Rural Development provided financial support to

PRADAN to establish Self-Help Groups in some rural pockets of
Rajasthan. On the basis of these experiences, a full-fledged
project involving a partnership among SHGs, Banks and NGOs was
launched by NABARD in 1992.

Other Agencies are involved in the SHG movement

• RashtriyaMahilaKosh:The RashtriyaMahilaKosh was set up by the
Government of India in March 1993 as an Autonomous Body
registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the
Department (now Ministry) of Women and Child Development.
The objective was to facilitate credit support to poor women for
their socio-economic upliftment.Thus RMK was established to
provide loans in a quasi-formal credit delivery mechanism, which
is client-friendly, has simple and minimal procedure, disburses
quickly and repeatedly, has flexible repayment schedules.

• SIDBI:Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

launched its micro finance programme on a pilot basis in 1994
using the NGO / MFI model of credit delivery wherein such
institutions were used as financial intermediaries for delivering
credit to the poor and unreached, mainly women. Learning from
the experience of the pilot phase, SIDBI reoriented and upscaled
its micro finance programme in 1999. A specialised department
viz. ‘SIDBI Foundation for Micro Credit’ (SFMC) was set up with
 the mission to create a national network of strong, viable and
sustainable Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) from the informal
and formal financial sectors.

• Private Initiatives:Though, government efforts have played a

major role in advancing the SHG movement in the country, there
have been a large number of voluntary organisations (NGOs)
which too have facilitated and assisted SHGs in organizing savings
and credit in different parts of India. SEWA in Ahmedabad,
MYRADA in Karnataka etc.From organizing villagers into groups
which could work on viable activities, to making a project and
securing funds (own contribution or through a tie-up with the
financial institution), these VOs have worked with involvement
and dedication.

• Mostly women into effective organisations which could leverage

credit from formal sources, and develop local resources and skills
to increase productivity and income. It is thus, due to the
combined efforts of the government and these private voluntary
agencies that the SHGs have come to occupy a place of
prominence in the socio-economic fabric of rural India.

The impact of SHGs on rural life

• Participation in group activity significantly contributed to
improvement of self-confidence among the members. In general,
group members and particularly women became more vocal and
assertive on social and family issues.The structure of the SHG is
meant to provide mutual support to the participants in saving
money, preparing a common plan for additional income
 generation and opening bank accounts that would help them in
developing credit relationship with a lending institution.

• It ultimately supports them in setting up micro-enterprises e.g.

personalised business ventures like tailoring, grocery, and tool
repair shops. It promotes the concept of group accountability
ensuring that the loans are paid back. It provides a platform to the
community where the members can discuss and resolve
important issues of mutual concern.

• While some of the SHGs have been initiated by the local

communities themselves, many of them have come through the
help of a mentor Body (either government or an NGO) which
provided initial information and guidance to them.Such support
often consists of training people on how to manage Bank
accounts, how to assess small business potential of the local
markets and how to upgrade their skills. In the end, it creates a
local team of resource persons.

• The majority of Self-Help Groups comprise of women members.

There is evidence in this country as well as elsewhere that
formation of Self-Help Groups has a multiplier effect in improving
women’s status in society as well as in the family. Their active
involvement in micro-finance and related entrepreneurial
activities not only leads to improvement in their socio-economic
condition but also enhances their self-esteem.

• Women in a groupenvironment become more articulate in voicing

their concerns and a change occurs in their self-perception.The
SHG programme has contributed to a reduced dependency on
 informal money lenders and other non-institutional sources. It has
enabled the participating households to spend more on education
than non- client households.

SHG movement has certain weaknesses

• The SHG model has led to definite socialempowerment of the
poor but whetherthe economic gains are adequate to bring a
qualitative change in their life is a matter of debate;many of the
activities undertaken by the SHGs are still based on primitive skills
related mostly to primary sector enterprises.

• With poor value addition per worker and prevalence of

subsistence level wages, such activities often do not lead to any
substantial increase in the income of group members.There is lack
of qualified resource personnel in the rural areas who could help
in skill upgradation/acquisition of new skills by group members.

The key issues facing SHGs today

• Maintaining the participatory character:We saw the cooperative
sector became a springboard for political aspirants. Though the
SHG movement is relatively new, government interventions and
subsidies have already started showing negative results. The
patronage and subsidies provided to the SHGs by government and
the Panchayats often lead to their politicization. Therefore, due
care must be taken to ensure that government initiatives do not
erode the fundamental principles of self-help and empowerment
of the poor.
• Need to expand the SHG movement to States such as Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and in the North-East
(where the SHG movement and micro-finance entrepreneurship is
weak).Need to extend small group organisations (SHGs) to peri-
urban and urban areas.

• Issues of sustainability: The institutional sustainability and the

quality of operations of the SHGs are matters of considerable
debate. It is generally held that only a minority of the Self-Help
Groups are able to raise themselves from a level of micro-finance
to that of micro-entrepreneurship. The ultimate objective of such
a tie-up is to impart financial strength to the SHGs so that they
can enter into a stable relationship with the local financial
institutions - without any external support.

• Role of Micro-Finance Institutions: Micro-credit is defined as

provision of thrift, credit, and other financial services (such as
deposits, loans, payment services, money transfer, insurance and
related products) of very small amounts to the poor in rural, semi-
urban and urban areas for enabling them to raise their income
levels and improve living standards.

• Micro-finance institutions are those which provide such micro-

credit facilities. Micro-credit is an instrument of both social as well
as economic policy. It opens up integral development processes
such as use of financial and technical resources, basic services and
training opportunities to the unprivileged.It also empowers them
to make critical choices about investing in business, sending
children to school, improving health care of the family, covering
the cost of key social obligations and unforeseen situations.
Corporate-SHG linkages for rural markets:
• Rural Market offers tremendous potential of growth for
corporations by making their products and services available to
these areas. Lot of interventions are designed by various
companies to tap the rural market including designing tailor made
supply chain, rural marketing campaigns, pruning marketing mix
elements and integrating social elements to develop their brand
awareness and market for their products.

• Integration of SHGs with corporations as a part of their company

policies in tackling the issues of reach and market awareness is a
win-win solution. With various government initiatives including
Promotion of SHG formation, microenterprise development,
microcredit by FIIs and NBFCs and skill training, SHGs are
becoming viable in their operations. Symbiotic association of
corporations and SHGs utilizing distinctive competence can prove
to be fruitful for both in the long run broadly in the form of
market and socio-economic development.

• The real effort to support SHGs in India, however, came in the late
1990s when the central government of India introduced a holistic
program, SGSY- Swarnajayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana based on
the group approach for rural development. The SGSY approach
was to encourage the rural poor to organise themselves into SHGs
and to independently take up viable economic activities as micro-
enterprises with support from government subsidies and bank
credit.

• Micro-enterprises can be started and managed by individuals,

groups or SHGs. Intended to strengthen viable, small businesses,
 resulting in increased household income and savings and thus
alleviating the crunch of economic poverty, Micro-enterprise
development aims at building self-esteem, self-reliance,
encouraging autonomy and creating a community atmosphere. It
builds economic capital by creating jobs and generating income,
ultimately working towards community development in
impoverished or unemployed areas.

• SHGs can provide a suitable option for companies to integrate

into various functions such as- Marketing, Distribution,
Procurement of various raw materials and semi-finished
materials, Production and processing of indigenous products etc.
For example, TAJ group has adopted a SHG for procurement of
sea food and meet 60% of their demands through the SHG. SHGs
can also become a suitable vehicle for distribution of rural
products and help in faster diffusion of innovation in the rural
market.

Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the Population by the

Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes
Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies Constituted for the
Protection and Betterment of these Vulnerable Sections
Vulnerable sections’
• A vulnerable section in a population is one that has some specific
characteristics that make it at higher risk of falling into poverty
than others. Vulnerable sections include the elderly, the mentally
and physically disabled, at-risk children and youth, ex-
combatants, internally displaced people and returning refugees,
 HIV/AIDS- affected individuals and households, religious and
ethnic minorities and, in some societies, women. (World Bank)

• Groups that experience a higher risk of poverty and social

exclusion than the general population. Ethnic minorities,
migrants, disabled people, the homeless, those struggling with
substance abuse, isolated elderly people and children all often
face difficulties that can lead to further social exclusion, such as
low levels of education and unemployment or underemployment.
(European Commission).

Individual or a group phenomenon.

• Vulnerability is not confined to individuals, rather relates to
groups or sections. Thus, a social component is usually involved.
This is particularly true in the case of India where inequality and
exclusion are facts of life. Thus, some people not only have a
greater share of valued resources – money, property, education,
health, and power – than others, but social identities play a
dominant role in acquiring these resources.

Caste can perpetuate vulnerability among some sections of our

population
• The caste system is a distinct Indian social institution that
legitimizes and enforces practices of discrimination against people
born into particular castes. These practices of discrimination are
humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative.
 • Historically, the caste system classified people by their occupation
and status. In actual practice both economic and social status
tended to coincide. There was thus a fairly close correlation
between social (i.e. caste) status and economic status – the high
castes were almost invariably of high economic status, while the
‘low’ castes were almost always of low economic status.

Untouchability is and analyze the vulnerable status of dalits in the

light of untouchability practiced in the caste system.
• Untouchability is indeed an extreme and particularly vicious
aspect of the caste system that prescribes stringent sanctions
against members of castes located at the bottom of the caste
pyramid. Notions of ‘distance pollution’ existed in many regions of
India for a long time.

• Untouchability refers not just to the avoidance or prohibition of

physical contact but to a much broader set of social sanctions. For
instance, it is almost always associated with economic
exploitation of various kinds, most commonly through the
imposition of forced, unpaid (or under-paid) labour, or the
confiscation of property.

• There are three main dimensions of untouchability- namely

exclusion, humiliation-subordination and exploitation – all are
equally important to understand the phenomenon.

• Low castes are also subjected to subordination and exploitation to

some degree, they do not suffer the extreme forms of exclusion
reserved for ‘untouchables.’ Dalits experience forms of exclusion
 that are unique and not practiced against other groups – for
instance, being prohibited from sharing drinking water sources or
participating in collective religious worship, social ceremonies and
festivals.

Constitution of India contain any provision to curb its practice

• Yes, the Constitution abolished untouchability and its practice in
any form. Article 17 of the Constitution (Fundamental Right) that
abolishes untouchability has been provided without any
exception. It empowers the State to prescribe by law providing
punishment for the practice of untouchability.

• The Parliament enacted the Untouchability Offences Act, 1955

which has been subsequently amended and renamed as the Civil
Rights Protection Act, 1976. It provides stringent punishment for
the practice of untouchability.

The vulnerable status of Scheduled Castes, the Constitution includes

certain provisions for their welfare.The Constitution includes the
following provisions for the Scheduled castes:
• Article 15(4): It was introduced by the first Amendment Act after
the SC judgment in the case of Champakam Dorairajan vs. State of
Madras. Under this the State can make special provisions for the
advancement of socially and educationally backward class of
citizens including SCs and STs.
 • Article 16(4): This clause allows the state to reserve vacancies in
public service for any backward classes of the state that are not
adequately represented in the public services.

• Article 16 (4A): It empowers the State to provide by law for the

reservation of seats in favour of SCs and STs in public employment
in promotions.

• Article 338/338A/339: Establishes a National Commission of SCs

and STs. Article 339 allows the central govt.To direct states to
implement and execute plans for the betterment of SC/STs.

• Article 340: Allows the President to appoint a commission to

investigate the condition of socially and economically backward
classes and table the report in the parliament.

The Government of India has also constituted certain mechanisms,

laws, institutions and bodies for their protection and betterment.
Discuss.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal
Ministry to oversee the interests of the Scheduled Castes. Under
the Scheduled Castes Development Bureau, the Ministry
implements Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) which is an
umbrella strategy to ensure flow of targeted financial and physical
benefits from all the general sectors of development for the
benefit of Scheduled castes.
• Under the strategy, states/UTs are required to formulate and
implement Special Component Plan (SCP) for Scheduled Castes as
part of their Annual Plans by earmarking resources.

Constitutional Measures:
National Commission for Scheduled Castes
• The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, a Constitutional
body monitors the safeguards provided for Scheduled Castes and
also reviews issues concerning their welfare. The Commission has
wide powers to protect, safeguard and promote the interests of
the SCs. The Commission has been conferred powers of a civil
court trying a suit, to summon and enforce the attendance of any
persons from any part of India and examining on oath, receiving
evidence on affidavits.

Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955

• In pursuance of article 17 of the Constitution of India, the
Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was enacted. Subsequently it
was amended and renamed in the year 1976 as the “ Protection
of Civil Rights Act, 1955”. Rules under this Act, viz. “The Protection
of Civil Rights Rules, 1977” were notified in 1977. The Act extends
to the whole of India and provides punishment for the practice of
untouchability. It is implemented by the respective State
Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989
• The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989, specifies offences, which are considered as
atrocities, and provides for deterrent punishments for
commission of the same. Comprehensive Rules were also framed
under the SCs and STs (POA) Act in 1995, which among other
things provided for relief and rehabilitation of the affected
people.

Adivasis or tribals
• Tribes or Adivasis in India have generally been defined in terms of
what they were not. Tribes were defined as communities that did
not practice a religion with a written text; did not have a state or
political form of the normal kind; did not have sharp class
divisions; and, most important, did not have caste and were
neither Hindus nor peasants.

• Tribes as social groups were recognized by the Indian Constitution

as specially marked by poverty, powerlessness and social stigma.
They were believed to be ‘people of the forest’ whose distinctive
habitat in the hill and forest areas shaped their economic, social
and political attributes.

• In the areas where tribal populations are concentrated, their

economic and social conditions are usually much worse than
those of non-tribals. The impoverished and exploited
circumstances under which adivasis live can be traced historically
to the pattern of accelerated resource extraction started by the
 colonial British government and continued by the government of
independent India

• Adivasi lands were rapidly acquired for new mining and dam
projects. In the process, millions of adivasis were displaced
without any appropriate compensation or rehabilitation. Justified
in the name of ‘national development’ and ‘economic growth’,
these policies were actually a form of internal colonialism,
subjugating adivasis and alienating the resources upon which they
depended.

The Constitutional provisions and other laws and institutions

established for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.Constitutional
Provisions:
• Refer the Constitutional provisions mentioned above for
Scheduled castes. Apart from them, certain other articles deal
exclusively with problems faced by STs. They are as follows:

• Article 19(5): It allows the state to impose restriction on freedom

of movement or of residence in the benefit of Scheduled Tribes.

• Article 164: Appoint special minister for tribal welfare in the

states of MP, Bihar, and Orrisa.

• Article 275: Allows special grant in aids to states for tribal welfare.
 Other welfare schemes, laws, mechanisms, bodies and institutions:
• Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas Scheduled Tribes live in
contiguous areas unlike other communities. It is, therefore, much
simpler to have an area-approach for development activities and
also regulatory provisions to protect their interests. In order to
protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes with regard to land
alienation and other social factors, provisions of ‘‘Fifth Schedule
and “Sixth Schedule” have been enshrined in the Constitution.

• The Fifth Schedule under Article 244(1) of Constitution defines

‘‘Scheduled Areas” as such areas as the President may by Order
declare to be Scheduled Areas after consultation with the
Governor of the State.

The Fifth Schedule Areas

• The criteria for declaring any area as a ‘‘Scheduled Area” under
the Fifth Schedule are:
• (a) Preponderance of tribal population,
• (b) Compactness and reasonable size of the area,
• (c) A viable administrative entity such as a district, block or taluk,
• (d) Economic backwardness of the area as compared to
neighbouring areas.

The advantages of Scheduled Areas are as follows:

• The Governor of a state, which has Scheduled Areas, is
empowered to make regulations in respect of the following: a.
Prohibit or restrict transfer of land from tribal people; b. Regulate
 the business of money lending to the members of Scheduled
Tribes.

• The Governor may be public notification direct that any particular

Act of Parliament or of the Legislature of the State, shall not apply
to a Scheduled Area or any part thereof in the State or shall apply
to such area subject to such exceptions and modifications as he
may specify.

• The Governor of a State having Scheduled Areas therein, shall

annually, or whenever so required by the President of India, make
a report to the President regarding the administration of the
Scheduled Areas in that State and the executive power of the
Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the State as to the
administration of the said area.

Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP)

• Upgradation of administration through the innovative strategy of
the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) for STs was launched at the beginning of
the 5th Five Year Plan in 1974-75, covering 21 States and 2 U.T.S.,
where Scheduled Tribes constitute a sizeable population. This
special strategy was expected to ensure that all the general
development sectors, both at the Central and State levels,
earmark funds for STs in proportion to their population so that
adequate benefits from all the concerned sectors flow to this
disadvantaged group.

• Thus the TSP strategy seeks to ensure adequate flow of funds for
tribal development not only under every State Plan funds.The TSP
 promotes development activities through legal and administrative
support. The TSP strategy is being implemented through 195
Integrated Tribal Development Projects.

Special Central Assistance for Tribal Sub-Plan

• In support of TSP, the Government of India launched the SCA
scheme in 1974 to the States and the UTs, as an additive to fill up
the gaps, especially in the family based income-generating
programmes. As a result, there has been a substantial increase in
the flow of funds during the Ninth Five Year Plan for the
development of STs besides enlargement of the share of benefits
for STs under all the development programmes.

• The SCA to TSP is provided by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to 21

Tribal Sub- Plan States including North Eastern States of Assam,
Manipur and Tripura. Since 2003-04 the Ministry of Home Affairs
is releasing the funds under SCA to TSP meant for the UTS.

Backward Classes
• Though untouchability was the most visible and comprehensive
form of social discrimination. However, there were a large group
of castes that were of low status and were also subjected to
varying levels of discrimination short of untouchability.

• The Constitution of India recognizes the possibility that there may

be groups other than the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes
who suffer from social disadvantages.This is the constitutional
 basis of the popular term ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs), which
is in common use today.

• Since caste has entered all the major Indian religions and is not
confined to Hinduism alone, there are also members of other
religions who belong to the backward castes and share the same
traditional occupational identification and similar or worse socio-
economic status.

The Government has enacted schemes for the welfare of backward

classes
• National Commission for Backward Classes-In pursuance of the
Supreme Court Judgement popularly known as Mandal
Judgement (1992), the National Commission for Backward Classes
was set up in 1993 as a permanent body for entertaining,
examining and advising the Government on requests for inclusion
and complaints of over-inclusion and under inclusion in the lists of
Other Backward Classes (OBCs) of citizens.

Educational Development
• Pre-matric Scholarships for OBCs
• Post-matric Scholarships for OBCs
• Hostels for OBC Boys and Girls
• Assistance to Voluntary Organisations for Welfare of OBCs.
Reservation in Services
• Reservation is given to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes
(STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in services under the
control of Government. Reservation is also provided to persons
with disabilities and the ex-servicemen in certain categories of
posts. The quantum of reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs in direct
recruitment on all-India basis by open competition is 15 per cent,
7.5 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.

• In direct recruitment on all-India basis, otherwise than by open

competition, reservation is 16.66 per cent for SCs, 7.5 per cent for
STs and 25.84 per cent for OBCs. In case of promotion SCs and STs
get reservation at the rate of 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent
respectively. There is no reservation for OBCs is case of
promotion.

• The Government has prepared a list of OBCs has been prepared

by the Government. The inter-state area restrictions have been
imposed so that the people belonging to the specific community
residing in a specific area which has been assessed to qualify for
SC, ST and OBC status only benefit from the facilities provided for
them.To ensure that reserved vacancies are filled by candidates
belonging to appropriate category, certain relaxations and
concessions like relaxation in upper age-limit, etc., are provided.

Minorities
• Privileged minorities such as extremely wealthy people are not
usually referred to as minorities; if they are, the term is qualified
in some way, as in the phrase ‘privileged minority’. When minority
 is used without qualification, it generally implies a relatively small
but also disadvantaged group. The sociological sense of minority
also implies that the members of the minority form a collectivity –
that is, they have a strong sense of group solidarity, a feeling of
togetherness and belonging.

• Groups that may be minorities in a statistical sense, such as

people who are left-handed or people born on 29 th February, are
not minorities in the sociological sense because they do not form
a collectivity.

• Religious or cultural minorities need special protection because of

the demographic dominance of the majority. In democratic
politics, it is always possible to convert a numerical majority into
political power through elections. This means that religious or
cultural minorities – regardless of their economic or social
position – are politically vulnerable.

Measures taken by the Government to address the problems of the

minorities in India.
Constitutional Measures
• National Commission for Minorities The Minorities Commission
which was set up in January 1978 by a Resolution issued by
Ministry of Home Affairs became a statutory body with the
enactment of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992
and renamed as The National Commission for Minorities.
 National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities
• The Government of India has been seized of the welfare needs of
socially and economically backward sections among religious and
linguistic minorities.

The Government has constituted a National Commission for Religious

and Linguistic Minorities, with the following terms of reference:
• (a) to suggest criteria for identification of socially and
economically backward sections among religious and linguistic
minorities
• (b) to recommend measures for welfare of socially and
economically backward sections among religious and linguistic
minorities, including reservation in education and government
employment
• (c) to suggest the necessary constitutional, legal and
administrative modalities, as required for the implementation of
their recommendations; and to present a Report of their
deliberations and recommendations.

Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities

• The Office of the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities was
created in July 1957, in pursuance of the provision of Article 350-B
of the Constitution. The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities of
India (CLM) has his Headquarters at Allahabad with Regional
Offices at Kolkata, Belguam and Chennai.

• The CLM takes up all the matters pertaining to the grievances

arising out of the non-implementation of the Constitutional and
 Nationally Agreed Scheme of Safeguards provided to linguistic
minorities that come to its notice or are brought to its knowledge
by the linguistic minority individuals, groups, associations or
organisations at the highest political and administrative levels of
the State Governments and UT Administrations and recommends
remedial actions to be taken.

Persons with Disabilities. What are the kind of problems that this
section of the population faces.
• The differently abled are not ‘disabled’ only because they are
physically or mentally impaired’ but also because society is built in
a manner that does not cater to their needs. In contrast to the
struggles over Dalit, adivasi or women’s rights, the rights of the
differently abled have been recognized only very recently.

• There is a close relationship between disability and poverty.

Malnutrition, mothers weakened by frequent childbirth,
inadequate immunization programmes, accidents in overcrowded
homes, all contribute to an incidence of disability among poor
people that is higher than among people living in easier
circumstances.Diisability creates and exacerbates poverty by
increasing isolation and economic strain, not just for the
individual but for the family; there is little doubt that disabled
people are among the poorest in poor countries.
List the measures taken by the government to address the concerns
of the Persons with Disabilities
Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995
• A comprehensive law, namely, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act,
1995 has been enacted and enforced in February 1996.

• The law deals with both prevention and promotion aspects of the
rehabilitation such as education, employment and vocational
training, creation of barrier-free environment, provision of
rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, institutional
services and supportive social security measures like
unemployment allowance and grievance redressal machinery
both at the Central and State-Level.

National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral palsy,
Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities
• The National Trust is a statutory body under “The National Trust
for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental
Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999”. The main
objectives of the Trust are to enable and empower persons with
these disabilities to live independently as fully as possible, to
extend support to registered organisations providing need-based
services and to evolve procedure for appointment of legal
guardians for persons with disabilities requiring such protection.
Rehabilitation Council of India
• The Rehabilitation Council of India is a statutory body set up
under the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992. The Council is
responsible for regulating the training policies and programmes
for various categories of professionals in the area of rehabilitation
and special education.

Its functions include:

• (i) standardization and regulation of training courses at different
levels in all the training institutions throughout the country
• (ii) recognition of institutions/universities running training courses
in the area of rehabilitation of the disabled within and outside the
country on a reciprocal basis
• (iii) promotion of research in rehabilitation and special education.

Issues related to an ageing population

• Demographic ageing is a global phenomenon. It has implications
at both the macro and household level. It is true that due to
strong family ties in India, majority of elderly people live with
their sons or are supported by them in one way or the other.

Constitutional and Other Provisions

• Article 41 of the DPSP directs that the State shall, within the
limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective
provision for securing the right of public assistance in cases of old
age.
National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)
• The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) which came
into effect from 15th August, 1995 represents a significant step
towards the fulfillment of the Directive Principles in Article 41 of
the Constitution. It introduces a National Policy for Social
Assistance for the poor and aims at ensuring minimum national
standard for social assistance in addition to the benefits that the
states are currently providing and might rovide in future.

Integrated Programme for Older Person Objectives:

• Providing support for the capacity building of senior citizens by
establishing and maintaining Old Age Homes; Day Care Centers;
Mobile Medicare Units and Non-Institutional services.

• Popularize the concept of life through re-enforcement &

strengthening of the ability & commitment of the family to
provide care to older persons.Generating greater awareness on
issues concerning older persons.

Sexual Minorities
• Another group that faces stigma and discrimination are the sexual
minorities. Those identified as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual,
kothi and hijra, experience various forms of discrimination within
the society and the health system.

• Due to the dominance of hetero-sexual relations as the only form

of normal acceptable relations within the society, individuals who
are identified as having same-sex sexual preferences are ridiculed
 and ostracized by their own family and are left with very limited
support structures and networks of community that provide them
conditions of care and support.

Constitutional Provisions for sexual minorities

• Art. 15(1): The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on
grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of
them.

Orphans and street children are also considered as vulnerable

sections.
• A Street child is a term used to refer to a child who lives on the
streets of a city. Such children are deprived of family care and
protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of
about 5 and 17 years old, and their population between different
cities is varied. Street children live in abandoned buildings,
cardboard boxes, parks or on the street itself.

Divides street children into two main categories:

• Children on the street are those engaged in some kind of
economic activity ranging from begging to vending. Most go home
at the end of the day and contribute their earnings to their family.
They may be attending school and retain a sense of belonging to a
family. Because of the economic fragility of the family, these
children may eventually opt for a permanent life on the streets.
 • Children of the street actually live on the street (or outside of a
normal family environment). Family ties may exist but are
tenuous and are maintained only casually or occasionally.

List the Constitutional provisions that safeguard the interests of

children.
Constitutional Provisions for children
• Article 15(3) empowers the state to make special provisions for
welfare of children and women.

• Article 19 A: Education up to 14 yrs has been made a

fundamental right. Thus, the state is required to provide school
education to children.

• Article 24: Children have a fundamental right against exploitation

and it is prohibited to employ children below 14 yrs of age in
factories and any hazardous processes. Recently the list of
hazardous processes has been update to include domestic, hotel,
and restaurant work.

• Several PILs have been filed in the benefit of children. For

example, MC Mehta vs State of TN, SC has held that children
cannot be employed in match factories or which are directly
connected with the process as it is hazardous for the children.
Other policies and schemes have been enacted to protect the rights
of children
Statutory Bodies
National Commission for protection of Child Rights
• The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 was
notified in 2006. It has started functioning from March 2007. The
National Commission for Protection of Child rights is a statutory
body. Its mission is to protect, promote and defend child rights in
India. Its mandate is to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes,
practices and administration structure in the country are in
consonance with the child rights perspective as enshrined in the
constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of
Children.

Policies
National Policy for Children
• The National Policy for Children was adopted in 1974. This policy
lays down that the State shall provide adequate service for
children, both before and after birth and during the growing
stages for their full physical, mental and social development. The
measures suggested in the policy include, amongst others, a
comprehensive health programme, supplementary nutrition for
mothers and children, free and compulsory education for all
children up to the age of 4 years, promotion of physical education
and recreational activities, special consideration for children etc.
National Charter for Children
• The Government of India adopted the National Charter for
Children in 2004. The National Charter is a statement of intent
embodying the Government’s agenda for children. The document
emphasizes GOI’s commitment to children’s rights to survival,
health and nutrition, standard of living, play and leisure, early
childhood care, education, protection of girl child, empowering
adolescents, equality of life and liberty, name and nationality,
freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful
assembly, the right to a family and right to be protected from
economic exploitation and all forms of abuse.

• It also provides for protection of children in difficult

circumstances, children with disabilities, children from
marginalized and disadvantaged communities and child victims.

Schemes
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme
• The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme was
launched in 1975 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the
following objectives:
• (a) to improve the nutritional and health status of children below
the age of six years and pregnant and lactating mothers

• (b) to lay the foundation for the proper psychological, physical

and social development of the child

• (c) to reduce the incidents of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition

and school dropouts,
• (d) to achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation
among various departments to promote child development,

• € to enhance the capability of the mother to look after the health

and nutritional needs of the child through proper health and
nutrition education.

• The Scheme provides for a package of services to children below 6

years and pregnant women and lactating mothers, comprising (i)
Supplementary nutrition (ii) Immunization, (iii) Health check-ups,
(iv) Nutrition and Health education, (v) Referrals, (vi) Pre-school,
non formal education.

Women comprise roughly half of the population of our country.

What is the reason that they are still a vulnerable section?
• Because of the obvious biological and physical differences
between men and women, gender inequality is often treated as
natural.Despite appearances, scholars have shown that the
inequalities between men and women are social rather than
natural.

• For example, there are no biological reasons that can explain why
so few women are found in positions of public power. Nor can
nature explain why women generally receive a smaller or no share
in family property in most societies. But the strongest argument
comes from the societies that were different from the ‘normal’ or
common pattern.
 • Women’s reform was a major issue much before independence.
While in the nineteenth century reform movements, the emphasis
had been on the backward aspects of tradition like sati, child
marriage, or the ill treatment of widows, two decades after
Independence, women’s issues re-emerged in the 1970s with
emphasis on emphasis was on ‘modern’ issues – the rape of
women in police custody, dowry murders, the representation of
women in popular media, and the gendered consequences of
unequal development.

Mention the Constitutional provisions laid down for the welfare of

women.
• Article 15(3): It allows the state to make special provisions for
women and children. Several acts such as Dowry Prevention Act
have been passed including the most recent one of Protection of
women from domestic violence Act 2005.

• Article 23: Under the fundamental right against exploitation,

forcing people into immoral activities has been prohibited.

• Article 39: Ensures equal pay to women for equal work.

Various policies, schemes, mechanisms and bodies constituted as a
safeguard against women vulnerability.
Policies
• National Policy for Empowerment of Women (NPEW) It was
formulated in 2001 with the express goal of bringing about the
advancement, development and empowerment of women. The
NPEW laid down detailed prescriptions to address discrimination
against women, strengthen existing institutions which includes
the legal system.

• Provide better access to health care and other services, equal

opportunities for women’s participation in decision-making and
mainstreaming gender concerns in the development process etc.
The policies/programmes of the Government are all directed
towards achieving inclusive growth with special focus on women
in line with the objective of the NPE.

Statutory and Autonomous Organizations

• National commission for Women It is a statutory body constituted
in 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
The main task of the Commission is to study and monitor all
matters relating to the Constitutional and legal safeguards
provided for women and to review the existing legislations and
suggest amendments, wherever necessary.The commission also
ensures speedy redressal of grievances of women.
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)
• Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (National Credit Fund for Women) was set
up by the Government of India in March 1993 as an independent
registered society. Its main objective was to provide micro credit
to poor, assetless women for income generation activities for
asset creation and for tiding over contingent consumption needs,
as also as an instrument of socio-economic change and
development of women.

• Government has proposed to restructure and strengthen RMK to

scale up their activities including that of background and forward
linkages to function as a single window facilitator and service
provider for women self help groups (SHGs).

Analyze India’s Welfare Policy. What is the criteria on the basis of

which an assessment of India’s Welfare Policy and Schemes can be
done.
• Independent India embraced equality as a cardinal value against a
background of elaborate, valued and clearly perceived
inequalities. Her constitutional policies to offset these proceeded
from an awareness of the entrenched and cumulative nature of
group inequalities. The result has been an array of programmes
that have been called as welfare schemes

• Few in independent India have voiced disagreement with the

proposition that the disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of the
population deserve and need ‘special help’.There is no open
defence of the practices followed in earlier times. Everyone is
against untouchability and against caste discrimination. Public
 debate takes the form of argument among competing views of
what is really good for the “lower” castes and for the country.
These views involve a host of assertions about the effects –
beneficial and deleterious – of social welfare schemes.

• The evaluation of these schemes involves a two-stage inquiry.

First, there is what we might call the problem of performance:
does the scheme actually deliver the goods. Second, we need to
evaluate what we might call the problem of achievement

India’s welfare programmes have largely been able to meet their

objectives
• Given the complexity and number of schemes, mechanisms, laws
and institutions performance of these are difficult to measure:
effects ramify in complex interaction with other factors.
Compensatory policies are designed to pursue a multiplicity of
incommensurable goals in unspecified mixtures that vary from
programme to programme, from time to time, and from
proponent to proponent.

• Welfare measures have produced substantive redistributive

effects though redistribution is not spread evenly throughout the
beneficiary groups. For instance, there has been a major
redistribution of educational opportunities to the vulnerable
sections.

• The welfare schemes have brought a many-fold increase in the

number of families liberated from circumscribing subservient
roles, enabling them to utilize expanding opportunities and
 support high educational attainments.Welfare programmes
provide the basis for personal achievement and enlarge the
beneficiaries’ capacity to shape their own lives.Though these
programmes have kept the beneficiary groups and their problems
visible to the educated public, they have not stimulated
widespread concern to provide for the inclusion of the vulnerable
sections.

Some Government Policies

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT POLICY, 2006
• The National Environment Policy (NEP) seeks to extend the
existing policies for environmental management for ensuring
sustainable development by integrating the environmental
concerns in the developmental projects.

• It recognizes that while conservation of environmental resources

is necessary to secure livelihoods and well being of all, the most
secure basis for conservation is to ensure that people dependent
on particular resources obtain better livelihoods from the fact of
conservation, than from degradation of resources. The policy also
seeks to stimulate partnership of different stakeholders in
harnessing their respective resources and strength for
environmental management.

• The Environment Impact Assessment Notification (EIA), 2006

requires developmental projects / activities / processes, listed
therein to obtain prior environmental clearance under the
provisions thereof so as to ensure that environmental concerns
 associated with these projects are duly integrated and addressed
during different stages of project cycle.

Main concern of the NEP: Three foundational aspirations

1. Human beings should be able to enjoy a decent quality of life;
2. Humanity should become capable of respecting the finiteness
of the biosphere
3. Neither the aspiration for the good life, nor the recognition of
biophysical limits should preclude the search for greater justice in
the world.

• The dominant theme of this policy is that while conservation of

environmental resources is necessary to secure livelihoods and
well-being of all, the most secure basis for conservation is to
ensure that people dependent on particular resources obtain
better livelihoods from the fact of conservation, than from
degradation of the resource.

Key Environmental Challenges

• The proximate drivers of environmental degradation are
population growth, inappropriate technology and consumption
choices, and poverty, leading to changes in relations between
people and ecosystems, and development activities such as
intensive agriculture, polluting industry, and unplanned
urbanisation.

• Institutional failures, lack of clarity or enforcement of rights of

access and use of environmental resources, policies provide
 disincentives for environmental conservation, market failures, and
governance constraints.

Poverty and environment have a mutual impact on each other.

• Environment degradation causes poverty- The loss of the
environmental resource base can result in certain groups of
people being made destitute, even if overall, the economy shows
strong growth. Urban environmental degradation, through lack of
waste treatment and sanitation, industry and transport related
pollution, adversely impacts air, water, and soil quality, and
differentially impacts the health of the urban poor.

• Poverty causes environment degradation-For the poor, several

environmental resources are complementary in production and
consumption to other commodities e.g. water, fuel wood, a
number of environmental resources are a source of income or
food. Poor rely heavily on natural resources which a source of
cumulative causation, where poverty, gender inequalities, and
environmental degradation mutually reinforce each other.

• Economic Loss- Economic growth bears a dichotomous

relationship to environmental degradation. Growth may result in
“excessive” environmental degradation through use of natural
resources and generation of pollution aggravated by institutional
failures. If impacts on the environmental resource base are
neglected, an incorrect picture is obtained from conventional
monetary estimates of national income.
Objectives of the National Environment Policy
• 1. To conserve Critical Environmental Resources which are
essential for life support, livelihoods, economic growth, and a
broad conception of human well-being.

• 2. Intra-generational Equity: To ensure equitable access to

environmental resources and quality for all sections of society
those are most dependent on environmental resources.

• To ensure efficient use of environmental resources in the sense of

reduction in their use per unit of economic output, to minimize
adverse environmental impacts.To apply the principles of good
governance to the management and regulation of use of
environmental resources.

• To ensure higher resource flows, comprising finance, technology,

management skills, traditional knowledge, and social capital, for
environmental conservation through mutually beneficial multi-
stakeholder partnerships.

Liability in Environmental Degradation

Legal Liability
• The present environmental redressal mechanism is predominantly
based on doctrines of criminal liability, which have not proved
sufficiently effective, and need to be supplemented. Civil iability
for environmental damage would deter environmentally harmful
actions, and compensate the victims of environmental damage.
Strict Liability:
• Imposes an obligation to compensate the victim for harm
resulting from actions or failure to take action, which may not
necessarily constitute a breach of any law or duty of care.Criminal
processes and sanctions would be available for serious, and
potentially provable, infringements of environmental law, and
their initiation would be vested in responsible authorities.

Strategies and Actions

Process Related Reforms:
• The Govindarajan Committee identified delays in environment
and forest clearances as the largest source of delays in
development projects, will be followed for reviewing the existing
procedures for granting clearances and other approvals under
various statutes and rules.The objective is to reduce delays and
levels of decision-making, realize decentralization of
environmental functions, and ensure greater transparency and
accountability.

Environmentally Sensitive Zones:

• Environmentally Sensitive Zones may be defined as areas with
identified environmental resources having “Incomparable Values”
which require special attention for their conservation. Identify
and give legal status to Environmentally Sensitive Zones.
Formulate area development plans with adequate participation by
the local communities. Ensure adherence to the approved area
development plans.
Substantive Reforms:
• Coastal Areas:Development activities in the coastal areas are
regulated by means of the Coastal Regulation zone notifications
and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plans made
under them. There is need to ensure that the regulations are
firmly founded on scientific principles to ensure effective
protection to valuable coastal environmental resources. Adequate
environmental safeguards should be built into development
projects in the islands, in particular those relating to tourism, high
value agriculture, deep sea fishing, prospecting for oil and natural
gas, etc. It

Monitoring of Compliance:
• Weak enforcement of environmental compliance is attributed to
inadequate technical capacities, monitoring infrastructure, and
trained staff in enforcement institutions, insufficient involvement
of local communities in the monitoring of compliance, and
absence of institutionalized public-private partnerships in
enhancement of monitoring infrastructure.

• NEP proposes to take measures, including capacity development

initiatives to enable Panchayati Raj Institutions and urban local
bodies to undertake monitoring of compliance with
environmental management plans. Measures will also be taken to
encourage municipalities to annually report their environmental
performance to their governing bodies.
Use of Economic Principles in Environmental Decision-making:
• It is necessary that the costs associated with the degradation and
depletion of natural resources be incorporated into the decisions
of economic actors at various levels, to reverse the tendency to
treat these resources as “free goods” and to pass the costs of
degradation to other sections of society, or to future generations
of the country.

• At the macro-level, a system of natural resource accounting is

required to assess whether in the course of economic growth we
are drawing down, or enhancing, the natural resource base of
production, including relevant depletable assets.The
environmental costs and benefits associated with various
activities, including sectoral policies, should be evaluated to
ensure that these factors are duly taken into account in decision-
making.

• Economic instruments, of which a large, feasible suite, has

emerged through practical experience in several developed and
developing countries, work by aligning the interests of economic
actors with environmental compliance, primarily through
application of “polluter pays”. This may ensure that for any given
level of environmental quality desired, the society-wide costs of
meeting the standard are minimized
 Conserving Environmental Resources
Land Degradation:
• The degradation of land, through soil erosion, alkali-salinization,
water logging, pollution, and reduction in organic matter content
has several proximate and underlying causes. The proximate
causes include loss of forest and tree cover, unsustainable
grazing, excessive use of irrigation, improper use of agricultural
chemicals,diversion of animal wastes for domestic fuel, and
disposal of industrial and domestic wastes on productive land.

• Grazing lands are usually common property resources, and

insufficient empowerment of local institutions for their
management leads to overexploitation of the biomass base.
The following specific initiatives would be taken:
• A) Research and development, extension of knowledge, pilot scale
demonstrations, and large scale dissemination, including farmer’s
training, access to institutional finance.

• B) Formulation and adoption of multi-stakeholder partnerships,

involving the land owning agency, local communities, and
investors.Watershed management strategies, for arresting and
reversing desertification, and expanding green cover.
Forests:
• Foremost sustain our rivers; conserve the soil; prevent floods and
drought; provide habitat for wildlife.Ecological conditions for
maintenance; natural evolution of genetic diversity of flora and
fauna. They are the homes of traditional forest dependent
communities.

• The principal direct cause of forest loss has been the conversion
of forests to agriculture, settlements, infrastructure, and industry,
commercial extraction of fuelwood, illegal felling, and grazing of
cattle, has degraded forests.Such disempowerment has led to the
forests becoming open access in nature, leading to their gradual
degradation in a classic manifestation of the “Tragedy of
Commons”. It has also led to perennial conflict between the forest
dependent communities and the Forest Department, constituting
a major denial of justice.

• The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, and

the relevant provisions of Part IX of the Constitution may provide
a framework for restoration of the key traditional entitlements. It
is essential that women play a greater role in the management of
natural resources.

• The National Forest Policy, 1988; and the Indian Forest Act, 1927;
as well as the regulations under it, provide a comprehensive basis
for forest conservation. The National Forest Commission, set up in
2003, is reviewing the policy, legislative and institutional basis of
forest management.
 Biodiversity, Traditional Knowledge, and Natural Heritage:
• Conservation of genetic diversity is crucial for development of
improved crop varieties resistant to particular stresses, new
pharma products, etc., apart from ensuring the resilience of
ecosystems. Traditional Knowledge (TK), referring to ethno-
biology knowledge possessed by local communities, is the basis of
their livelihoods, and also a potent means of unlocking the value
of genetic diversity through reduction in search costs.

• Natural heritage sites, including endemic “biodiversity hotspots”,

sacred groves and landscapes, are repositories of significant
genetic and eco-system diversity, and the latter are also an
important basis for eco-tourism. They are nature’s laboratories
for evolution of wild species in response to change in
environmental conditions.

• India is, thus well-placed to tap this enormous resource base for
benefits for the country as a whole, and local communities in
particular, provided that the genetic resources are conserved, and
appropriate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) conferred on local
communities in respect of their ethno-biology knowledge. A large-
scale exercise has been completed for providing inputs towards a
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

The following measures would be taken:

• Strengthen the protection of areas of high endemism of genetic
resources (“biodiversity hot spots”), while providing alternative
livelihoods and access to resources to local communities who may
be affected thereby.
• There is need to harmonize the Patent Act, 1970 with the
Biodiversity Conservation Act 2000 to enable local communities
holding traditional knowledge of use of biological material to
benefit from providing access to traditional knowledge.

• Equitable Benefit sharing in respect of biological material and

traditional knowledge of use of such biological material to enable
the country and local communities respectively to derive
economic benefits from providing access.

Freshwater Resources
• River Systems:Elevated global mean temperature may increase
net melting rates resulting in glacial retreat and consequent
adverse impact on flows in major rivers. Rivers are also subject to
siltation from sediment loads due to soil loss, itself linked to loss
of forest and tree cover.

• Rivers possess significant natural capacity to assimilate and render

harmless many pollutants; the existing pollution inflows in many
cases substantially exceed such natural capacities. This fact,
together with progressive reductions in stream flows, ensures
that the river water quality in the vast majority of cases declines
as one goes downstream.

• The results include loss of aquatic flora and fauna, leading to loss
of livelihoods for river fisherfolk, significant impacts on human
health from polluted water, increased drudgery for poor, rural
women in collecting drinking water from distant water bodies,
 loss of habitat for many bird species, and loss of inland navigation
potential.

• The direct causes of river degradation are, in turn, linked to

several policies and regulatory regimes. These include tariff
policies for irrigation systems and industrial use, which, through
inadequate cost-recovery, provide incentives for overuse near the
headworks’ of irrigation systems, and drying up of irrigation
systems at the tail-ends. This results in excessive cultivation of
water intensive crops near the head works, which may lead to
inefficient water use, water logging and soil salinity and alkalinity.

• Pollution loads are similarly linked to pricing policies leading to

inefficient use of agricultural chemicals, and municipal and
industrial water use. In particular, revenue yields for the latter
two are insufficient to install and maintain sewage and effluent
treatment plants, respectively.

The following comprise elements of an action plan for river systems:

• A) Promote research in glaciology to evaluate the impacts of
climate change on glaciers and river flows.Promote integrated
approaches to management of river basins to ensure
maintenance of adequate flows, in particular for maintenance of
in-stream ecological values.

• Mitigate the impacts on river and estuarine flora and fauna, and
the resulting change in the resource base for livelihoods, d)
Mandating the installation of water saving closets and taps in the
building bye-laws.
 Groundwater:
• The water table has been falling rapidly in many areas of the
country in recent decades. This is largely due to withdrawal for
agricultural, industrial, and urban use, in excess of annual
recharge. In urban areas, apart from withdrawals for domestic
and industrial use, housing and infrastructure such as roads
prevent sufficient recharge.

• Contamination of groundwater is also due to geogenic causes,

such as leaching of arsenic and fluoride from natural deposits. The
direct causes of groundwater depletion have their origin in the
pricing policies for electricity and diesel. In the case of electricity,
wherever individual metering is not practiced, a flat charge for
electricity connections makes the marginal cost of electricity
effectively zero.

• Groundwater is an open access resource, the user then “rationally

extracts groundwater until the marginal value to him equals his
now very low marginal cost of extraction. The result is inefficient
withdrawals of groundwater by all users, leading to the situation
of falling water tables.

The following actions will be taken to avoid all these issues:

• A) Take explicit account of impacts on groundwater tables of
electricity tariffs and pricing of diesel.Promote efficient water use
techniques; provide necessary pricing, inputs, and extension
support to feasible and remunerative alternative crops.Ensure
availability of ground water potential maps through a designated
institution.
 • Rain water harvesting, artificial recharge and traditional methods
for enhancing groundwater recharge. Mandate water harvesting;
provide web based information on water harvesting techniques
Suitable sites for dumping the toxic waste material to prevent the
movement of the toxic waste in the ground water.Optional
utilization of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides should be
encouraged for improving the water quality.

Mountains
• Mountains are among the most fragile of ecosystems in terms of
susceptibility to anthropogenic shocks.There has been significant
adverse impact on mountain ecosystems by way of deforestation,
submergence of river valleys, pollution of freshwater sources,
despoliation of landscapes, degradation of human habitat, loss of
genetic diversity, plantation of species not conducive to
conservation of the mountain environment, retreat of glaciers,
and pollution.

The following elements of an Action Plan will be taken up to conserve

mountains:
• A) Adopt appropriate land use planning and watershed
management practices.

• B) Adopt “best practice” norms for infrastructure construction in

mountain regions.

• C) Encourage cultivation of traditional varieties of crops and

horticulture by promotion of organic farming.
 • D) Promote sustainable tourism through adoption of “best
practice” norms for tourism facilities and access to ecological
resources, and multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Pollution Abatement
Air Pollution:
• Air pollution may have adverse impacts on human health, as well
the health of other living entities, manmade heritage, and life-
support systems, such as global climate. Depending upon the
lifetime of the pollutants, the location of the source, and the
prevailing air currents, the receptors may be located at
homestead, local, regional, or global levels.

• The direct causes of air pollution are emissions from the use of
fossil energy, and other industrial processes, and some
consumption activities. The deeper causes arise in a multiplicity of
policy, and institutional, including regulatory shortcomings, in
particular, inefficient pricing of fossil fuel based energy. Indoor air
pollution, a special case.

The following specific actions will be taken:

• A) Integrated approach to energy conservation and adoption of
renewable energy technologies to improve conversion,
transmission, distribution, and end-use efficiency.Remove policy,
legal, and regulatory barriers to setting up decentralized
generation and distribution systems for power and other
secondary energy forms, based on local primary energy resources.
• B) Accelerate the national programmes of dissemination of
improved fuelwood stoves, and solar cookers, suited to local
cooking practices and biomass resources.

• c) Enforcement of emission standards for both point and non-

point sources.Addressing air pollution for both point and non-
point sources, relying on a judicious combination of fiats and
incentive based instruments.

Water Pollution:
• The direct and indirect causes of pollution of surface water
sources, groundwater, and coastal areas have been discussed
above. The following comprise further elements of an action plan:

• A) Public-private partnership models for setting up and operating

effluent and sewage treatment plants.Progressively use public
resources, including external assistance, to catalyze such
partnerships and enhance the capacities of municipalities for
recovery of user charges for water and sewage systems.

• B) Enhance capacities for spatial planning among the State and

Local Governments, with adequate participation by local
communities, to ensure clustering of polluting industries to
facilitate setting up of common effluent treatment plants, to be
operated on cost recovery basis. Ensure that legal entity status is
available for common effluent treatment plants to facilitate
investments, and enable enforcement of standards.
• C) Take explicit account of groundwater pollution in pricing
policies of agricultural inputs, especially pesticides, and
dissemination of agronomy practices. Encourage Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) and use of biodegradable pesticides.

Climate Change
• Climate change, resulting from anthropogenic emissions of a suite
of gases (called “greenhouse gases” or GHGs) due to fossil fuel
use, certain agricultural and industrial activities, and
deforestation, leading to their increasing concentrations in the
atmosphere, has the potential, over the next few generations, to
significantly alter global climate. This would result in large
changes in ecosystems, leading to possibly catastrophic
disruptions of livelihoods, economic activity, living conditions, and
human health.

• While climate change is a global environmental issue, different

countries bear different levels of responsibility for increase in
atmospheric GHGs concentrations. Further, the adverse impacts
of climate change will fall disproportionately on those who have
the least responsibility for causing the problem, in particular,
developing countries, including India.

• Anthropogenic climate change, significant responsibility for which

clearly does not lie with India or other developing countries, may,
on the other hand, have likely adverse impacts on India’s
precipitation patterns, ecosystems, agricultural potential, forests,
water resources, coastal and marine resources, besides increase
in range of several disease vectors. Large-scale resources would
 clearly be required for adaptation measures for climate change
impacts.

The following will comprise essential elements of India’s response to

climate change:
• Identify key vulnerabilities of India to climate change, in particular
impacts on water resources, forests, coastal areas, agriculture,
and health.Assess the need for adaptation to future climate
change, and the scope for incorporating these in relevant
programmes, including watershed management, coastal zone
planning and regulation, forestry management, agricultural
technologies and practices, and health programmes.

• Encourage Indian Industry to participate in the Clean

Development Mechanism (CDM) through capacity building for
identifying and preparing CDM projects, including in the financial
sector.

Clean Technologies and Innovation

• Clean technologies, as distinct from “end-of-pipe” abatement
technologies minimize the generation of waste streams in the
production processes and utilize waste from other consumption
goods and production processes, rather than treating the waste
after generation.Clean technologies are less intensive in use of
raw materials and energy, than conventional technologies, which
rely on pollution abatement after generation.
 • In such cases a project specific approach will be adopted in
respect of enhancing market access. Secondly, lack of capacity in
development financial institutions for appraisal of proposals for
switching existing production facilities to clean technologies.
Third, the lack of coordination in R&D efforts in India aimed at
developing a shelf of commercially viable clean technologies.

The following will comprise elements of an Action Plan:

• Set up a mechanism to network technology research institutions
in the country, public and private, for cooperation in technology
research and development and adaptation, information, and
evaluation of clean technologies. Create a database of such
technologies, and promote dissemination of new technologies
developed both in India and abroad.

• Consider use of revenue enhancing fiscal instruments to promote

shifts to clean technologies in both existing and new
units.Promote adoption of clean technologies by industry, in
particular in the small and medium sector, through regulatory and
fiscal measures, and standards setting.

Partnerships and Stakeholder Involvement:

• Conservation of the environment requires the participation of
multiple stakeholders, who may bring to bear their respective
resources, competencies, and perspectives, so that the outcomes
of partnerships are superior to those of each acting alone.
Implementing and policy making agencies of the Government, at
Central, State, Municipal, and Panchayat levels.
 • Institutions of local self-government have an important role in
management of the environment and natural resources. The 73 rd
and 74th Constitutional amendments provide the framework for
their empowerment. Further policy and legislative changes are
necessary to enable them to actually realize such a role, and
participate in various partnerships in this context.

A generic classification of some, not exhaustive, possible partnerships is

as follows:
• Public-Community Partnerships, by which public agencies and
local communities cooperate in the management of a given
environmental resource, each partner bringing agreed resources,
assuming specified responsibilities, and with defined
entitlements, e.g. Joint Forestry Management

• Public-Private Partnerships, by which specified public functions

with respect to environmental management are contracted out
competitively to private providers, e.g. monitoring of
environmental quality.

• Public-Voluntary Organization Partnerships, similar to public-

private partnerships, in respect of functions in which voluntary
organizations may have a comparative advantage over others, the
voluntary organizations, in turn, being selected competitively, e.g.
environmental awareness raising.

• Public-Private-Voluntary Organization Partnerships, in which the

provision of specified public responsibilities is accomplished on
competitive basis by the private sector, and the provision is
 monitored by competitively selected voluntary organizations, e.g.
“Build, Own, Operate” sewage and effluent treatment plants.

NATIONAL POPULATION POLICY 2000

• The objective of socio-economic development is to improve the
quality of lives of people to enhance their well being,
opportunities and choices. India was the first country in the world
to launch a national family programme for reducing birth rates to
stabilize the population at a level consistent with the requirement
of national economy in 1952. Sharp declines in death rates were
not accompanied by a similar drop in birth rates as per the
programme expectations.

• The National Population Policy, 2000 (NPP) was designed with a

commitment towards voluntary choice and consent of citizens in
availing of reproductive health care services. The family planning
services by the govt. were administered with no enforcement or
mandatory obligations in achieving some pre-defined targets.
Nonetheless, the NPP is a policy framework for advancement of
goals and priorities for the future to meet the reproductive and
child health needs of Indian populace e.g. net replacement levels
of TFR by 2010.

• The policy is br oad based to address issues of child survival,

maternal health and contraception and comprehensive package
of reproductive and child heath services by government in multi-
stakeholder partnership with industry, non -government sector
and civil society etc.
 Objectives of the NPP
• 1. The immediate objective of the NPP 2000 is to address the
unmet needs for contraception, health care infrastructure, and
health personnel, and to provide integrated service delivery for
basic reproductive and child health care.

• 2.The medium-term objective is to bring the TFR to replacement

levels by 2010.The long-term objective is to achieve a stable
population by 2045, at a level consistent with the requirements of
sustainable economic growth, social development, and
environmental protection.

Key reasons for high population growth in India

• The large size of India’s population is in the reproductive age-
group i.e. 58 % of total population. This fast increase in population
would continue for some more years because high TFRs in the
past have resulted in a large proportion of the population being
currently in their reproductive years. Majority of the reproductive
age group has not been committed to the small family norms.
More than 45 % of the population increase is contributed by
births above two children per family.

• High wanted fertility due to the high infant mortality rate (IMR)
which estimated contribution about 20 %. Repeated child births
are seen as an insurance against multiple infant and child deaths;
and high infant mortality impedes all efforts at reducing TFR.

• Over 50 % of girls marry below the age of 18, the minimum legal
age of marriage, resulting in a typical reproductive pattern of “too
 early, too frequent, too many”. 33% births occur at intervals of
less than 24 months, which not only result in high MMR also
results in high IMR.

Strategy for implementation of action plan

Decentralised Planning and Implementation
• PRIs are an important means of decentralised planning and
programme implementation in the context of the NPP 2000.
Constitution of India’s 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments
Act, 1992, have directed PRIs to take responsibility for
implementing the provisions of NPP related to health, family
welfare, and education.

• State govt. need to strengthen the further delegation of

administrative and financial powers to PRIs including powers of
resource mobilization. As 33% of elected panchayat seats are
reserved for women, panchayats should promote a gender
sensitive, multi-sectoral agenda for population stabilization.

• Block level institutions must identify and provide responsive,

people-centred and integrated, basic reproductive and child
health care. PRIs as the very grass root institutions have to
demonstrate exemplary performance in the compulsory
registration of births, deaths, marriages, and pregnancies,
universalizing the small family norm, increasing safe deliveries.
Manpower and Logistics at village level
• An increase in the number of trained birth attendants of at least
two per village, is necessary to universalise coverage and outreach
of ante-natal, natal and post- natal health care. An equipped
maternity health centre in each village should be set up to serve
as a delivery room with adequate midwifery kits, basic medication
for essential obstetric aid, and indigenous medicines and supplies
for maternal and new born care.

• Programmes for safe maternity, universal immunisati on, child

care and oral rehydration have been combined into an Integrated
Reproductive and Child Health Programme. Integrated service
delivery would facilitate the registration at village levels, of births,
deaths, marriage, and pregnancies. Village should maintain a list
of community midwives and trained birth attendants, village
health guides, panchayat sewa sahayaks, primary school teachers
and aanganwadi workers to entrust various responsibilities in the
implementation of integrated service delivery

• Reproductive health services for adolescent girls and boys are

especially significant in rural areas where adolescent marriage and
pregnancy are widely prevalent.

Gender Empowerment
• Women’s health and nutrition is a critical determinant in socio-
economic development. Discriminatory childcare leads to
malnutrition and impaired physical development of a girl child.
Proper nutrition diets in early adolescence and lack of food
 entitlements to the nutrition are crucial to well-being of women
and children. The positive effects of good health and nutrition on
the labour productivity of the poor are well recognized.

• Interventions for improving women’s health and nutrition are

critical for poverty reduction.Serious pregnancy related
complications results in impaired health in early childbearing.
Women’s risk of premature death and disability is highest during
their reproductive years.

• Maternal mortality is not merely a burden to Indian women but it

is a matter of social injustice. Maternal mortality is an indicator of
disparity and inequity in access to appropriate health care and
nutrition services. Low social and economic status of girls and
women limits their access to education, good nutrition.Women’s
health and nutrition problems can be prevented through low cost
interventions designed for low income rural areas.

Child Health Care

• High infant mortality is an indicator of poor socio-economic
development; high mortality and morbidity among infants and
children below 5 years occurs on account of inadequate care,
asphyxia during birth, premature birth, low birth weight, acute
respiratory infections, diarrhoea, vaccine preventable diseases,
malnutrition and deficiencies of nutrients.

• Implementation at the grass-roots must benefit from current

developments in the fields of perinatology and neonatology. The
 baby friendly hospital initiative (BFHI) should be extended to all
hospitals and clinics up to subcentre levels in villages.

Family Welfare Services for Under-

• Served Population Groups In rural and sub-urban areas face
severe problems of unmet needs for contraceptives, supplies and
equipment for integrated service delivery, mobility of health
providers, patients, comprehensive information and awareness. It
is important to strengthen the cutting edge of health
infrastructure at the village, sub centre and primary health centre
levels to improve facilities for referral transportation to encourage
local initiatives for ambulance services at village and block level.

• Further there is a need to increase innovative social marketing

schemes for affordable products and services for improved
advocacy. More than 100 million people live in urban slums, with
no access to potable water, sanitation facilities and health care
services which contributes to high infant and child mortality.

• Basic and primary health care needs to be provided through

coordination with municipal bodies for water, sanitation, waste
disposal, targeted information, and education and communication
campaigns.

Promote Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISMH)

• Utilisation of ISMH in basic reproductive and child health care
would expand effective health care providers, optimise utilisation
of local remedies and cures, and promote low cost health care.
Guidelines need to be evolved to regulate and ensure
 standardisation, efficacy and safety of ISMH for wider
acceptability entry into national health planning.

• At village levels, the services of the ISMH “bar efoot doctors”, may
be utilised for advocacy and counseling for distributing supplies
and equipment. ISMH practices may also be applied at village
maternity centres and for ante-natal, natal and post natal care.

Provisions for the older population

• The elderly population is increasingly vulnerable because of lack
of protection and care. Promotion and provisions of old age
health care and support is required for senior citizens. The
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has adopted in
January 1999 a National Policy on Older Persons to build in
geriatric health concerns in the population policy.

• Steps in the direction include sensitising, training and equipping

rural and urban health centres and hospitals for providing
geriatric health care; encouraging NGOs to design and implement
formal and informal schemes that make the elderly economically
self reliant.

Measures for Small Family Norms:

• 1. Panchayats and Zila Parishads would be rewarded and
honoured for exemplary performance in universalising the small
family norm.
• 3. Maternity Benefit Scheme run by the Department of Rural
Development would provide a cash incentive of Rs. 500 is
awarded to mothers who have their first child after 19 years of
age, for birth of the first or second child only. Disbursement of the
cash award will in future be linked to compliance with ante-natal
check up, institutional delivery by trained birth attendant,
registration of birth and BCG immunisation.

• A Family Welfare -linked Health Insurance Plan will be established

for couples below the poverty line, who undergo sterilisation with
not more than two living childrenfor health insurance (for
hospitalisation) not exceeding Rs. 5000, and a personal accident
insurance cover for the spouse undergoing sterilisation.

• Couples below the poverty line, who marry after the legal age of
marriage, register the marriage, have their first child after the
mother reaches the age of 21, accept the small family norm, and
adopt a terminal method after the birth of the second child, will
be rewarded.A revolving fund will be set up for income -
generating activities by village-level self help groups, who provide
community-level health care services.

NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION

• The National Policy on Education (NPE) is a policy formulated by
the Government of India to promote education amongst India’s
people. The policy covers elementary education to colleges in
both rural and urban India. The first NPE was promulgated in 1968
by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the
 second by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. The latest
education policy is National Policy on Educaiton, 1992.

Historical Background of Policy on Education

• Indian government has been sponsoring a variety of programmes
to address the problems of illiteracy.Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,
first Minister of Education, envisaged strong central government
control over education throughout the country with a uniform
educational system. In 1948, University Education Commission
(UGC) and the Secondary Education Commission in 1952 were
established to develop and modernise India’s education system.

National Policy on Education 1986( As modified 1992)

• NPE 1992 provides for a National System of Education, which
implies that up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste,
creed, location or sex, have access to education of a comparable
quality. It also accord priority for improvement of the standard of
education at all levels for children living in rural and urban areas.

• The NPE 1992 recognizes that the rural areas, with poor infra-
structure services, will not get the benefit of trained and educated
youth, unless rural-urban disparities are reduced and determined
measures are taken to promote diversification and dispersal of
employment opportunities.

• Various programs under the new policy include: Mid-day Meal

scheme (MDM), Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme,
Mahila Samakhya and the scheme of Information &
 Communication Technology (ICT) in Schools, Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalayas have been opened in rural areas specifically in order to
provide quality education to rural children.

Major developments under the NPE 1992 are:

• A) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)/ Right to Education (RTE). Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan is a national level Government programme under
which efforts are made to ensure useful and relevant education at
the elementary level. Some key activities under SSA involve: Free
textbooks to all girls upto class VIII;

• Separate toilets for girls; back to school camps for out-of-school

girls; bridge courses for older girls;Recruitment of 50% women
teachers; early childhood care and Education centres in/near
schools in convergence with ICDS programme etc.;

• Teachers’ sensitization programmes to promote equitable

learning opportunities; gender-sensitive teaching-learning
materials including textbooks; Intensive community mobilisation
efforts ; ‘Innovation fund’ per district for need based
interventions for ensuring girls’ attendance and retention.

• Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA): RMSA envisages

setting up of new secondary schools within a reasonable distance
of every habitation, improvement/strengthening of existing
Government secondary schools and appointment of additional
teachers to improve Pupil Teachers Ratio (PTR).
• Model Degree Colleges are being established on each in 374
educationally backward districts with low GER. These colleges will
predominantly serve rural areas and districts with concentration
of population of SC/ST/Minorities.

• The KGBV scheme very specifically targets: adolescent girls who

are unable to go to regular schools; out of school girls in the 10+
age group who are unable to complete primary school ; younger
girls of migratory populations in difficult areas of scattered
habitations that do not qualify for primary/upper primary schools;
as the KGBVs specifically targets communities where girls are
more disadvantaged, such as SC/ ST, OBC and Muslim minorities,
the scheme provides for a minimum reservation of 75% of the
seats for girls from SC/ST/OBC and minorities communities and
25% to girls from families that live below the poverty line.

Gender parity in education

• The Government has initiated several measures to impart quality
education and improve gender parity as per NPE 1992 for removal
of gender disparities:

• NCERT has addressed quality and gender issues in its curriculum

framework and assists govt. in executing policies & programmes
in the education sector.UGC has introduced a number of schemes
for improving participation of women & ensuring gender parity in
higher education.

• The other measures include improving curricular relevance and

transaction, teacher empowerment & evaluation of the holistic
 profile of the learners through continuous & comprehensive
evaluation.

• The issue of gender parity has been adequately addressed in the

design of text book & other Co-Scholastic activities which is
reflected in the improved performance of girl children.Girls’
hostels scheme is operational since 1993, to provide free boarding
& lodging facilities to girls of Upper Primary, Secondary and Senior
Secondary Schools.

NCF-2005
• National Curriculum Framework 2005 has been implemented in all
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated schools in
the country as per NPE 1992 for:

• The examination system has been reconstructed to test more of

conceptual knowledge and understanding rather than rote
memory. Continuous and comprehensive evaluation has already
been introduced with marks assigned for internal assessment. No
home work for children of classes I-V.

• Shift from content based testing to problem solving and

competency based testing. Introduction of Mathematics labs in
schools to improve conceptual understanding.Allowing students
to appear in compartmental examination immediately after the
declaration of the result of the main examination.
The RTE Act 2009
• Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion
of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. It clarifies
that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate
govt to provide free elementary education and ensure
compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary
education to every child in the six to fourteen age group.

• It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate

Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and
compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other
responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.

• It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-

educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local
authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.It
provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e.
teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

Employment Oriented Education

• NPE 1992 has recognized that Education develops manpower for
different levels of the economy through introduction of
systematic, well-planned and rigorously implemented
programmes of vocational education. These elements are meant
to develop a healthy attitude amongst students towards work and
life, to enhance individual employability, to reduce the mis-match
between the demand and supply of skilled manpower, and to
provide an alternative for those intending to pursue higher
education without particular interest or purpose.
• b) The Government has already started Technical Quality
Improvement Programme to improve quality education and
enhance existing capability of the technical institutions to become
dynamic demand-driven, quality conscious, efficient at national
and international levels. The proposed reforms include faculty
development, examination reform, curriculum revision, semester
system seminar tutorials, autonomy with the accountability.

• c) Nation-wide scheme of “Sub-Mission of Polytechnics” has also

been launched, wherein assistance is being given to the State
Governments for starting 1000 new Polytechnics, revamping the
Community Polytechnic Scheme and increasing their number to
1000, providing assistance for construction of 500 women hostels
and for the upgradation of existing 500 Polytechnics.

National Early Childhood Care and Education Policy

• The vision of the policy is to promote inclusive, equitable and
contextualized opportunities for promoting optimal development
and active learning capacity of all children below six years of age.
It envisages improving pathways for a successful and smooth
transition from care and education provided at home to centre
based facility and thereafter to school age provision by facilitating
an enabling environment through appropriate systems, processes
and provisions across the country.

NATIONAL MANUFACTURING POLICY, 2011

• The concern about the stagnant and low share of the
manufacturing sector in India‘s GDP necessitated a dedicated
 policy for the sector with a view to accelerated development,
inclusive growth and provision of gainful employment.

• A lower emission inclusive growth strategy is another important

area. This Policy document has been prepared after extensive
stakeholder consultations and inputs from the industry, state
governments and experts in the field of manufacturing,
technology development, and business environment.

• The role of Manufacturing: India has a favourable demographic

profile with over 60% of population in the working age group of
15-59 years. Over the next decade, India has to create gainful
employment opportunities for a large section of its population,
with varying degrees of skills and qualifications. This will entail
creation of 220 million jobs by 2025 in order to reap the
demographic dividend.

• Every job created in manufacturing has a multiplier effect of

creating two to three additional jobs in related activities.
Therefore, a thrust on manufacturing is integral to the inclusive
growth agenda of the government. The development of the
manufacturing sector is critical from the point of view of ensuring
that the growth model of India is sustainable by providing value
addition to our natural and agricultural resources, addressing our
strategic needs, and developing new technologies for the welfare
of our citizens.

• Acquiring depth in manufacturing is crucial from the stand point

of long-term competitiveness in strategic areas of economy such
as defence and telecommunication. It is important to have a
 strong indigenous value chain addition element from the stand
point of national security.

• The growth of the manufacturing sector has to be made

sustainable, particularly ensuring environmental sustainability
through green technologies, energy efficiency, and optimal
utilization of natural resources and restoration of damaged
/degraded eco-systems.Developments of Indian manufacturing
sector calls for deepening and recalibrating of economic reforms
that would strengthen the sector and make it grow faster and
become an engine of inclusive growth.

Plan of Action:
• i. Foreign investments and technologies will be welcomed while
leveraging the country’s expanding market for manufactured
goods to induce the building of more manufacturing capabilities
and technologies within the country;

• Ii. Competitiveness of enterprises in the country will be the

guiding principle in the design and implementation of policies;

• iii.Effective consultative mechanism with all stake holders will be

instituted to ensure mid-course corrections.

Policy Implementation:
• In order to ensure effective implementation of the Policy, a
manufacturing policy review mechanism will be instituted and a
 high-level committee chaired by Secretary, Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion will monitor the implementation
on a regular basis. A Manufacturing Industry Promotion Board
(MIPB) at the level of Union Minister of Commerce and Industry
will be constituted to ensure coordination amongst Central
Ministries and State Governments.

Objectives under NMP

• i. Increase manufacturing sector growth to 12-14% over the
medium term; at least 25% of the National GDP by 2022.

• Ii. Increase the rate of job creation in manufacturing to create 100

million additional jobs by 2022.

• Iii. Creation of appropriate skill sets among the rural migrant and
urban poor to make growth inclusive.

• Iv. Increase domestic value addition and technological depth in

manufacturing.

Special Focus Areas

• i. Employment intensive industries: Adequate support will be
given to promote and strengthen employment intensive
industries to ensure job creation. Special attention will be given in
respect of textiles and garments; leather and footwear; gems and
jewellery; and food processing industries.
• Industries with strategic significance: A strategic requirement of
the country would warrant the launch of programmes to build
national capabilities to make India a major force in sectors like
aerospace;Shipping; IT hardware and electronics;
telecommunication equipment; defence equipment; and solar
energy. Mission mode projects will be conceptualised in each of
these sectors, recognizing the fact that a mission on solar energy
has already been launched under the National Action Plan on
Climate Change.

• Public Sector Enterprises: Public Sector Undertakings, especially

those in Defence and Energy sectors, continue to play a major role
in the growth of manufacturing as well as of the national
economy. A suitable policy framework will be formulated in this
regard to make PSUs competitive while ensuring functional
autonomy.

• Industries where India enjoys a competitive advantage: India‘s

large domestic market coupled with a strong engineering base has
created indigenous expertise and cost effective manufacturing in
automobiles; pharmaceuticals; and medical equipment. The
concerned ministries will be formulating special programmes to
consolidate strong industry base to retain the global leadership
position.

Key Provisions
National Skill Development Initiative
• The growth of manufacturing has to come hand in hand with the
concerted thrust on skill development programme. The National
 Skill Development Initiative launched by the Govt. has provided a
renewed thrust to build productive capacities. This Policy seeks to
make skill development integral to productive enterprise in the
country which would be supported by robust government
institutions.

Ii. Sustainable development

• Government would prescribe emission and discharge standards,
excluding green house gas emissions, and the choice of
technologies to meet the standards would be decided by the
project promoters. The Government will provide continuous
incentives to encourage polluting entities to reduce releases of
harmful pollutants to ensure that the standards are complied
with.

Iii. Land Banks

• The Government will take measures to make industrial land
available, which is critical for sustained industrial growth through
creation of land banks by States; digitization of land and resources
maps; and programmes for utilization of lands locked under non
productive uses, including defunct or sick industries.

Iv. Need for Technology

• Manufacturing and technology development are closely inter-
connected as technologies become useful when they are
converted into products through manufacturing and the feedback
from manufacturing fosters continuing technology development.
 By leveraging the strength of our large market, policies and
measures will be taken to ensure access for Indian companies to
foreign technologies.

Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF)

• TADF will be established for acquisition of appropriate
technologies including environment friendly technologies;
creation of a patent pool; and development of domestic
manufacturing of equipments used for controlling pollution and
reducing energy consumption.

• Acquisition of advanced technology companies would facilitate

transfer of technology to the parent manufacturing company,
while acquisition of companies enjoying better brand value or
strategic location advantages would enhance market access of
Indian firms.

• TADF will also function as an autonomous patent pool and

licensing agency to purchase IPRs to inventions from patent
holders. Any company that wants to use the IP to produce
products can seek a license from the pool against the payment of
royalties.

Rationalization of Regulatory Procedures

• On an average, a manufacturing unit needs to comply with nearly
70 laws and regulations. Apart from facing multiple inspections,
these units have to file sometime as many as 100 returns in a
year. This kind of compliance burden puts-off young
 entrepreneurs and they are not willing to take up an
entrepreneurial role. There have been attempts at single window
systems and fast track approvals.

• In certain cases technology has been leveraged to enable

electronic approvals. These efforts have been only partially
successful, because different Government departments are not
willing to shed or reinvent their role.The objective of an act or
regulation should be achieved without being intrusive and giving
rise to complaints of corruption.

Proposed framework for this is:

• A) Central/ State Governments may provide exemptions subject
to fulfilment of conditions through Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

• B) Cooperation of public or private institutions with govt.

inspection services in respect of environmental laws/regulations,
the inspection to be done by special agencies.

• C) Central/State govt. to delegate the power to State Pollution

Control Boards (SPCB) for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).

Labour Welfare
• The most significant are the environment clearances and matters
relating to labour welfare. A suitable mechanism will be set up in
concurrence with the Ministry of Labour & Employment to
enforce various labour laws. The Government will conduct
 periodic audit of the enforcement to ensure compliance of all
labour welfare provisions.

Skill Up gradation Measures

• It is estimated that between 2007-2017, 85 million persons will be
added to the labour force. The growth of total employment
during this period is estimated at 116 million. With incremental
job opportunities in agriculture being negative, entire projected
increase in workers will be accommodated in the manufacturing
and services sectors.

• All these jobs would require trained workforce. Since only 6% of

the Indian workforce receives any form of vocational training
currently, there is a pronounced skill gap both in terms of quality
and quantity.

Recognizing the urgency of interventions needed to address both the

qualitative and quantitative gaps in skill development, the NMP
proposes to create a three tier structure for skill development:

• a) Skill building for minimally educated workforce: Skill-building in

this segment would include Farm to Work and School to Work
programmes targeted at the minimally educated workforce
entering the nonagricultural sector for the first time and seeking
seasonal employment.

• B) Skill training through establishment of it is in PPP mode and

Polytechnics: These will be demand driven short-term training
 courses based on Modular Employable Skills (MES). Efforts of
private sector companies/institutions, directly or through their
non profit arms, on skill upgradation, will be scaled up.

• C) Establishment of Instructor‘s Training Centre in each NIMZ: In a

NIMZ, the Special Purpose Vehicle will undertake skill up
gradation in co-ordination with the National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC).

Infrastructure Development and Govt. Procurement:

• Govt. procurement is a major policy instrument for strengthening
manufacturing industry and development of technological
competence in critical technological areas like LED, solar energy
equipment, IT hardware and IT based security systems and fuel
efficient transport equipment such as hybrid and electric
automobiles
.
• The infrastructure deficit and requirement of equipment in each
area viz power; roads and highways; railways;Aviation; and ports
can be assessed over a number of years to create the volumes
and scales which would enable the development of domestic
manufacturing capabilities in these areas as well.

NIMZs
• NIMZs will be developed as integrated industrial townships with
state-of-the art infrastructure and land use on the basis of zoning;
clean and energy efficient technology; necessary social
 infrastructure; skill development facilities, etc., to provide a
productive environment to persons transitioning from the primary
sector to the secondary and tertiary sectors.To enable the NIMZ
to function as a self governing and autonomous body, it will be
declared by the State Government as an Industrial Township
under Art 243 Q© of the Constitution.

Administrative Structure for NIMZs:

• The administrative structure of NIMZ will comprise of a Special
Purpose Vehicle, a developer, State and Central Govt. SPV will
exercise the powers to discharge the functions assigned to it
under this Policy to manage the affairs of the NIMZ as a legal
entity by the name of the NIMZ.

• Some of the functions of SPV would be: master planning of the

Zone; preparation of a strategy for development of the Zone and
an action plan for self regulation to serve the purpose of the
policy; selection of Developer; formulation of rules and
procedures etc.

Funding of internal infrastructure in an nimz:

• i. viability gap funding (vgf): under the ministry of finance scheme
for support to public private partnerships in infrastructure ‘in the
form of capital grant at the stage of project construction will be
given at twenty percent of the total project cost.
• ii. State government may also provide funding out of their budget
as may be feasible.e.

• Iii. Long term soft loans from multilateral financial institutions.

• Iv. External Commercial Borrowings.

FISCAL AND MONETORY POLICY

Current Macro-economic Scenario
• Indian economy grew 8.4 % of GDP growth in 2009-10 and 9.3 %
of GDP growth in 2010-11 even in the background of global
economic slowdown of during 2008-09. However, in the following
year 2011-12, GDP was at 6.2%. Still the growth rate was amongst
the top economies of the world during the same period. Although,
US and EU economy have not impacted to a larger extent but the
Indian economy has faced the ripple effects of the slow down in
their economies.

• i. India’s fiscal deficit-External Reasons:

• Fiscal deficit of Indian economy has continuously been increasing.

Euro Zone crisis and gloomy economic trends in major economies
across world impact India’s exports negatively. Crude prices and
high levels of gold imports led to the widening of trade gap and
Current Account Deficit (CAD).

• International crude prices fluctuations at high levels.some time

also accumulated the burden due to net imports of crude oil
which accounts for 80% of India’s oil energy demand. This also led
 heavy under recovery costs to the PSUs in oil sector. Owing to
this, fertilizer bill increased due to rising Urea prices.

Domestic Causes:
• Sticky inflation, falling savings rates, falling investments and even
consumption have been some of the major domestic causes of
worsening fiscal deficit. The monetary policy tightening measures
led to a perceptible negative impact on economic growth. The
growth is estimated to come down to a decade low of 5 %of GDP
this year as per CSO’s advance estimates.

• The rigid inflationary conditions and tight monetary policy along

with negative sentiment on investment climate at home and
depleting savings impacted the industrial growth very much.

Fiscal Policy Responses

• 1. Mid-term course correction with suitable policy response
became imminent in the current macro-economic scenario. Fiscal
consolidation measures through regulating deficits and cutting
expenditure to create positive investment environment was
immediate need of the hour.

• 2. Govt. took major decisions to contain government spending on

subsidy. Raising diesel and LPG prices to meet the widening gap
would be inflationary in the short run and increase the fiscal
deficit in long run.The current level of fuel subsidy was
unsustainable. A gradual increase in prices over a period of time
may ease the inflationary tendencies.
• 3. Govt. undertook an exercise of rationalizing both Plan and Non-
plan expenditure as per revenue to rationalize the expenditure
and optimize available resources to infuse confidence in the
market for growth revival. Decisions were taken to increase FDI
up to 49% in Insurance sector and other sector. Govt.’s decision of
allowing FDI in multi brand retailing is driven to consolidate fiscal
position.

• Indirect Tax measures: The introduction of Goods and Services

Tax (GST) was scheduled to be implemented this fiscal year.
Central Excise duties and Service Tax are integrated. Full
integration of the taxation of goods and services will be achieved
only when the State VAT would be merged into GST. In-direct tax
related measures were taken by reducing and increasing the
duties on tax sensitive products such as customs duty on standard
gold bars from 4% to 6% with a view to contain the impact of gold
imports on the Current Account Deficit.

FRBM Act – Rules Notified

• As part of amendments to the FRBM Act, 2003, Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in the Finance Bill was proposed
with an objective of integration between the expenditure and
medium term fiscal targets planned by the govt. The MTEF offers
a three-year rolling target for the expenditure indicators. MTEF,
thus, directs the Ministries and other govt. departments for an
efficient allocation of budget over a medium term and better
planning of activities in their schemes and programmes.
• The fiscal deficit targets adopted in the MTEF roadmap formed
the basis of the new FRBM Rules notified. Govt. laid down that
the fiscal deficit targets as explained above in the Kelkar report.
Besides, a target of Revenue deficit has been reset to bring it
down to below 2.0 per cent by 2015-16 to eliminate Effective
Revenue Deficit in the same time period.

• The concept of effective revenue deficit was introduced in the

Budget 2010-11. It brings out structural problems in the revenue
expenditure in federal set-up. It attempts to resolve these by
laying greater emphasis on development related expenditure at
field level. The emphasis to eliminate effective revenue deficit by
2015-16 to generate adequate surplus must help in proper
resource utilization.

Government Borrowings, Lending and Investments:

• Borrowing strategy focuses on raising resources through on
market oriented instruments to meet both the short-term and
medium term borrowings requirements of the Government.
India’s debt policy is driven by the principle of gradual reduction
of public debt to GDP ratio so as to further reduce debt servicing
risk and create fiscal space for developmental expenditure. India’s
debt profile is characterized by reliance on domestic market
borrowings, with market determined rates rather than
administered rates and diminishing proportion of external debt as
percentage of total borrowing.
• Development of Government securities markets is one of the key
reforms suggested through an independent Debt Management
Office (DMO) in Ministry of Finance.

• Govt. is also moving towards administered interest rates with the

market rates. Interest rates on small savings are now linked with
yields in secondary market for dated securities. Collections under
various small saving schemes, net of withdrawals, during the
financial year form the source of funds for National Small Savings
Fund (NSSF).

• The net collection is invested in Central and State Government

Securities as per the recommendation of the Committee on Small
Savings constituted in July, 2010. States are provided excess
interest relief based on their compliance with fiscal targets in
respective FRBM Act.

• Disinvestment proceeds from Central PSUs from the financial year

2013-14 onwards will be used only for select capital investments
such as recapitalization of public sector banks and investments in
Railways for modernization and other capital projects from
National Innovation Fund.

• By using disinvestment proceeds for above purposes Government

will only change the nature of capital assets owned by it as the
disinvestment proceeds by reduction in capital assets of
Government on one side will be matched by increase in the stock
of its capital assets in other approved areas.
Monetary Policy Measures
• Some key monetary measures in the wake of current macro-
economic policy changes taken by the RBI are as follows:

• i. CRR: The cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks has been
retained at 4.0 per cent of their net demand and time liabilities
(NDTL).

• Ii. Repo Rate: It has been decided to reduce the policy repo rate
under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points
from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect.

• Iii. Reverse Repo Rate: The reverse repo rate under the LAF,
determined with a spread of 100 basis points below the repo rate,
stands adjusted to 6.25 per cent with immediate effect.

Monetary policy interface with fiscal policy

• a) The laws imposed limits on fiscal deficits and public debt
prohibits primary financing of the fiscal deficit by the central bank.
This institutional framework which assures operational
independence to the central bank in its conduct of monetary
policy within a rule-based regime can be successful in keeping
inflation low.

• B) Monetary policy should be avoided to become hostage to fiscal

compulsions. Central bank must not be forced beyond endurance
to maintain expansionary monetary stances to compensate for
fiscal laxity.
• C) Monetary basic commitment must be towards price stability.
Central bank should not become vulnerable to political pressures
and its autonomy should not be at stake. Fiscal policy must not be
try to control the monetary policy.Monetary tightening works by
restraining demand. In a scenario, wherein fiscal stance is more
supportive of demand, the monetary stance has to be more
rigorous.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION POLICY (STI), 2013

• The STI Policy seeks to send a signal to the Indian scientific
community, both in the private and public domain, that science,
technology and innovation should focus on faster, sustainable and
inclusive development of the people. The policy seeks to focus on
both STI for people and people for STI.

• It aims to bring all the benefits of Science, Technology &

Innovation to the national development and sustainable and more
inclusive growth. It seeks the right sizing of the gross expenditure
on research and development by encouraging and incentivizing
private sector participation in R & D, technology and innovation
activities.

• The policy goal is to accelerate the pace of discovery, diffusion

and delivery of science led solutions for serving the aspirational
goals of India for faster, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Background
• Prime Minister, Shrimati Indira Gandhi had announced the
Technology Policy Statement (TPS) at the Science Congress in
 January 1983. It focused on the need to attain technological
competence and self-reliance. Several of the statements of TPS
were implemented. Subsequently, a Science and Technology
Policy (STP) was announced in 2003, seeking to bring science and
technology (S&T) together.

• It basically called for integrating programmes of socio-economic

sectors with the national R&D system and the creation of a
national innovation system. The world has changed vastly since
then in all spheres of human activity.

• New paradigms of innovation have emerged, arising, among

others, out of the pervasive intrusion of internet and
globalization. Even then systems that foster innovation have
become country and context specific. India has declared 2010-20
as the “Decade of Innovation.”

• India’s demographics have changed significantly too. The youthful

populations have high expectations and aspirations of the nation.
The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013
approved by the Union Cabinet is in furtherance of this
declaration and aims to bring perspectives to bear on Science &
Technology led innovations in the changing context.

Basic Principles in STI policy 2013

• Integration of STI for value creation
• Global competitiveness and National inclusiveness need to be
interconnected
• Policy for STI to be developed and STI policy for People
• Innovation for inclusive growth should ensure access, availability
and affordabiliPeopl
• Facilitating Investments into science and Investment of science
into the growth of the nation.

Key features of the STI policy 2013

• 1. Promoting the spread of scientific temper amongst all sections
of society.

• 2. Enhancing skills for applications of science among the young

from all social sectors.

• 3. Making careers in science, research and innovation attractive

enough for talented and bright minds.

• 4.The policy goal is the establishment of a strong and viable

Science, Research and Innovation system for High Technology led
path for India (SRISHTI).

• 5. Linking contributions of Science Research and innovation

system with the inclusive economic growth agenda and combining
priorities of excellence and relevance.

Targets
• 1. Raising Gross Expenditure in Research and Development
(GERD) to 2% from the present 1% of the GDP in this decade by
encouraging enhanced private sector contribution.
• 2. Increasing the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of R&D
personnel in India by at least 66% of the present strength in 5
years. Increasing accessibility, availability and affordability of
innovations, especially for women, differently-abled and
disadvantaged sections of society.

Importance of STI policy 2013

• 1. It aspires to position India among the top five global scientific
powers by 2020.Today innovation is no longer a mere appendage
to science and technology but has assumed centre stage in the
developmental goals of countries around the world.

• 2. The policy thus seeks to focus on both people for science and
science for people and combine the benefits of excellence and
relevance.

• 3.India needs ‘inclusive innovation’. The policy will thus drive both
investments in science and Science, Technology, Innovation Policy
2013 investment of science-led technology and innovation in
agriculture, manufacturing and services that lead to socio-
economic benefits to a wide cross section of society.

Policy Implementation and Mechanism

• Implementation of the proposals contained in the Policy will
necessitate consultations with different government
departments/ministries and agencies besides consultations with
overarching, science and engineering academies industry and
business associations etc.
Mechanism:
• Wide ranging mechanisms are envisaged to be deployed to realize
the policy aspirations, a few of these are:

• 1. Permitting multi stakeholders participation in the Indian R&D

system.

• 2. Treating R&D in the private sector at par with public institutions

for availing public funds.

• 3.Providing incentives for commercialization of innovations with

focus on green manufacturing and closing gaps in the translation
of new findings at the grassroots and the commercial space.

• 4. Forging strategic partnerships and alliances with other nations

through both bilateral and multilateral cooperation in science,
technology and innovation.

FDI IN MULTIBRAND RETAIL

• As per existing policy, FDI, up to 100%, is permitted, with prior
Government approval, for single brand product retail trading. The
government had allowed 51% FDI in multi-brand retail in 2011,
but the decision was kept in abeyance following widespread
opposition from the allies and opposition parties.

Stakeholders in FDI in Retail:

• Central and State Govt.
• MNCs and Indian corporate
• Unorganized Retails Stores(e.g. Kiryana Stores)
• Farmers
• Consumers

Govt. mandate on FDI in Multi Brand Retail

• 1. As per the FDI policy, 30% local sourcing is mandatory. For FDI
proposals beyond 51% in single brand retail, 30% sourcing from
‘Small Industries’ has been made mandatory.

• 2.For multi-brand retail, 50% FDI brought in shall be invested in

back-end infrastructure within 3 years of FDI induction. Multi-
brand retailers must have a minimum investment of US$100
million with at least half of the amount invested in back end
infrastructure, including cold chains, refrigeration, transportation,
packing, sorting and processing to considerably reduce the post
harvest losses and bring remunerative prices to farmers.

Politics over FDI in Multi Brand Retail Trade

Role of States
• States’ approval in the opening of retail competition within India’s
federal structure is a prerequisite. The states of India have the
prerogative to accept it and implement it, or they can decide to
not implement it. Actual implementation of policy will be within
the parameters of state laws and regulations. The Department of
Industrial Policy & promotion, Government of India, wrote to all
the State Governments for their support for FDI in multi-brand
retail trade in 2012, Responses have been received from a few
states.
Industry Opinion
• Majority of Indian corporate has been pressing the govt. for
allowing FDI in multbrand retail. Indian corporate is of the view
that the government will stick to its decision of allowing FDI in
multi-brand retail because that is absolutely essential. The
industry is convinced that once a few states implement the policy;
the others will see the benefits and definitely consider it as well.

• Foreign MNCs and investors are getting fed up with India because
the deadlock on the FDI policy in multi brand retail appears to be
permanent. Finally, India needs trillions of dollars to build its
infrastructure, hospitals, housing and schools for its growing
population. The Indian economy is still developing and with
limited surplus capital and ever growing fiscal deficit.

• Global investment capital through inward FDI is an utmost need of

the hour. Besides the capital requirement, the Indian retail
companies require knowledgebase and global integration with
counterpart MNCs. Global retail giants can fill in this vacuum. It
can potentially benefit export markets. Indian farmers and
producers have opportunity for enhanced income and standard of
livelihood.

NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY BILL

• The National Food Security Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok
Sabha by the Minister of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public
Distribution on December 22, 2011. The Bill was referred to the
Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public
Distribution.
Problem with existing system of PDS
• The procurement of essential food commodities such as rice and
wheat is done by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the
CACP. States are entitled to purchase food grains from the FCI at
subsidized prices for distribution through its Fair Price Shops
issuing ration cards.

• As of now, the government holds millions of tons of rice and

wheat according to predefined buffer norms. Govt. has preferred
open market operations allowing consumers to buy through the
PDS. Lack of requisite infrastructure makes the state govts.
Handicap in the current format of procurement and distribution.

Key recommendations the Food Security Bill

• The Bill proposes foodgrain entitlements for up to 75 percent of
the rural and up to 50 percent of the urban population. Of these,
at least 46 percent of the rural and 28 percent of the urban
population will be designated as priority households. The rest will
be designated as general households.

• The central government will determine the percentage of people

in each state that will belong to the priority and general groups.
State governments will identify households that belong to these
groups.

• The Bill proposes meal entitlements to specific groups. These

include: pregnant women and lactating mothers, children
between the ages of six months and 14 years, malnourished
 children, disaster affected persons, and destitute, homeless and
starving persons.

Some issues in the bill

• Lack of clarity: The Bill classifies beneficiaries into three groups.
The criteria of defining starving and destitute persons are not
clear. The process of identifying beneficiaries by the states and
placing them into these groups may lead to large inclusion and
exclusion defaults. The Bill does not provide a rationale for the
cut-off numbers prescribed for entitlements to priority and
general households.

• ii. Over reliance on states: Several entitlements and the grievance

redressal structure would require state legislatures to make
adequate budgetary allocations. Implementation of the Bill may
be affected if states do not pass requisite allocations in their
budgets or do not possess adequate funds.

• iii. Conflicting interests: The grievance redressal framework may

overlap with that provided in the Citizens’ Charter Bill that is
pending in Parliament. With constantly increasing demand of food
grains, the government intervention is a dire need of the moment
in both the demand and supply sides to ensure food availability as
well as food security for all its citizens.
ROLE OF CIVIL SERVICES IN A DEMOCRACY
• Ciivil service plays a pivotal role in providing shape to policies that
reflect people’s needs and put their suggestive, analytical and
informative roles to implement the policies. It is recognized that
civil service plays a crucial role in all societies whether developed
or developing.

• Civil services have assumed more important role in democracy to

ensure good governance, both in developing and developed
countries.Bureaucracy or civil services is an administrative body of
officials whose roles are determined by written rules. It’s an
impersonal system operating on the basis of calculable rules and
staffed by full time appointed officials.

Importance of Civil Services in modern day democracy

• The scientific and technological development: They have led to
revolutionary changes in transportation and communication
system. The invention of telephone, telegraph, railways and
airways has made big government and large scale administration
possible.

• Industrial revolution: It brought about certain changes in society.

It led to the growth of large scale industries and factory
production, over-crowded industrial towns and urban slums. The
factory system also resulted in certain evils such as growth of
capitalism, large-scale unemployment, exploitation of labour etc.
 • In the interest of socio-economic justice, governments in the
developed and developing countries have to assume new
responsibilities to set right the bad effects of the above evils. The
tasks and responsibilities as well as the importance of civil service
have thus vastly increased.

• Economic Planning: Modern governments have resorted to

planning as a method of achieving economic development and
goals of welfare state. The new responsibilities relating to
planning activities, i.e., plan formulation and implementation and
creation of elaborate necessary administrative machinery have
naturally widened the scope of public administration.

• Emergence of welfare state: As a welfare state, governments

have to perform major functions such as dispenser of social
services, a provider of essential commodities, a manager of key
industries and banking services and a controller and regulator of
private economic enterprises and activities. This has naturally
increased the importance of civil service.

Role of civil services in governance Civil services perform following

important functions:
• Basis of government: No government can exist without
administrative machinery. All nations, irrespective of their system
of government, require some sort of administrative machinery for
implementing policies.
• An instrument for implementing Laws and Policies: Civil services
are responsible for implementing the laws and policies of
government. By carrying out laws, it regulates the behaviour of
the people in society. By implementing public policies and
programmes, it delivers the promised goods and services to the
intended beneficiaries.An efficient civil service can avoid waste,
correct errors; limit the consequences of incompetence or
irresponsibility while implementing laws and public policie

• Provides continuity: Civil services carry on the governance when

governments change due to elections etc. Ramsay Muir has
remarked that while governments may come and go, ministers
may rise and fall, the administration of a country goes on forever.
It is needless to say that civil services form the backbone of
administration.

• An instrument of social change and economic development: The

developing nations are mostly traditional and poor agricultural
societies without adequate basic amenities of good life. These
nations are struggling to achieve modernisation of society and
economic development and realize welfare goals. The state is
called upon to achieve these goals.The accomplishment of these
goals requires honest and competent civil servants.
Provides a wide variety of services in the public interest: Public
administration run by civil servants provides a large number of services
to the people such as:
Protective Functions:
• They protect the life and property of the people by maintaining
law and order. The survival and progress of human beings depend
on the proper enforcement of laws against lawbreakers.

• Management of public enterprises: Civil servants are managing

public enterprises and public utilities in the interest of socio-
economic justice. Public utilities are either publicly owned or
strictly regulated in most countries. Government also imposes
controls over private economic and business activities in the
public interest.

• Welfare services: The welfare services provided for the people

include social security, old age pensions, welfare of the weaker
sections, poverty alleviation etc.

• Developmental functions: They perform a vital function of

promoting agriculture, industry, internal and international trade,
banking, insurance etc.

Role of civil services in developing countries

Role in socio- economic development
• The governments of developing countries have the huge
responsibility to bring about all-round development of their
societies.
 Major functions of the civil services are:
• To develop agriculture, civil servants have to properly manage
community resources such as land, water resources, forests,
wetlands and wasteland development.To facilitate industrial
development, infrastructural facilities such as roads, electricity,
communications, market centres etc have to be provided.

Civil service has to perform following functions in relation to

developmental activities:
• Setting right developmental goals and priorities for agriculture,
industry, education, health, communications etc.Formulation and
implementation of strategies and programmes for the
development and modernisation of the nation.

• Mobilisation of natural, human and financial resources and their

proper utilization for accomplishing developmental objectives.
Development of human resources to secure the necessary
managerial skills and technical competence to carry out the
developmental tasks.

• Creation of new administrative organisations and improving the

capacity of the existing ones for the developmental purposes.
Promotion of clean and green environment and protection of
human rights.
Facilitating democracy
• The civil servants play a vital role in maintaining the democratic
ideals by assisting their political heads (Ministers) in policy-making
function and in implementing the policies made. Since developing
countries are new to the democratic institutions, it is only the
stable and efficient civil service that can strengthen the
democracy.

Civil Services in India

• In parliamentary system, it is the political executive (responsible
to the legislature) who determines policies and programmes of
government. The implementation and administration of these
policies and programmes is the responsibility of the civil servants
who, by virtue of their training and professional experience, are
well-versed in the actual functioning of government.

• An important characteristic of the civil service system in India is

classification based on the concept of the ‘Service’.Under this
concept, civil service posts are grouped into distinct homogenous
cadres under a common Service named on the basis of specific
functions attached to the posts in question.

Some of the observations of 2nd ARC regarding civil services in India:

• Civil services have contributed to stability in terms of
maintenance of peace, the conduct of fair elections, managing
disasters and the preservation of the unity of the nation,
providing stability and maintaining order in a vast country prone
to various conflicts – ethnic, communal, regional etc.
Performance of the civil service in the context of realizing a results-
oriented government. Some of them are:
• The systemic rigidities, needless complexities and over-
centralization in the policy and management structures within
which the civil service functions are too complex and often too
constraining. The structures are based on hierarchies and there
are a large number of veto points to be negotiated for a decision
to eventually emerge.

• Rapid and fundamental changes are taking place in the country in

terms of rapid economic growth, urbanization, environmental
degradation, technological change and increased local awareness
and identity.The response time to adapt to these changes is much
shorter than it used to be. As instruments of public service, civil
servants have to be ready to manage such change.

• The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution have brought

about a major change. Rural and urban local governments have to
be enabled to become institutions of self government. To bring
this about, the existing system of administration at the district
level has to undergo fundamental changes. Though sixteen years
have passed, the progress remains very slow and local
governments are ‘local’ only in ‘form’ but are ‘central and state in
content’.

• With the passage of time, the role of civil society organisations, in

governance, has increased with demands for better
governance.civil servants should view civil society organisations
and the private sector as partners in the process of the country’s
governance.
Conflicts between civil services and democracy
• Rigid organization structures and cumbersome procedures
• Elitist, authoritarian, conservative outlook
• Men in bureaucracy fulfill segmental roles over which they have
no control. Consequently, they have little or no opportunity to
exercise individual judgment.

• The requirement that a bureaucrat should follow the principles of

consistency and regularity automatically limits his capacity to
adapt to changing circumstances.

Reforms needed in civil services Broad Reforms:

• The development work needs some flexibility from a strict
observance of rigid rules and regulations. Rigid rule bound
bureaucracies should be changed into flexible and action-
oriented.

• Reforms are required in the field of recruitment of civil servants

so that right people could be recruited who can ensure smooth
functioning of democracy.Training of civil servants should be able
to bring about behavioural and attitudinal changes.

• Adoption of modern management techniques such as

management by objectives; elimination of corruption so as to
secure clean, honest, impartial and efficient administration;
creation of new work culture and encouraging creativity.
Summary of Recommendations: 2nd ARC’s 10th Report
• A National Institutes of Public Administration should be
established to run Bachelor’s Degree courses in public
administration/ governance/management. Selected Central and
other Universities should also be assisted to offer graduate level
programmes in these courses which will produce graduates to
further expand the pool of eligible applicants to the civil services.
These graduates would be eligible for appearing in the Civil
Services Examinations.

Recommendations of some other committees:

• A number of Committees and Commissions were set up to make
recommendations on various aspects of civil services. These
recommendations are included in the Report on Public
Administration by A.D. Gorwala, 1951.

• Report of the Committee on Recruitment Policy and Selection

Methods, 1976 – also known as the D.S. Kothari Committee
Report; Report of the Committee to Review the Scheme of the
Civil Services Examination, 1989 – also known as the Satish
Chandra Committee Report.

Domain Expertise
• The first ARC classified higher civil service posts into two
categories: posts in the field, and (b) posts at headquarters.The
field posts were held by the members of the ‘functional’ services
which included not only the various engineering services but also
services such as accounts and income tax.
• The first ARC noted that the only service that was not functional
but occupied most of the higher posts in the civil services was the
IAS. The first ARC recommended that the IAS should be converted
into a functional service.

• Consistent with its philosophy of organizing the administrative

machinery along functional lines and inducting talent from all
sources, the ARC recommended eight broad areas of
specialization: Economic Administration; Industrial
Administration; Agricultural and Rural Development
Administration; Social and Educational Administration; Personnel
Administration; Financial Administration; Defence Administration
and Internal Security Planning.

• The Hota Committee on Civil Services Reforms, 2004, had

recommended that domain assignment should be introduced for
civil servants to encourage acquisition of skills, professional
excellence and career planning.

Efficiency
• The Fifth Central Pay Commission (2000) stressed upon the need
to optimise the size of the government machinery.The
Expenditure Reforms Commission (2001) emphasised on a drastic
downsizing of the government staff strength for securing modern
and professional governance and also reducing the increasing
salary bill of the Government of India.
• The Committee on Civil Services Reforms (Hota Committee, 2004)
emphasised the use of information and communication
technologies (ICT) to transform Government by making it more
accessible, effective and accountable. It stressed on the need to
recognise that e-governance is about discarding old procedures
and transforming the process of decision making and that
technology is merely a tool and a catalyst for such
transformations.

Accountability
• The Committee on Prevention of Corruption (Santhanam
Committee) made a range of recommendations to fight the
menace of corruption. It recommended the constitution of the
Central Vigilance Commission, and administrative vigilance
divisions in all Departments and major organizations of the
Government.It was also recommended that offering of bribes
should be made a substantive offence.

• The first ARC recommended that the departments and

organizations which were in direct charge of development
programmes should introduce performance budgeting. The ARC
also recommended the establishment of two special institutions,
the Lok Pal to deal with complaints against the administrative acts
of Ministers and Secretaries to the government at the Centre and
the Lok Ayuktas to deal with such complaints in States.

• The Hota Committee recommended that Sections 13 (1) (d) and

19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 197 of the
 Code of Criminal Procedure may be amended to protect honest
civil servants from malicious prosecution and harassment. It also
recommended that a Code of Ethics should be drawn up for civil
servants incorporating the core values of integrity, merit and
excellence in public service.

Performance Appraisal
• The Report of the Group constituted to review the system of
Performance Appraisal, Promotion, Empanelment and Placement
of the AIS and Other Services (Surinder Nath Committee, 2003)
recommended that – performance appraisal should be primarily
used for the overall development of an officer and for his/her
placement in an area where his/her abilities and potential can be
best used.

• The Hota Committee on Civil Services Reforms, 2004,

recommended replacing the ACR with a system of performance
assessment in which greater emphasis is placed on objective
assessment against agreed work plans.