Urban Poor : A job at Hand : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and the States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections

Key Phrases: Urban Job Guarantee Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Reverse Migration, National Food Security Act, Public Distribution System, Income Support Program, Urban Safety Net, Urban Productive Sectors

Why in News?

A study commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council has recommended an urban job guarantee scheme on the lines of MGNREGA.
While the term ‘jobs guarantee’ may seem a misnomer, an in-principle case for an urban safety net can be easily made, more so in the wake of the pandemic experience.

Key Highlights:

The nationwide lockdown in mid-2020 was implemented strictly in urban areas, leading to job losses across a swathe of small-scale industries and services.
This led to dramatic reverse migration.
Food transfers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (topping up entitlements under the National Food Security Act) and enhanced MGNREGA work saved the day for the rural population.
But the urban poor who had not signed up for PMGKY or Jan Dhan Yojana suffered deeply; not just casual workers but also self-employed vendors, rickshaw drivers, barbers, and others.
Notwithstanding the best efforts of the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India to provide aid, a section of the urban poor could certainly do with some support in cash and kind — particularly in these inflationary times.
Besides relieving distress, the urban productive sectors need a steady supply of labour in both quantity and quality terms.
They cannot afford another reverse migration.

NCAER study on the lockdown impact and welfare delivery during 2020:

Informal salaried and casual wage workers experienced more severe income shocks than cultivators.
Since access to safety nets, particularly cash transfers, depended on pre-existing registries, a section of households most affected by the pandemic and the related lockdown was excluded, with the probability of rural residents receiving cash transfers being eight percentage points higher than that for urban residents.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY)

PM-GKAY is a scheme as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat to supply free food grains to migrants and the poor during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
The program is implemented by the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
The objective of the Scheme is to support the poorest citizens of India by providing grain through the Public Distribution System.
5 kg free wheat/rice per person/month along with 1 kg free whole chana to each family per month. This is over and above the regular monthly entitlements under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

What should be the Provisions of the Urban Job Guarantee Scheme?

The scheme should not be tailored along the lines of a job guarantee like MGNREGA since the urban workforce is more diverse than its rural counterpart.
The MGNREGA is essentially an income-support programme for off-season farm workers, whereas the urban workforce can be divided into two broad categories:
- those living on the margins in cities for years, barely making ends meet;
- a more aspirational migrant population that is trying to improve its living standards and is on the lookout for opportunities.
The first can be well served by community kitchens and ration supplies, besides a subsistence payout.
They need to be enrolled on the government portals for benefits such as pension schemes.
However, for the rest of the workforce, investment in skilling is essential — it ties in with India’s ambitions to ramp up competitiveness in manufacturing.
The industrial training institutes need to be brought in line with the latest skilling needs by working in concert with the industry.

National Food Security Act, 2013

The objective is to provide food and nutritional security by ensuring access to an adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.
The Act provides for coverage of up to 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population.
The eligible persons will be entitled to receive 5 Kgs of foodgrains per person per month at subsidised prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per Kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains.
The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute the poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per household per month.
The Act also has a special focus on nutritional support for women and children.
Besides, meal to pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after childbirth, such women will also be entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000.
Children upto 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per the prescribed nutritional standards.
In case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive a food security allowance.
The Act also contains provisions for setting up of grievance redressal mechanism at the District and State levels.

Conclusion:

India’s welfarism cannot be restricted to financial assistance, whether for rural or urban India.
It must instill long-term competencies.
Keeping this objective in mind, the design of the scheme must be given considerable attention.
There are six States that have urban job guarantee schemes — Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
There are little indications so far of them having gone beyond a financial assistance based approach.

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question:

Q. The nationwide lockdown in mid-2020 in urban areas led to an intense reverse migration on account of job losses across a swathe of small-scale industries and services. In this respect, suggest measures to ensure job guarantee measures for the urban poor. (250 words).