Social security in India

Social security is divided by the Indian government into seven branches: healthcare and medical insurances; old age/retirement benefits; unemployment insurance; life and disability insurance; maternity and childcare benefits; rural job guarantee; and food security. The Central Government of India's social security and welfare expenditures are a substantial portion of the official budget and as well as the budgets of social security bodies, and state and local governments play roles in developing and implementing social security policies. Additional welfare measure systems are also uniquely operated by various state governments. The government uses the unique identity number (Aadhar) that every Indian possesses to distribute welfare measures in India. The comprehensive social protection of India can be categorised as the follows: social assistance (in the form of welfare payments in cash or kind funded through taxations) and mandatory contributory schemes mostly related to employment. The Code On Social Security, 2020 is part of the Indian labor code that deals employees' social security and have generous provisions on retirement pension, healthcare insurance and medical benefits, sick pay and leaves, unemployment benefits and paid parental leaves. The largest employment related social security programs backed by The Code On Social Security, 2020 are the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation for retirement pension, provident fund, life and disability insurance and the Employees' State Insurance for healthcare and unemployment benefits along with sick pays. There is also the National Pension System which is increasingly gaining popularity. These are funded through social insurance contributions on the payroll. While the National Food Security Act, 2013, that assures food security to all Indians, is funded through the general taxation.

Overview

The Directive Principles of State Policy, enshrined in Part IV of the Indian Constitution reflects that India is a welfare state. Food security to all Indians are guaranteed under the National Food Security Act, 2013 where the government provides food grains to economically vulnerable people at a very subsidised rate.

Aadhar

It is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by residents or passport holders of India, based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in January 2009 by the government of India, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016. Aadhaar is the world's largest biometric ID system. World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer described Aadhaar as "the most sophisticated ID programme in the world". The government of India uses this unique identification number to distribute social security and welfare measures to its citizens.

Budget

As of 2020, the government's expenditure on social protection (direct cash transfers, financial inclusion, benefits, health and other insurances, subsidies, free school meals, rural employment guarantee), was approximately ₹1,600,000 crore (US$220 billion), which was 7.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). These are not part of the employment related social security which are managed separately by individual bodies.

Federal Government Social Security Bodies and Programs

This section covers some of the social programs and welfare measures in place in India at the federal level.

National Pension System

Main article: National Pension System

This is thought to eventually become the national pension system of India which initially started to replace the civil servant's pension system. Civil Servants who joined service before 2004 are entitled to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and the General Provident Fund. These were established in 1972 and 1981 respectively. It was a defined benefit system that the employees did not contribute to and the pension was funded through the general state budget. To qualify for a pension, one must have been in service for at least ten years and the pensionable age was 58. The retired employee received 50% of his/her last salary as the monthly pension. Due to the severe financial burden that this system was placing on government finances that it was abolished for new civil service employees from the year 2004 and replaced by the National Pension System. The National Pension System (NPS) is a defined contribution pension system administered and regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), created by an Act of the Parliament of India. The NPS started with the decision of the Government of India to stop defined benefit pensions for all its employees who joined after 1 January 2004. The employee contributes 10% of his gross salary to the system while the employer contributes a matching amount. At the official age of retirement, the employee can withdraw 60% of the amount as a lump sum while 40% needs to be compulsorily used to buy annuity that will be used to pay a monthly pension. The system tries to achieve a target of 50% of the last salary of the employee. This system has been made compulsory for all civil servants but voluntary for others. In the General Provident Fund Scheme, the employee needs to contribute at least 6% of his gross salary and there is a guaranteed return of 8%. The employee can withdraw the lump sum amount when he/she retires.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation

Main article: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation

It is a run by the social security body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. A provident funding is a kind of pension scheme. It is mandatory for every private and self-employee (civil servants are covered by the Civil Servant's Pension System) under The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. Under this statutory act, every working person has a Universal Account Number (UAN), which is a 12-digit number allotted to employees who are contributing to EPF. It will be generated for each of the PF member by EPFO. The UAN will act as an umbrella for the multiple Member Ids allotted to an individual by different establishments and also remains same through the lifetime of an employee. It does not change with the change in jobs. The idea is to link multiple Member Identification Numbers (Member Id) allotted to a single member under single Universal Account Number. This will help the member to view details of all the Member Identification Numbers (Member Id) linked to it. In this account, an employee contributes 10% to 12% of his monthly salary here and his employer contributes a matching amount, with a total contribution of 20% to 24% of the employee's gross salary. The contributions go towards the mandatory provident fund, a pension scheme and a disability and life insurance. The employee withdraws the amount deposited for the provident fund along with the interest accumulated once the employee reaches the statutory retirement age. In case of death or disability during work, the dependent gets a monthly pension throughout their life.

Employees' State Insurance

Main article: Employees' State Insurance

Employees' State Insurance (abbreviated as ESI) is a social security and health insurance fund for Indian workers. The fund is managed by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) according to rules and regulations stipulated in the ESI Act 1948. ESIC is a Statutory and an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. For all employees earning ₹21,000 (US$290) or less per month as wages, the employer contributes 3.25% and the employee contributes 0.75%, total share 4%. This fund is managed by the ESI Corporation (ESIC) according to rules and regulations stipulated there in the ESI Act 1948, which oversees the provision of healthcare and cash benefits to the employees and their family. ESI scheme is a type of social security scheme for employees in the organised sector. The employees registered under the insurance are entitled to medical treatment for themselves and their dependents, unemployment benefit, sick pay and maternity benefit in case of women employees. In case of employment-related disablement or death, there is provision for a disablement benefit and a family pension respectively. Outpatient medical facilities are available in 1418 ESI dispensaries and through 1,678 registered medical practitioners. Inpatient care is available in 145 ESI hospitals and 42 hospital annexes with a total of 19,387 beds. In addition, several state government hospitals also have beds for the exclusive use of ESI Beneficiaries. Cash benefits can be availed in any of 830 ESI centres throughout India.

National Health Insurances

Main articles: Healthcare in India and Ayushman Bharat Yojana

While people working in the organised sector either get health insurance through their employer or the Employees' State Insurance. For Indians working in the unorganised sector, the government has Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which is a health insurance fund that has coverage that includes 3 days of pre-hospitalisation and 15 days of post-hospitalisation expenses. Moreover, around 1,400 procedures with all related costs like OT expenses are taken care of. All in all, PMJAY and the e-card provide a coverage of Rs. 5 lakh ($6860) per family, per year, thus helping the economically vulnerable obtain easy access to healthcare services.

Atal Pension Yojna

Main article: Atal Pension Yojana

It is open to all saving bank/post office saving bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years and the contributions differ, based on pension amount chosen. Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 or Rs. 5,000 at the age of 60 years. Under APY, the monthly pension would be available to the subscriber, and after him to his spouse and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber, would be returned to the nominee of the subscriber. The minimum pension would be guaranteed by the Government, i.e., if the accumulated corpus based on contributions earns a lower than estimated return on investment and is inadequate to provide the minimum guaranteed pension, the Central Government would fund such inadequacy. Alternatively, if the returns on investment are higher, the subscribers would get enhanced pensionary benefits.

Free School Meals

Main article: Midday Meal Scheme

The Midday-Meal is a school meal programme of the Government of India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide. The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour. Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest of its kind in the world.

Under article 24, paragraph 2c of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a party, India has committed to yielding "adequate nutritious food" for children. The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013. The legal backing to the Indian school meal programme is akin to the legal backing provided in the US through the National School Lunch Act.

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana

Under the PMGAY scheme, financial assistance worth ₹120,000 (US$1,700) in plain areas and ₹130,000 (US$1,800) in difficult areas (high land area) is provided for construction of houses. These houses are equipped with facilities such as toilet, LPG connection, electricity connection, and drinking water [convergence with other schemes e.g. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan toilets, Ujjwala Yojana LPG gas connection, Saubhagya Yojana electricity connection, etc.]. The houses are allotted in the name of the woman or jointly between husband and wife.

Maternity Benefit for Self-employed or Unemployed Women

Main article: Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana is a maternity benefit programme run by the government of India. It was introduced in 2017 and is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth. It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices. In 2013, the scheme was brought under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to implement the provision of cash maternity benefit of ₹6,000 (US$84) stated in the Act. Presently, the scheme is implemented on a pilot basis in 53 selected districts and proposals are under consideration to scale it up to 200 additional 'high burden districts' in 2015–16. The eligible beneficiaries would receive the incentive given under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) for Institutional delivery and the incentive received under JSY would be accounted towards maternity benefits so that on an average a woman gets ₹6,000 (US$84)

Integrated Child Development Services

Main article: Integrated Child Development Services

It is a government programme in India which provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, cash transfers to families, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers. The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.

Tenth five-year plan also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers. In addition to fighting malnutrition and ill health, the programme is also intended to combat gender inequality by providing girls the same resources as boys.

During the 2018–19 fiscal year, the Indian central government allocated ₹16,335 crores ($2.18 billion) to the programme. The widespread network of ICDS has an important role in combating malnutrition especially for children of weaker groups.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Main article: National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. This act was passed in September 2005 under the UPA government of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. As of 2021, the government allocated ₹73,000 crore (US$10 billion) for this scheme. Together with the central and state governments, the net allocation was ₹121,666 crore (US$17 billion) in 2021.

National Social Assistance Scheme

Main article: National Social Assistance Scheme

The National Social Assistance Programme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Government of India that provides solidarity financial assistance to people who are unable to work, widows/widowers and persons with disabilities in the form of social pensions. As of 2018, the government allocated $1.4 billion to this programme.

Accident Assurance Scheme

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is available to people (Indian Resident or NRI) between 18 and 70 years of age with bank accounts. It has an annual premium of ₹12 (17¢ US) exclusive of taxes. The GST is exempted on Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. The amount is automatically debited from the account. This insurance scheme can have one year cover from 1 June to 31 May and would be offered through banks and administered through public sector general insurance companies.

In case of unexpected death or full disability, the payment to the nominee will be ₹2 lakh (US$2,800) and in case of partial Permanent disability ₹1 lakh (US$1,400). Full disability has been defined as loss of use in both eyes, hands or feet. Partial Permanent disability has been defined as loss of use in one eye, hand or foot. Further, death due to suicide, alcohol, drug abuse, etc. are not covered.

Welfare Measure in various states

Below are some of the measures undertaken at the state level for social security and welfare purposes in India.

West Bengal

Kanyashree (Bengali: কন্যাশ্রী) is an initiative taken by the Government of West Bengal to improve the life and the status of the girls by helping economically backward families with cash so that families do not arrange the marriage of their girl child before eighteen years because of economic problem. The purpose of this initiative is to uplift those girls who are from poor families and thus can't pursue higher studies due to tough economic conditions. It has been given international recognition by the United Nations Department of International Development and the UNICEF.

The scheme has two components:

1. Annual scholarship of Rs. 1000.00
2. One time grant of Rs. 25,000.00

The annual scholarship is for unmarried girls aged 13–18 years enrolled in class VIII-XII in government recognized regular or equivalent open school or vocational / technical training courses. Recently the bar of income is withdrawn by Gov. W.B. now every girl can apply for that scheme. The scheme has two conditional cash benefit components.

1. The first is K1, an annual scholarship of Rs. 1000/- to be paid annually to the girls from 13 to 18 years of age group for every year that they remain in education, provided they are unmarried at the time. (Note: During the years 2013-14 and 2014-1 the annual scholarship was Rs. 500/-).
2. The second benefit is K2, a one-time grant of 25,000/-, to be paid when girls turn 18, provided that they are engaged in an academic or occupations pursuit and are unmarried at the time.

The term 'education' encompasses secondary and higher secondary education, as well as the various vocational, technical and sports courses available for this age group. To ensure an equity focus, the scheme is open only to girls from families whose annual income is R. 1,20,000/- or less. For girls with special needs, girls who have lost both parents, as well as for girls currently residing in Juvenile Justice homes, this criterion is waived. Although the annual scholarship is payable only when girls reach Class VIII, this, criterion is waived for girls with special needs whose disability is 40% or more.

Tamil Nadu

Amma Unavagam (Tamil: அம்மா உணவகம்) is a food subsidisation programme run by the Government of Tamil Nadu in India.It is a first of the kind scheme run by any government in India. It has been an inspiration for many states like Odisha, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh which later proposed similar schemes seeing its success.

Under the scheme, municipal corporations of the state-run canteens serving subsidised food at low prices. The genesis of the scheme could be traced to the concept of rural restaurants promoted by Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute. The literal meaning of the name of the scheme Amma Unavagam is Mother's canteen. Amma translates to mother in Tamil, but is also a reference to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who introduced this restaurant chain as part of government schemes aimed at aiding economically disadvantaged sections of society.

See also

• Welfare State
• Pensions in India

References

• "Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: India, December 2004)" (PDF). Library of Congress Country Studies (All works are issued in Public domain). Retrieved 6 November 2007.

External links

• Social Welfare Department Brief, Schemes and Contact Details of Social Welfare Department at Various States in