In the context of pandemic, discuss about the social security schemes that should be given priority by the government to sustain the livelihood of labour. (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 3 years
KEY POINTS
· The Indian economy had been slowing down even before the pandemic, and suffered from low job creation and chronically poor working conditions for a large chunk of the labour force.
· The researchers estimate nearly 15 million workers were unable to find work at the end of 2020, from the 100 million that lost jobs in the April – May 2020 lockdown.
· During the lockdown, 61% of working men remain employed and 7% lost employment while only 19% of women workers remained employed while a whopping 47% suffered a permanent job-loss at the end of 2020.
Priority
· The Union government will need to make larger allocations to MGNREGA while PDS and Jan-Dhan can be used to mitigate immediate pain.
· National Social Assistance Programme, to uphold the provisions of article 41 of the constitution, the government needs to come with a scheme to ensure social security and old-age support for workers.
· PMEGP, Pradhan Mantri Employment guarantee programme a credit-linked subsidy scheme which promotes self-employment through setting up of micro-enterprises, where subsidy up to 35% is provided by the Government through Ministry of MSME.
