26 December 2024 : Daily Answer Writing

Q1) Despite seven decades of Independence, why have welfare schemes for vulnerable sections failed to deliver? Illustrate with suitable examples.

(150 Words/10 Marks)

ANSWER:

Reasons:

1. Corruption and Leakages: programmes, such as PDS, suffer due to corruption and inclusion and exclusion errors leading to leakages i.e. food grains being diverted to the black market [e.g. in some states, up to 40% of PDS grains are estimated to be siphoned off].

2. Bureaucratic Inefficiency: (a) issues such as red-tapism, resource misallocation, poor coordination, and inflexibility lead to bureaucratic inefficiencies; (b) e.g. inefficiency in the PMAY has led to substandard work + delays, thereby undermining the scheme’s objectives.

3. Beneficiary Identification: (a) misidentification or exclusion errors lead to deserving individuals being left out of welfare schemes; (b) e.g. various studies have shown that a significant proportion of those who are supposed to receive BPL benefits are not actually poor, while many poor households remain excluded.

4. Inaccessibility and Unaware Beneficiaries: (a) welfare schemes will be fruitless if it does not reach the beneficiary or vice versa if the beneficiaries are unaware of their rights and privileges; (b) e.g. PMJDY – financial literacy among the rural poor has resulted in many accounts being dormant, thereby limiting the schemes impact.

5. Monitoring and Accountability Issues: (a) accountability and monitoring mechanisms provide feedback and enforce penalties, their absence disrupts this feedback loop; (b) e.g. lack of accountability and monitoring mechanisms of SSA has led to poor infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, and substandard education quality.

6. Politicization of Welfare: (a) politicization makes schemes an electoral mechanism rather than a safety-net or uplifting mechanism; (b) e.g. politicization of loan waivers has led to benefits of loan waivers have gone to wealthy farmers with political connections rather than the small and marginal farmers who are in dire need.

7. One-size fits all approach e.g., MGNREGS has high demand in states like UP and Bihar

8. Absorption of state schemes by Centre, this reduces political will of the states to efficiently implement them e.g., Rythu Bandhu of Telangana relaunched as PM-KISAN scheme.

However, despite the mentioned challenges there have been some successes in government schemes like MGNREGS, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana etc.

For more such UPSC related Mains Answer Writing, Check Out 24 December 2024 : Daily Answer Writing