18 October 2024 : The Hindu Editorial Analysis
1. A modified UBI policy may be more feasible
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
| Topic: GS2 – Governance |
| Context |
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Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the Context of Unemployment and Inequality
- A recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlights the global challenge of job growth lagging due to automation and artificial intelligence.
- Youth unemployment in India is a significant concern, with the phenomenon of jobless growth contributing to rising inequality.
- The concept of UBI has resurfaced globally as a potential solution to tackle these issues, offering a social safety net to cope with unemployment.
UBI Discussions in India
- In India, UBI gained traction after being recommended in the 2016-17 Economic Survey as a policy worth considering.
- Scholars and policymakers debated the idea of replacing inefficient welfare schemes with direct income transfers to the poor.
- The development of the JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) infrastructure has made it feasible to implement Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs), aiding UBI’s potential application.
Evaluating UBI: Feasibility and Desirability
- UBI needs to be assessed in terms of feasibility (budgetary constraints) and desirability (effectiveness in tackling specific problems like unemployment).
- A UBI should be viewed as a social safety net policy, not a comprehensive solution for poverty alleviation or employment generation.
- Policymakers must understand that UBI addresses specific objectives, such as helping individuals cope with unemployment, and should not be criticised for not solving broader issues.
Modified UBI and Its Scope in India
- A fully universal UBI may not be feasible due to budgetary constraints, but a less ambitious version could be explored.
- Some confusion exists regarding current cash transfer schemes, like those for farmers and women, which are targeted but not truly universal.
- Various forms of social safety net policies (targeted, contingent on socio-economic criteria, in-kind assistance, or conditional programmes like MGNREGS) offer different benefits, and UBI could complement these.
Existing Income Transfer Schemes in India
- India has implemented several income transfer schemes, particularly in the agricultural sector:
- Telangana’s Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) provides unconditional payments to farmers.
- Odisha’s KALIA programme and the national PM-KISAN scheme also offer income support to farmers.
- These programmes have had some success but face challenges like inclusion and exclusion errors due to logistical hurdles like Aadhaar verification.
Advantages of Universal Income Transfers
- Universal transfers reduce administrative costs, minimise exclusion errors, and lower the risk of corruption.
- Critics question why the wealthy should receive UBI, but in reality, wealthier individuals would pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits, making the system balanced.
- Universal schemes avoid work disincentives often associated with targeted programmes.
Financial Feasibility of UBI
- Full-fledged UBI proposals often demand 3.5%-11% of GDP, which is financially unviable for India without cutting other anti-poverty schemes or raising taxes significantly.
- A more feasible approach would be a limited universal income transfer scheme, pegged at 1% of GDP per capita, offering roughly ₹144 per month to each citizen, similar to PM-KISAN.
- While modest, such a scheme could still provide meaningful support, especially when combined with other policies like MGNREGS.
Challenges and Complementary Policies
- Logistical challenges, such as access to cash-out points and authentication failures, need to be addressed to ensure effective implementation.
- A modified UBI can complement existing policies like MGNREGS, offering coverage to vulnerable groups like the elderly and disabled.
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of combining income and in-kind transfers to support people in crises.
| Practice Question: Discuss the relevance of Universal Basic Income (UBI) in addressing jobless growth and inequality in India. How feasible is UBI in the current socio-economic context? (250 Words /15 marks) |
2. India’s SDG focus and its human development issues
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
| Topic: GS2 – Social Justice – Development and management of social sector/services |
| Context |
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Introduction
- The article highlights the global commitment to accelerate the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
- Following the G-20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi and the SDG Summit 2023, a “Summit of the Future” was held in 2024 at the UN to strengthen commitments toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The article examines India’s human development progress, referencing the UNDP’s latest Human Development Report (HDR).
Human Development Index (HDI) and the SDGs
- The Human Development Index (HDI) measures human development across three dimensions:
- Long and healthy life: Life expectancy at birth.
- Knowledge: Expected and mean years of schooling.
- Standard of living: Income per capita.
- These dimensions relate closely to key SDGs such as SDG-3 (health), SDG-4 (education), SDG-5 (gender equality), SDG-8 (decent work), and SDG-10 (reduced inequality).
- Countries aspiring to achieve sustainable development must promote human development.
India’s HDI Performance
- India’s HDI value in the HDR 2023-24 is 0.644, placing it in the ‘medium human development category’ and ranking 134th out of 193 countries.
- India’s HDI remained stagnant at 0.638 in 2019-20, dropped to 0.633 in 2021, and rose to 0.644 in 2022.
- Neighbouring countries like Malaysia (63), China (75), and Bangladesh (129) have better HDI ranks.
- From 1990 to 2022, India’s HDI value increased by 48.4%, from 0.434 to 0.644, though its HDI ranking improved only marginally from 2015 to 2022.
- Neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Bhutan improved significantly more in HDI rankings during this period.
Reasons for India’s Slow Human Development Growth
- The COVID-19 pandemic had adverse effects on education and income, two important dimensions of human development.
- As a result, India’s human development initiatives lagged between 2015 and 2022.
Gender Gaps in Human Development
- The HDR includes the Gender Development Index (GDI), which measures gender disparities in human development.
- India, along with six other countries in the medium human development category, has low gender equality in HDI achievements.
- The gap between men and women’s HDI values exceeds 10% in countries like India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
- India has one of the largest gender gaps in the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), with a difference of 47.8 percentage points between women (28.3%) and men (76.1%).
- Neighbouring countries such as China (53.6%) and Bangladesh (39.2%) have higher female labour force participation rates.
Female Labour Force Participation in India
- According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022-23, female labour force participation in India has improved:
- Overall: 37% of females aged 15+ were in the workforce in 2022-23 (up from 23.3% in 2017-18).
- Rural areas: Participation rose from 24.6% in 2017-18 to 41.5% in 2022-23.
- Urban areas: Only a marginal increase from 20.4% to 25.4%.
- This significant gap between rural and urban participation rates warrants further research and policy intervention.
Income Inequality in India
- Income inequality in India is rising, with the top 1% of earners holding 21.7% of the national income.
- Comparatively, income inequality is higher in India than in Bangladesh (11.6%), China (15.7%), and Bhutan (18.1%).
- India’s income inequality also surpasses the world average of 17.5%, the South Asian average of 19.6%, and other regional groups such as East Asia and the Pacific.
Conclusion
- Addressing gender gaps and income inequality is crucial for India to achieve its SDG targets.
- India’s progress in human development since 1990 has been notable, but challenges related to gender disparities and income distribution must be tackled to ensure sustainable development.
| PYQ: Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy is the sine qua non to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Comment on the progress made in India in this regard. (150 words/10m) (UPSC CSE (M) GS-3 2018) |
| Practice Question: Examine India’s progress in human development as per the latest UNDP Human Development Report, focusing on the challenges posed by gender disparities and income inequality in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (250 Words /15 marks) |
