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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Holes in the security net -Anindita Adhikari & Inayat Anaita Sabhikhi

Holes in the security net -Anindita Adhikari & Inayat Anaita Sabhikhi

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published Published on Feb 23, 2017   modified Modified on Feb 23, 2017
-The Indian Express

Demonetisation shows India’s social welfare measures like MGNREGS to be worryingly patchy

Following the announcement of demonetisation, reports of its devastating impact on informal sector workers, farmers and migrants began to pour in from across the country. Seeking evidence on two questions — do social security measures work in the face of such an economic shock, and do these programmes themselves face disruption because of demonetisation — we conducted a survey of approximately 400 individuals, MGNREGS workers and old age pensioners. This was done in the second and third week of January in 15 districts across seven states, with 20 volunteers from these areas.

There are four important findings to our survey. Since notebandi, 57 per cent of people studied were turned away by banks, without their wages or pension. On average, people had been to the bank thrice since notebandi; 30 per cent had made more than three visits. After notebandi, 73 per cent of MGNREGS households and about 52 per cent of pensioners said they had a greater need for these entitlements. On notebandi as a whole, respondents were split halfway, between perceiving it as a good and bad move.

Discussing the number of visits people made to the bank since notebandi, we found that 10 per cent of respondents had not gone to the bank even once, reflecting the non-monetised economy our poorest citizens operate in. As Phulmani Devi, a brick kiln worker from Bero, Jharkhand, said, “Hum daily kamaney aur khaney waaley hain. Humein bank jaane ki zaroorat nahi hai” (we buy food from what we earn each day. We don’t need to visit a bank). Nevertheless, of those who did go to the bank, 30 per cent were able to receive their pension or wages — about 57 per cent were denied them at least once.

On being asked whether the need for these entitlements had increased post-notebandi, 73 per cent of MGNREGS households and about 52 per cent of pensioners said they had a greater need. This is corroborated by official statistics. According to the Ministry of Rural Development’s data, people worked more on MGNREGS than what was planned for in the past three months, while in the comparable time period in the previous year, it was consistently less than planned. This was perhaps possible due to the enhanced allocation via a second supplementary budget of Rs 4,000 crore to the MGNREGS, announced after demonetisation. The ministry released 43 per cent more funds to states over the last three months, compared to the same time period last year.

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The Indian Express, 23 February, 2017, http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/holes-in-the-security-net/


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