Relevance : GS-2 : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Phrases : Social Welfare Schemes ,Transparent Service Delivery ,Burden on Exchequer , Poor Outcomes Periodic labour Force Survey ,NSSO, Niti Ayog

Why in News ?

• A multitude of social welfare schemes, leads to a heavy burden on the exchequer and limits investments and job creation.
• The private sector bears the brunt, owing to higher borrowing costs created by the government spending on welfare measures..

Context :

• Welfare measures/schemes, transparent service delivery, and creation of an ecosystem that provides opportunities for the youth are touted by the BJP government as its USP.

The Question that Follows ?

Shouldn’t the welfare measures ensure that beneficiaries get empowered permanently and forego such benefits?

Various Welfare Programmes Launched by NDA Government :

1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY):
   • A skill-development initiative, with an outlay of ₹120 billion.
   • It is aimed at enabling youths to acquire industry-oriented skills, training and competence.
   • The scheme also envisages providing placement opportunities or avenues to venture into entrepreneurship. The initiative has seen 54 per cent placements, of which, 80 per cent fell under the wage employment category and 18 per cent and 2 per cent in self-employed and apprenticeship, respectively.
   • However, this placement outcome is not encouraging given that around 19.86 lakh, 1.10 crore and 5.28 lakh candidates have reportedly completed training under PMKVY 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, respectively.
2. The Skill India Programme:
   • In 2015, the Skill India programme was launched to train over 30 crore people by 2022.
3. SANKALP (Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion Programme):
   • Another scheme under the Skill India Mission with an allocation of ₹4,000 crore, is to skill youngsters to venture into entrepreneurship
4. Numerous other initiatives have been proposed and run with the motive of training the future workforce and prospective job creators.
5. The government is also encouraging women in rural India to take up self-employment through various rural- and women-centric campaigns and initiatives.
6. Startup India, Digital India, Make in India, Standup India, etc., are some of the other job initiatives.

Dismal Picture of the Welfare Programme Outcomes :

• Despite the slew of government efforts, according to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (December 2021), nearly 53 million Indians are underemployed, which includes a large proportion of women, while the unemployment rate is 7.91 per cent. There is a marginal improvement of 1.34 per cent in employability in January 2022.
• The NSSO data also present an abysmal picture, with the unemployment rate at 6.1 per cent in 2017-18. The pandemic has further exacerbated the situation.
• Considerably low labour force participation has consistently been reported in rural areas vis-a-vis urban areas, per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PFLS) 2019-20.

What is the Reason For Poor Outcomes ?

• Inefficient implementation is the reason for the poor delivery of programmes.
• The implementing agencies commitments are not in sync with the government’s vision.
• However, when a time-bound target is given, the bureaucracy often rises to the occasion. An array of benefits driven and delivered through the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity is a case in point.

Way Ahead:

• Review & Monitoring is needed through which a management team is able keep track of the progress, receive and provide feedback at the right time to the right person in order to further the objectives. It includes :
  1. Defining clear roles and responsibilities
  2. Monitoring of key performance indicators.
  3. Regularly reviewing progress and giving feedback

Conclusion:

• As creation of jobs through skill development programmes is crucial, it is incumbent on policymakers to prepare a blueprint for its implementation mandatorily at the time of conceptualisation of the policy itself.
• Alternatively, a body like the NITI Aayog may be tasked with implementing government programmes and ensuring efficient delivery.

Source : The Hindu BL

Mains Question :

Q. A multitude of social welfare schemes, leads to a heavy burden on the exchequer and limits investments and job creation. Thus, Welfare measures must ensure that beneficiaries get empowered permanently and forego such benefits. Discuss (250 words ).