Poverty Alleviation Programmes: A Theoretical

Transcription

1 Poverty Alleviation Programmes: A Theoretical

2 3.1. Introduction Poverty and unemployment have been the bane of India since long. Their reduction has been one of the major goals of India s development planning since the beginning of the planning era in and the planning process has been sensitive to the needs of the poor. Accordingly, the Government of India has launched various programmes from time to time with an aim to alleviate poverty and unemployment, and to create adequate livelihood opportunities for the poor through provision of employment and public services. Poverty and unemployment are interrelated problems and have a two-way relation, i.e., the cause and effect of the other. Poverty in India is not merely an economic phenomenon but a social one as well. While poverty is an outcome of multiple deprivations, its measurement has largely dealt with economic deprivation. The recent body of literature highlights the multidimensionality of poverty and also the heterogeneity of the poor. It also highlights the need to go beyond poverty by using indices of human development and overall welfare. Since, the determinants of poverty and unemployment are interrelated, a comprehensive approach is needed to address these two problems. Poverty alleviation schemes and programmes have been in pace for a long time now. The programmes and schemes have been modified, consolidated, expanded and improved over time. The targeted programmes fall into four broad categories, (a) self-employment programmes (b) wage-employment programmes (c) public distribution system (PDS) and (d) other social welfare oriented programmes (SWOP), such as National Social Assistance programme (NSAP), the Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY) and the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). There are numerous centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) belonging to all the four categories. The CSS are designed by the centre, administered by the Ministry of 82

3 Rural Development, but implemented by the state governments, which generally contributes 25 percent of their cost. In addition, some state governments have their own schemes. The multiplicity of the programmes are advocated on the grounds of multidimensionality of poverty and regional variations in the efficacy of the delivery system. There is also recognition that it is problematic to close a scheme even if it is cost ineffective because of adverse publicity and political fallout associated with the closure. This chapter first presents an overview of the current poverty situation in India and trends thereof in the recent past, and then it discusses the salient features of the major poverty alleviation programmes launched by the government from time to time Current Poverty Scenario and Trends Several attempts have been made in India to estimate the incidence of poverty and trends thereof. The estimates are, however, not comparable because of differences in the methodologies used to define the poverty lines and size of samples taken. However, by and large, we could say that the proportion of India's population living below the poverty line has fluctuated widely over time and across states in the past, but the overall trend has been downward. We could broadly examine the incidence of poverty and trends therein under the following thr.ee phases Phase 1:1950 to mid-1970s Incidence of poverty shows no discernible trend. In 1951,47 percent of India s rural population was below the poverty line. The proportion went up to 64 percent in and it came down to 45 percent in but in , it went up again to 51 percent. 83

4 Phase II: Mid-1970s to 1990 Poverty declined significantly between the mid-1970s and the end of the 1980s. The decline was more pronounced between and , with rural poverty declining from 51 percent to 39 percent. It went down further to 34 percent by Urban poverty went down from 41 percent in to 34 percent in and further to 33 percent in Phase III: Post Era This post-economic reform period evidenced both progress and setbacks. Rural poverty increased from 34 percent in to 43 percent in 1992 and then fell to 37 percent in Urban poverty went up from 33.4 percent in to 33.7 percent in 1992 and declined to 31 percent in Some estimates of the poverty ratio and the extent of decline in the poverty ratio are presented in table 3.1. As shown in the table, the poverty ratio in India was 51.3 percent reduction over a period of 30 years. Table 3.1: Estimates of Poverty and Trends in Poverty in India Year NSSO round Poverty ratio (%) Reduction in poverty (%) (over the previous five years) * Source: Muthalagu (2007:4), Note: *Based on Mixed Recall Period consumption. Undoubtedly, India has made some progress in the reduction of poverty. Yet, in , as many as 302 million persons (27.5 percent) were living below the poverty line in India. According to Human Development Report (HDR), 2003 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 2003), India has the largest number 84

5 of poor among the countries of the world and is home to one-fourth of the world s poor. A large number of the hardcore poor are located in remote and inaccessible areas. The problem of poverty alleviation is going to be far more difficult than in the past, since those who were near the poverty line might have crossed it temporarily for some time but may have slipped again below the poverty line and now living as the hardcore poor. Several attempts have been made in India to estimate die incidence of poverty. The estimates are, however, not comparable because of differences in the methodologies used to define the poverty lines and the sizes of samples taken. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) has released the result of the latest large sample survey data on household consumer expenditure (NSS sixty-first round), covering the period My 2004 to June From this data, two different consumption distributions for the year have been obtained. The first one is based on the consumption data collected using a 30-day recall period for five infrequently purchased non-food items, namely, clothing, footwear, durable goods, education and institutional medical expenses, and a 30-day recall period for the remaining items. These two consumption distributions have been termed as Uniform Recall Period (URP) consumption distribution and Mixed Recall Period ((MRP) respectively. The Planning Commission has estimated poverty in using both the distributions. The state specific percentage and number of poor in rural and urban areas estimated from the URP consumption distribution are given in table 3.2. Table 3.2 shows the state specific percentage and number of poor in rural and urban areas estimated from MRP consumption distribution. The URP consumption distribution data of the sixty first round yields a poverty ratio of 28.3% in the rural areas,

6 percent in the urban areas and 27.5 percent for the country as a whole in Table 3.2: Number & Percentage of Papulation below Poverty Line in India (Based on URP Consumption) s. No States/UTs Rural Urban Combined No. of No. of No. of Percentage Percentage Percentage of persons persons of persons persons of persons persons (Lakhs) (Lakhs) (Lakhs) 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chattisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal A & N Islands Chandigarh Dadra & N.Haveli Daman & Dir Lakshadweep Pondicherry All-India Source: Kurukshetra (2007:45). Notes: l.urp consumption: Uniform Recall Period consumption in which the consumer expenditure data for all the items have collected from 30-day recall period. 2. Poverty Ratio of Assam is used for Skkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. Poverty Line of Maharashtra and expenditure distribution of Goa is used to estimate poverty ratio of Goa. 3. Poverty Ratio of Tamil Nadu is used for Pondicherry, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 4. Urban Poverty 86

7 Ratio of Punjab used for both rural and urban poverty of Chandigarh. 5. Poverty Line of Maharashtra and expenditure distribution of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are used to estimate the poverty ratio of Dadra Nagar Haveli. 6. Poverty Ratio of Goa is used for Daman and Diu. 7. Poverty Ratio of Kerala is used for Lakshadweep. The corresponding figures obtained from the MRP consumption distribution data of the sixty-first round are 21.8 percent in the rural areas, 21.7 percent in the urban areas and 21.8 percent for the country as a whole (Table 3.3). The poverty estimates in based on the URP consumption distribution (27.5 percent) is comparable with the poverty estimates of , which was 36 percent. The poverty estimates in based on the MRP consumption (21.8 percent) is roughly comparable with the poverty estimates of , which was 26.1 percent. The regional differences in poverty reduction are quite substantial. The decline in states incidence of poverty ranged between percentage points in rural areas during , and percentage points in urban areas. The inter-state variations in the rural poverty reduction have been attributed to the variations in their agricultural productivity improvement. In addition, initial endowments of physical infrastructure and human resources did contribute to the inter-state variations in the performance. States such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal, which had a higher rural poverty ratio in the first phase, had lower rural poverty ratios in the second phase. Andhra Pradesh which had benefited from Green Revolution, Kerala and West Bengal which had implemented land reforms, experienced significant decline in the rural poverty ratio. Despite this, the rural poverty level was higher in West Bengal in than that of all India because of the extremely high poverty level in the first phase. Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh had higher incidence of poverty as well as poor record in poverty reduction. 87

8 s. No Table 3.3: Number & Percentage of Population below the Poverty Line by States, States/UTs Percentage of persons (Based on MRP Consumption) Rural Urban Combined No. of No. of Percentage Percentage persons of persons persons of persons (Lakhs) (Lakhs) No. of persons (Lakhs) 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chattisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal * A & N Islands Chandigarh Dadra & N.Haveli Daman & Dir Lakshadweep Pondicherry All-India Source: Kurukshetra (2007:45). Notes: 1.MRP consumption : Mixed Recall Period consumption in which the consumer expenditure data for five non-food items, namely, clothing, footwear, durable goods, education and institutional medical expenses are collected from a 365-day recall period and the consumption data for the remaining items are collected from a 30-day recall period. 2. Poverty Ratio of Assam is used for Skkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. Poverty Line of Maharashtra and expenditure distribution of Goa is used to estimate poverty ratio of Goa. 3. Poverty Ratio of Tamil Nadu is used for Pondicherry, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 88

9 4. Urban Poverty Ratio of Punjab used for both rural and urban poverty of Chandigarh, 5. Poverty Line of Maharashtra and expenditure distribution of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are used to estimate the poverty ratio of Dadra Nagar Haveli. 6. Poverty Ratio of Goa is used for Daman and Diu. 7. Poverty Ratio of Kerala is used for Lakshadweep Poverty Alleviation Programmes during Pre-Reforms Period In order to tackle the poverty problem various target based schemes were introduced ever since independence. However, it was during the Fifth Five Year Plan that a sustained and direct attack on poverty was evolved as a key plan strategy. It was noted that the elimination of abject poverty cannot be attained as a corollary to certain acceleration in the rate of growth of the economy alone. Major poverty alleviation programmes introduced during are the following: Community Development Programme (CDP) in 1952 Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE) in 1972 Drought-Prone Area Programme (DPAP) in 1973 Marginal Farmer and Agriculture labour Agency (MFALA) in 1973 Small Farmer Development Agency (SFDA) in 1974 Twenty Point Programme (TPP) in 1975 Food for Work Programme (FWP) in 1977 Training Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM) in 1979 Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) in 1980 National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) in 1980 Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) in 1982 Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) in 1983 JawaharRozgarYojana(JRY)in 1989 Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY) in

10 Most of these programmes were conceived and funded by the central government which determined the criteria for allocation between states. Actual implementation was left to the state government agencies subject to guidelines regarding the scope and content of schemes, and their targeting and implementation procedures. Only a few have been taken up entirely at the initiative of states. However, up to 1970s none of these programmes comprehensively covered the whole country, though in certain parts of the country some of these programmes operated simultaneously for the same target groups. Apart from these territorial overlap, the major limitation of these programmes was that they were reduced to mere subsidy-giving programmes, lacking any planned approach to enable the rural poor achieve a higher level of income. The element of adhocism in these programmes further reduced their effectiveness from the point of view of poverty alleviation. Hence, the need was felt for undertaking programmes, which were not only far more comprehensive in coverage but could also make a direct assault on rural poverty. In view of the above, IRDP, NREP and RLEGP were conceived during 1980s aimed at achieving the objective of poverty alleviation. Initially, the IRDP was started only in 2300 development blocks as a programme of development, but later on during Sixth Plan, it was extended to the entire country. However, the IRDP concerned as anti-poverty programmes aimed at helping the small and marginal farmers, landless labourers and artisans. It was observed by the planners that these people were poor because they possessed neither any productive assets nor any special skills. Therefore, IRDP was designed to help the poor by creating new assets for them. The basic strategy was self-employment of the poor with the help of these assets so that they manage to earn enough to rise above the poverty line.

11 3.4. Poverty Alleviation Programmes during Post Reforms Period For the purpose of poverty alleviation several special programmes for employment generation are being implemented both in rural and urban areas during the post reform period. These programmes provide employment to the targeted poor, enhance their income and generate assets to poor families. Following are the major programmes which have been adopted during the reform period. Employment Assurance Sch emne (EAS) Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) Swamajayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) Swamajanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY) Sampooma Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) National Rural Employment Gurantee Scheme (NREGS) At present the government of India has several programmes and schemes to reduce urban as well as rural poverty. Old schemes are reviewed, new schemes are implemented and new strategies are being evolved to accelerate growth and reduce poverty An Appraisal of Poverty Alleviation Programmes Over the years, the functioning of these programmes and their impact on the poor has attracted a great deal of attention. These programmes have been designed to address different facets of rural poverty. Micro credit-linked programmes provide a 91

12 package of services including credit and subsidy to set up micro enterprises. Wage employment programmes address the issue of transient poverty. Besides, schemes for infrastructure development and provision of basic services contribute to the wellbeing of the rural people. Successful implementation of these programmes required an appropriate policy framework, adequate funds and an effective delivery mechanism. However, the more availability of funds is not likely to eradicate poverty. The success of these programmes ultimately depends on the capability of the delivery system to absorb and utilize the funds in a cost-effective manner. Table 3.4 and 3.5 deals with the financial and physical performance of some of the major poverty alleviation programmes in India. It shows that the number of beneficiaries from IRDP/SGSY was highest in the year (i.e lakh) but after that we find continuous decline in the number of beneficiaries. Likewise JRY/JGSY also gives the same trend. The employment in mandays from JRY/JGSY was also highest during (i.e lakh mandays) but thereafter it is continuously declining. In case of EAS, employment in mandays was highest during (i.e lakh mandays). However, we find an increasing number of mandays during to , after that it is also continuously declining. Table 3.4 and 3.5 reflects the gap between the total expenditure of money under IRDP/SGSY, JR/JGSY and EAS respectively. It can be seen that this gap is more prominent in case of IRDP/SGSY particularly during to This implies the poor utilization of the resources and hence affecting the performance of the programme. In case of JRY/JGSY and EAS, this gap is important particularly during Table 3.5 deals with National Social Assistance Programmes which reflects increasing number of beneficiaries over the period of time incase NOAPS except during , while in case of NFBS the number of beneficiaries declined to a large extent. A careful examination of the poverty alleviation programmes reveals that the planners have made the assumption that the poor constitute a homogeneous category.

13 The planners made no attempt to segment the group in terms of common characteristics and their requirements. A distinction has to be made between two categories of poor, namely, those who have some skills and thus can take up self- employment and others who are to be provided with wage-employment. Each category should be treated separately by appropriate policy measures. Table 3.4: Financial and Physical Performance under Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India IRDP/SGSY JRY/JGSY EAS Total Total Total Employment In Allo Total Lakh Allocatioditure Allocation diture Lakh cation Expen Total Expen Families Years Swaroz (Rs. (Rs (Rs Cr.) (Rs Man- (Rs garis Cr.) Cr.) Cr.) days Cr.) Total Expenditure (Rs Cr.) Employment in (Rs. Cr.) Note : SGSY-Upto January, 2002, JGSY-Upto October, 2001, EAS-Upto September, Source: Tenth Five Year Plan, Vol. II. Planning Commission, Government of India. However, Nilakantha Rath favours a programme of creating wage employment on a massive scale, Hirway and Dantwala disagreeing with Rath strongly advocate that in a programme for poverty alleviation the role of self-employment should not be undermined. Self-employment is a major form of employment in the rural areas and this fact must not be ignored in the strategy of poverty alleviation. Further, dependence on wage employment alone to tackle the problem of poverty will lead to total dependence of the poor on employers. It is also likely to accentuate the gap between the rich and the poor by strengthening the asset base of the former. Therefore, the correct approach would be to incorporate both self-employment 93

14 and wage employment programmes in any poverty alleviation programme. At present there seems to be little integration in transfer of assets and skills approach and employment approach. A major limitation of the existing poverty alleviation strategy is that it has no programmes for these households who neither have assets nor skills, and in addition, do not have any able-bodied adult member and thus cannot benefit from wage employment programmes. For such a category separate policy measures would be required. Moreover, poor targeting is reflected in the high proportion of non-poor and other non-eligible persons among the beneficiaries under these programmes. Leakages due to inappropriate works, inefficient implementation and corruption are found on large scale. Quality of assets provided/created under these programmes are poor and their impact on income level of beneficiaries dubious. Assets and schemes are frequently not appropriate to the needs and potentials of particular regions and groups. At the same time, lack of accountability remains a major problem. Table 3.5: Financial and Physical Performance under National Social Assistance Programme in India Years Expenditure (Rs. Crore) NOAPS NFBS NMBS No.of Beneficiar ies Expenditure (Rs. Crore) No.of Beneficia ries Expenditure (Rs. Crore) No.of Beneficiari es , , Transfer to Ministry of (P) Health and Family Welfare Source: Tenth Five Year Plan, Vol. II, Planning Commission, Government of India The structure, content and funding of these programmes remains mostly in the hands of the central government There is a considerable overlap among these schemes as well as between them and development schemes included under the 94

15 normal state plans. Further, the programmes tend to emphasise loans and subsidies and provision of current wage employment rather than ensuring that they are used to augment productive capacity for achieving a higher level of employment and income on a sustained basis. Moreover, most of the anti-poverty programmes do not contain any in-built mechanism for sustaining the progress achieved. On the other hand they are adhoc schemes implemented to a larger extent for political reasons. It is widely accepted that the success of poverty alleviation programmes was partial short-lived. Though poverty has declined at the macro level, rural -urban and inter-state disparities are visible. The poverty ratio is still relatively high in Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and North Eastern States Plan Outlays on Poverty Alleviation Programmes It is also true that outlays on targeted poverty alleviation programmes have increased rapidly both in absolute terms and relative to total public sector plan outlays. Table 3.6 deals with the total outlays on the rural employment Rojgar Yojana, urban employment and poverty alleviation programmes during to It can be seen that the plan outlays on rural employment Rojgar Yojana have been larger than that of urban employment programmes, but we find that there is large degree of variation in the plan outlays on rural employment programmes in comparison to urban employment programmes. However, it is also important to note that the public sector resource crisis cannot laid at the door of poverty alleviation programmes. The more important and deeper causes lie in the falling tax to GDP ratio, the inability to contain runaway increase in revenue expenditures and huge burgeoning deficits incurred in providing public services. All of these are due to politics, be it taxation, salaries and allowances 95

16 of public sector employees, subsidized supply of water and power, which largely benefit the better off segments in fact the top quintile of the population. A disproportionate share of the food and fertilizer subsidies also accrue to the better off. Under these conditions cutting back the allocation for poverty alleviation is no solution to the fiscal problem, and it is certainly not justified morally or politically. Table 3.6: Plan Outlays on Rural and Urban Poverty Alleviation Programmes (Rs. Crures) Years Rural Employment Rozgar Yojana* Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation Max. Value Min. Value Mean S.D C.V *Rozgar Yojana is known as Sampooma Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) during to During to it was named as Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana. Prior to it Jawahar.Rozgar Yojana was in operation until Source: Economic and Political Weekly, July 30, Poverty Alleviation during Tenth Plan The poverty alleviation programmes were revamped and refocused during the Ninth Plan to increase their effectiveness. During the Tenth Plan, those programmes that provide self-employment and wage employment to the poor would be implemented with greater vigour. Thrust areas of the Tenth Plan related to poverty alleviation are as follows:

17 SGSY would provide opportunities for self-employment to the rural poor. The programme would shift to a process-oriented approach in four stages: > Social mobilization for formation of self help groups > Savings among the group and internal lending among its members and provision of a revolving fund > Micro-finance and > Micro-enterprises development The SGRY would be the single wage employment programme. The programme would have three streams which would seek to address the need of rural infrastructure at the village level, ensure guarantee employment of at least 100 days in areas facing chronic unemployment/migration and provide relief in natural calamities. Access to land will be an important element in the poverty alleviation strategy. Tenancy reforms, record of rights of landowners and tenants, and issue of land rights for women will be the major tenets of the land reforms agenda. Special attention would be paid to provide technical support for upgrading technology and standardization of products. Use of information and communication technology would be promoted during the Plan period in this regard. Network of institutions that promote the self-help movement would be created during the Plan period. Partnership would be forged between NGOs and other community-based organizations, government agencies and other financial institutions. The promotion of movement, which enhances social capital and forges linkages with other formal and informal stakeholders engaged in development activities, would be a major thrust during the Plan.

18 Greater attention would be paid to marketing. Rural haats/ markets at the taluka/ district level would be setup for display of products. Linkage will be developed with private channels, industrial enterprises and export houses for higher value realization for SGSY groups. Key activities would be planned to respond to the needs of the area. Training programmes for beneficial linkages with training institutions would be forged. The growth-oriented approach for poverty alleviation was reinforced in the Tenth Plan by focusing on specific sectors, which provide greater opportunities for the poor to participate in the growth process. Plan allocations enhanced in the area of health, education, sanitation and other facilities in order to promote capacity building and well-being of the poor. Anti-poverty programmes strengthened and restructured through special programmes for the weaker sections of the society. However, the National Common Minimum Programme of the UP A government makes commitments to enact a National Employment Guarantee Act and to start a massive food-for-work programme. However, the achievement of the above goals mentioned in the Tenth Plan development is not merely desirable but it is inescapable if we are to meet the legitimate and long unfulfilled aspirations of Indian people Integrated Rural Development Programme Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was designed in such a way that it would promote self-employment ventures in a variety of activities in the rural sector. Evaluation studies indicate its strong bias towards animal husbandry schemes, in particular milch cattle and goat rearing. The Eighth Five Year Plan document provided a sectoral composition of the schemes in IRDP during the 98

19 Seventh Plan: "44 percent were in the primary sector, 18.5 per cent in the secondary sector and 37.5 per cent in the tertiary sector". The composition pattern indicates the preference of the beneficiaries for those schemes where they have their own experiences and knowledge. The IRDP as such could not bring in any new dimension to the rural occupational structure. In case of spending of funds for the poor families, IRDP achievement was far from encouraging Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment In the programme of Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), the Govt, of India and the State Governments spent a lot of money for upgradation and inculcation of 1226 new skills for the rural youths between years of age. The objective of the programme was that after receiving the training under different trades at the government costs, the rural youths would be able to undertake own self-employment ventures or at least could pursue some wage employment activities on sustainable basis. As per official records, the achievement was less than 50 per cent. In the newly launched SGSY also implementation of skill development programmes for the assisted individuals and self-help groups remains a weak area. Though the guidelines of SGSY makes elaborate provisions for skill upgradation of the swarozgaries, yet the progress of expenditure remains at a low level. SGSY guidelines provide for earmarking of 10 per cent of the total allocation for training purposes. Again, it is also specified that maximum expenditure of Rs per person can be made on basic orientation and skill development training. Basic orientation programme has the objective to familiarize the beneficiaries of SGSY with the 99

20 programme objectives and purposes. These programmes are of very short duration and should not normally be more than two days. Skill development trainings are longer duration trainings where also all expenditures are borne out of SGSY fund. The fixation of duration of training programmes is left to the State Government for maintaining uniformity in all the districts and to make training duration activity specific. The line departments make the assessment regarding technical skills. Elaborate arrangements for skill development trainings in SGSY are yet to take off (Table 3.7) and it is not guaranteed whether the shortcomings of TRY SEM can be avoided in this programme. From Table 3.7 it can be seen that the proportion of expenditure in training vis- a-vis total available training fund in SGSY continuous to be low in spite of thrust to promote SHG activities. Guaranteeing employment to the rural poor families in comprehensive way was first attempted through Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP). The assurance of 100 days of employment to at least one member of the landless families was targeted in this programme. Year Table 3.7: Progress of skill development in SGSY in India No. of Swarozgaries trained Total training fund (Rs. in lakhs) Expenditure in training fund (Rs. in lakhs) Percentage of expenditure Per trainee expenditure (in rupees) Total No. of Swarozgari es trained, Total expenditure incurred for trained Note: xloo Note: xloo Total No. of Swarozgari es Total training fund in SGSY Source: Department of Panchayats & Rural Development, Govt, of West Bengal. Compared to the size of the total number of households below poverty line of slightly over million, this employment generation was only per cent of total BPL families. This indicates the inadequacy of the programme in tackling the 100

21 unemployment problem among BPL families in the rural areas. Calculation of man days generated per BPL family through this programme stands at man days only (Table 3.8). The highest number of days is found to be in Kerala followed by Tamil Nadu. State wise calculation helps to find out the variations across the states. Table 3.8: Employment generated per BPL families under RLEGP during 7th Plan State No. of BPL families (in lakh) Total employment generated (in lakh man days) Employment generated per family (in days) Rank of the state Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh ' Maharashtra Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh West Bengal All India Total employment generated Note: (i) Employment generated per family = No. of BPL families (ii) Rank of the states is made on the basis of employment generated per family. Source: Basic Rural Statistics, Jawahar Rozgar Yojana Considering the inadequacy of this programme, NREP and RLEGP were merged into Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) with effect from 1st April, The primary objective of the programme was to generate additional gainful employment for the unemployed and underemployed persons in the rural areas. The secondary objective of the programme included creation of assets in favour of rural poor particularly SCs and STs for their direct and continuing benefits. JLUl

22 JRY was also suffered from all ills of the poverty alleviation programmes. For example it was never possible to achieve full utilization of available fund during its implementation. The share of women in total employment generated was less than 30 per cent. Low coverage of women was also captured in the two rounds of concurrent evaluation of this programme conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development (MORD) in Govt, of India Employment Assurance Scheme For augmenting the scope of employment opportunities in favour of the rural poor, during the Eighth Plan, the Employment Assurance Scheme was introduced. This new programme contained an assurance of 100 days of employment to ablebodied persons in the rural areas. Again, assurance of 100 days of employment in a year could not be kept. According to the Task Force Report of the Planning Commission, it was possible to generate only 31 days of employment per year. The Midterm Appraisal of the Ninth Five Year Plan mentioned lower employment generation per person than the Task Force, on an average it was 18 days in and 16 days in In Table 3.9, employment generated per BPL family in the years and are calculated to reflect low employment generation estimates is the available latest estimate of BPL families. In construction of Table 3.9 we calculate BPL families from the persons below poverty line in the rural areas. Table 3.9 shows that on an average at all India level around 11 and 6 days of employment could be generated for the poor families during and The ranking of states shows that employment generation is very low in the states like West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh where number of families languishing under below poverty line are huge. 102

23 State Table 3.9: Employment generated per BPL families in EAS No. of BPL families (in lakhs) Per family employment generated in (in days) Per family employment generated in (in days) Rank Rank Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat n 1 Haryana Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh West Bengal All India Note : (i) In case of due to non-availability of employment generated data for the whole year, target wage employment to be generated in EAS is considered (Rural Development Statistics, 2000published by NIRD). Total employment generated (in lakh man days) (ii) Per family employment generated = Total no. of BPL families (in lakhs) Source: (i) Number of BPL families in is calculated from Planning Commission data by dividing number offamilies by 5. (ii) Annual Report, MORD, Govt, of India At the instance of the Planning Commission, Programme Evaluation Organisation (PEO) undertook an evaluation study on EAS (Report published in April, 2000). Regarding employment generation in the programme, the observation of PEO is quoted below: It needs to be mentioned that in EAS also on an average expenditure in relation to available funds remained at a low level. This certainly goes against the objective of generating employment for the poor. Performance of EAS since its inception in to the last year of is presented in Table In this programme also in most of the years stipulated target of 30 per cent women coverage could not be achieved. 103

24 3.10. Swarnajayanthi Gram Rozgar Yojana With the launching of SGRY, food and nutrition security to the poor was brought in within the framework of the programme along with generation of wage employment and creation of durable economic infrastructure in the rural areas. The programme is being implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme on cost sharing basis between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25 of the cash component where food grains would be provided at free of cost to the states. From the Annual Report, of MORD, Govt, of India, it can be seen that only per cent of total available fund could be utilised in including expenditure on EAS. In SGRY two streams are specified for implementation of the programme. The first stream is being implemented at the district and intermediate panchayat levels whereas the second stream is being implemented at the village panchayat level. Financial performance reports of MORD, Govt, of India shows that, percentage of utilisation of available fund is per cent in the first stream and per cent in second stream in ; per cent in first stream and per cent in second stream in The stream wise shares of SC/ST and women in employment generation in and are given below indicating that women shares are not achieved: The bar diagram shows that in , employment generation is more in SC people and it is in increasing trend whereas in ST, it Is in declining trend. But in employment generation in SC Community was declining trend, but for ST it was in increasing. 104

25 Year Resource availability (Rs. in crores) Table 3.10: Performance of EAS - All India Expenditure (Rs. in crores) Percentage of expenditure (in %) Employment generation (in million man days) Share of SC/ST (in%) Share of women (%) Total Note : Shares of SC/ST and women indicate their respective share in total employment generated. Source; (i) Annexure XII of the Report of the Working Group on Rural Poverty Alleviation Programmes for 10th Five Year Plan, (ii) Basic Rural Statistics and Annual Report of MORD, Govt, of India Category 1st Stream 2nd Stream 2nd 1st Stream Stream Scheduled castes 34.12% 36.45% 31.02% 30.44% Scheduled tribes 20.54% 19.73% 24.73% 27.38% Women 26.84% 25.35% 26.76% 24.10% 3 Scheduled castes & Scheduled tribes & Women 105

26 The employment generation in SGRY (taking both the streams together) in and are respectively around 75 crores and 63 crores. This employment generation is much less than EAS and JRY taken together. Continuous experimentation in the names of the programmes and shifting of thrust areas, in fact, hamper the employment generation possibilities through the bar diagram shows that in , employment generation was more among SC people and it was in increasing trend whereas in ST, it is in declining trend. But in employment generation among SC Community was in declining trend, but for ST it was in increasing trend. Thus, Employment generation has been one of the principal concerns of development planning in the country. However, growth of employment has generally been slower than the growth of labour force and as a result backlogs of unemployment continued to rise over time. While the annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP) grew over time, the employment did not increase correspondingly. Most of the GDP growth was thus derived from productivity growth rather than increase in employment. As a result, employment elasticity of GDP growth declined more sharply in recent periods. In such an emerging content, addressing issues related to employment must be accorded a top priority in policy planning. This perspective is very well reflected in the International Labour Organisation's. The World Employment Report which underscores the need to make employment a central objective of macroeconomic and social policies rather than make it a "hoped-for-outcome" of policies that, more often than not, do not directly address the employment challenge. The theme of the report is based on 106

27 strong conviction and empirical evidence that creating decent employment opportunities is the best way to take people out of poverty. A majority of the poor of working age do not get adequate incomes, which leaves them and their families below the poverty line. The global economic shift from the manufacturing sector to the service sector may not have exactly led to a sense of well-being among workers for ultimately it is the quality of employment that eludes a majority of them. Current estimates, according to the ILO, shows that 1.3 billion people in the world work, but are unable to lift themselves and their families above the poverty line, i.e., they earn less than $2 a day. Among them, 550 million cannot even lift themselves and their families above tile extreme $1 -a-day poverty threshold. Expressed in percentage, 49.7 per cent of the world's workers (and over 58.7 per cent of the developing world's workers) are not earning enough to lift themselves and their families above the $2 a day poverty line. In fact, it is in developing countries as well as the transition economies (countries that emerged as a result of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the Balkanisation of Eastern Europe) where the ranks of the unemployed and "poorly" employed exist. The report notes that unemployment rates remained virtually the same in 2002 and Over the past decade, the industrialized economies were the only ones to experience falling unemployment rates, while in the others the rates either remained stable or increased. The transition economies have been the worst hit in the past ten years, notwithstanding globalization. They saw a sharp increase in unemployment from 6.3 to 9.2 per cent while in South-East Asia unemployment increased from 3.9 to 6.3 per cent, even though the rate of unemployment may has decreased. Stable or even decreasing employment to population ratios, shows that there is no additional demand for employment, but unemployment per se means that people 107

28 are actively looking for work and cannot find work. In most developing countries, including India and most in South-East Asia, only few people voluntarily opt out of the labour market, they do so, it is most likely because they have given up hope. But the fact remains that even a rise in the employment to population ratio does not indicate whether the work being done falls under the category of decent and productive jobs. The crisis of employment is a visible one. Its manifestation may range from an anxiety to hold on to a low paid job to the concern that grips highly paid analysts and programmers who face the threat of outsourcing. But evidence shows that even in the United States, the largest outsourcer among the industrialized economies, estimates of job losses on account of outsourcing represent only a small fraction of the jobs lost and the level of in-sourced business is much higher than the outsourced. But as labour markets get more integrated on a global scale, anxieties have also gone up amongst workers who cannot relocate in order to find employment, the globalization of production has driven down wages in some sectors of developed economies in the face of increased competition from cheaper labour in low-wage economies. The ILO report contends that the indications of deficit of decent work in the global labour market are many- the absence of social protection and basic rights at work, and so on. A key economic indicator of that deficit is that men and women do not earn enough to lift themselves out of poverty Conclusions Poverty and unemployment have been the bane of India since long. Their reduction has been one of the major goals of India s development planning since the beginning of the planning era in and the planning process has been sensitive to the needs of the poor. Poverty in India is not merely an economic phenomenon but 108