UBI = Universal Basic Income
Following are data from MGNREGA
website ( for 2020 - 21 ) :
Ø Active
Workers …………………. 11.66 crore
Ø Person-days
Generated………..10.89
crore
Ø Households
Benefited………… 0.91
crore
Ø Individual
Category works….. 1.32
crore
Ø DBT
Transactions …………………. 2.32
crore
Ø Assets
created till date………….. 4.94
crore
For most of the States, current daily wage rates under
MGNREGA are around Rs 200 / day , after recent upward
revision last month
How do these compare with government mandated MINIMUM
WAGES ?
What is the
Mandate of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)?
“ The mandate of the MGNREGA is to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed
wage employment in a financial
year to every rural household whose adult
members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.”
[ source : https://nrega.nic.in/Circular_Archive/archive/nrega_doc_FAQs.pdf / - as
of 2014 ! ]
CONTEXT :
Ø As
a result of lockdown, crores of workers ( mostly in cities ) have lost jobs and
wages
Ø Crores
of Migrant workers are trying to return to their native villages in UP-Bihar-W
Bengal etc
Ø Those
of these 11 crore who return to their villages , will have NO JOBS / NO WAGES
in villages
Ø Those
who are “ Semi-Skilled / Skilled / Highly Skilled “, will not qualify for
MGNREGA work !
Ø Delhi
Govt giving ( 2nd month in row ) Rs 5000 to “ poor “ people, is not a permanent
solution
Ø Many
states are under pressure to follow Delhi’s example
SOLUTION :
Ø MGNREGA
should be re-named, MGNRUGA ( Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Urban Employment Guarantee Act )
Ø Besides
RURAL households, it
should cover URBAN households as well
Ø Besides
“ Unskilled Manual Work “, it must also cover “ Semi-skilled
/ Skilled “ work as well
Ø The
daily wages payable , must be the “ Minimum Wage “ at the start of each Skill
level grade and periodically revised upward, depending upon CPI
Ø Number
of “ Guaranteed Days of Work Employment / year “ should be :
# Rural Areas ………………….. 300 days ( up from
current 100 days )
# Urban Areas :
Class II towns ………………… 200 days
Class I Cities…………………… 100 days
Ø On
MGNRUGA website , there will be provision for,
# Jobless persons to register ( providing full
personal data / job locations preferred / Skill level /
prior
experience etc )
# Companies / Establishments to register ,
providing full details of vacancies
# Match-making / Allocation etc
Ø If
an Urban establishment provides work to any of the REGISTERED UNEMPLOYED
referred
by MGNRUGA web site, it will not be required to pay wages ( to those persons ), for
periods mentioned above.
For them, the wages will get paid directly
by the Ministry subsidizing , at rates prescribed under
the
Act ( DBT ) . Any wages paid in excess , will have to be borne by the
establishment concerned
This “ Wage Subsidy “ will be available
ONLY to those establishments, who install in their
premises, Mobile-based Attendance System , as
described at :
From BAD to MAD [ 01 June 2016 ]
MAD goes to
Mandi [ 02 Jan 2020 ]
HOW WILL THIS HELP ?
Ø This modification of Scheme will cover
jobless persons, all over India – not only Rural India
Ø The scheme as it stands now, covers “
works “ related only to ,
# Soil and Water Conservation
# Ground Water Recharge
# Irrigation
# Drainage
# Plantation
# Land……. Etc
My
suggestion will extend the scheme
to cover urban offices / factories / shops etc , where millions have
been rendered jobless due to lockdown
Ø Current rural schemes have to be monitored by govt
officers / panchayat office-bearers, who may lack supervision skills and / or
lack “ motivation “ to ensure that each MGNREGA worker puts in honest / hard /
productive work, at the end of the day !
As
against this, when organized / profit driven establishments ( in Urban setting
) are supervising such
workers,
productivity of “ Asset Generation “, will be very high !
Ø Because
of this Wage Subsidy ( better name it CORONA EMPATHY – so as not to run foul of WTO ) ,
MSME will revive faster , with less worry for Cash Flow . Products will become
cheaper
Ø By
providing jobs and enabling people to earn their own living , there will be no
need for Delhi-type “ doles “ – which are unsustainable in long run
Ø This
( scheme ) overcomes the major objections against UBI ( Universal Basic Income
), viz :
# How to decide whom ( defining “ poor “ is
difficult ), to give UBI
# People will become too dependent on “ Sarkar
Maa-Baap “ and become lazy / stop looking for work
Ø It
is better than the Unemployment Allowance of USA ( now for 33 million persons,
sitting at home )
Dear Shri Narendrabhai,
It is time to think about a PERMANENT SOLUTION to this
problem of UN-EMPLOYMENT { even beyond COVID }
Please consider my suggestion
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
12 May 2020
Nice suggestion. Hope it gets implemented soon. The plight of labourers across the country is really pathetic.
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