What is Universal Social Welfare / Social Security?
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According to the International Labour Organisation, Social security is the protection that society provides to individuals and households.
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This ensures access to health care and guarantees income security; particularly in cases of old age, unemployment, sickness, invalidity, etc.
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Giving such protection to every individual in the country is called Universal Social Welfare.
Need of Universal Social Welfare:
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Vulnerability of masses:
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The pandemic has enhanced the vulnerability of masses as:
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It has pushed an estimated 75 million people into poverty.
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Poor performance of Social Welfare schemes:
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The country has over 500 direct benefit transfer schemes but still many weren’t able to get desired benefits during the pandemic.
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The schemes are fractionalized across various departments and sub-schemes. This causes problems on every stage of the scheme from data collection to last-mile delivery.
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Universal Programs show better results:
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India’s Pulse Polio Universal Immunisation Programme helped it to become polio-free in 2014. This shows the country has the potential to run universal programs and achieve better results.
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Avoiding Inclusion/Exclusion errors:
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Universal system will encompass every individual and household in the country thereby tackling the problem of inclusion/exclusion.
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Improved Living Standard:
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Access to education, maternity benefits, disability benefits, etc. social benefits would ensure a better standard of living for the people.
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Ireland Case Study:
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The country can learn from successful global models like Ireland’s Poor Law System.
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The system was introduced in the 19th century to provide relief to the masses. It was financed by local property taxes.
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The system was built keeping in mind the future economic crisis and dignity of the masses.
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It has now evolved into a four-fold apparatus. It promises social insurance, social assistance, universal schemes, and extra benefits/supplements.
Way Forward:
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The government should map the State and Central schemes in a consolidated manner. This would avoid duplication, inclusion, and exclusion errors in delivering welfare services.
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For instance, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) can be strengthened into universal social security.
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It already consolidates the public distribution system (PDS), the provision of gas cylinders, and wages for the MGNREGA.
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It must compute the costs of delivering universal social services. Post computation, robust steps must be taken to arrange the requisite amount.
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There must be a focus on data digitization, data-driven decision-making, and collaboration across government departments. This would improve the implementation potential.