Opinon |
An increase in budget and beneficiaries under a policy may not necessarily reach the most vulnerable, just like a growing GDP does not ensure development. A better policy goes beyond free giveaways and statistical reach, one that caters to both greater coverage and deeper societal penetration. While the Indian economy, when measured on the scale of total production output per year, has been fairly strong, the scope and scale of existing labour schemes are still limited in penetrating the intersectional layers of society.
A large section of labourers and their families misses out on basic employment standards such as minimum wage, maternity compensation and monetary support for education. Insufficient coverage for extreme illness, disability and death makes the outreach of schemes even more limited. The schemes get restricted in their reach due to their broad umbrella classification of beneficiaries, cumbersome application process and red tapism. Thus, the vulnerable labourers are either unaware of the benefits or have difficulty in accessing them.
