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  • [13th January 2026] The Hindu OpED: Early investment in children, the key to India’s future

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2024] “Besides being a moral imperative of a Welfare State, primary health structure is a necessary precondition for sustainable development.” Analyse.

    Linkage: This PYQ links primary health systems to sustainable development through preventive care, nutrition, maternal and child health, and human capital formation.

    Mentor’s Comment

    India aims to become a developed economy by 2047. Most discussions focus on infrastructure, manufacturing, and digital growth. This article shifts attention to early childhood development (ECD), a less visible but critical area. It argues that without strong investment in the first 3,000 days of life, economic goals remain weak. The article reviews existing child-focused policies and calls for a universal, integrated, mission-mode approach.

    Why in the News?

    India lacks a clear national roadmap for early childhood development, even though early years shape health, learning, and future productivity. Despite success in reducing child mortality, fragmented and survival-focused policies fail to ensure full development, making early investment a high-return national priority, not just welfare.

    What is Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)?

    1. It is not a social sector expenditure but a strategic economic investment. 
    2. Scientific evidence confirms that the period from conception to eight years, especially the first 3,000 days, determines physical health, cognitive ability, emotional regulation, and social skills.

    Why are the first 3,000 days critical for national development?

    1. Brain Architecture: Forms rapidly during early childhood, with 80–85% neural development occurring in the first few years, shaping lifelong learning capacity.
    2. Human Capital Formation: Early capabilities determine educational attainment, workforce participation, and earning potential in adulthood.
    3. Irreversibility: Deprivation, neglect, or poor nutrition during this phase leads to developmental losses that are difficult or impossible to reverse later.

    What progress has India achieved in early childhood outcomes?

    1. Child Survival: Reduced infant and under-five mortality through consolidation under the National Health Mission.
    2. Nutrition and Immunisation: Expanded coverage addressing severe malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases.
    3. Institutional Framework: ICDS (1975) and its restructuring under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 laid foundations for early nutrition and care, particularly among poorer households.

    Where does India’s current ECCD approach fall short?

    1. Fragmentation: Interventions remain siloed across health, nutrition, and education without an integrated developmental framework.
    2. Survival Bias: Policy focus prioritises keeping children alive rather than enabling optimal cognitive, emotional, and social development.
    3. Limited Coverage: ECCD initiatives largely target government safety-net beneficiaries, excluding large sections of middle- and upper-income households facing obesity, screen addiction, delayed skills, and behavioural issues.
    4. Late Intervention: Formal developmental support typically begins at 30-36 months, missing the most critical early window.

    What does scientific evidence reveal about early interventions?

    1. Epigenetics: Early-life nutrition, stress, and environmental exposure influence gene expression and long-term health outcomes.
    2. Health Risks: Parental obesity, substance use, poor maternal nutrition, and chronic stress increase risks of non-communicable diseases and developmental delays.
    3. Time Use Paradox: Children spend most early years at home, yet structured guidance on stimulation, play, and emotional nurturing remains scarce.

    Why must ECCD be universal rather than poverty-targeted?

    1. Developmental Challenges: Obesity, physical inactivity, excessive screen exposure, and emotional difficulties affect children across income groups.
    2. Equity and Inclusion: Universal ECCD prevents exclusion errors and ensures national-level human capital strengthening.
    3. Productivity Link: Broad-based developmental deficits undermine workforce quality and long-term competitiveness.

    What early interventions need to be prioritized?

    1. Preconception Counselling: Focuses on nutrition, mental health, lifestyle, and intergenerational impacts, benefiting two generations simultaneously.
    2. Parental Empowerment: Encourages early stimulation through talking, reading, singing, playing, and emotional engagement from infancy.
    3. Growth Monitoring: Enables early detection of delays through periodic, simple assessments.
    4. Quality Early Learning: Addresses undernutrition, obesity, emotional regulation, and life-long health habits for children aged 2-5 years.
    5. Integrated Service Delivery: Breaks silos between health, nutrition, and education, transforming schools into integrated child development hubs.
    6. Social Outreach: Extends ECCD conversations beyond clinics into homes, workplaces, and communities.

    Why is a national mission-mode approach necessary?

    1. Policy Coordination: Requires functional convergence between Ministries of Health, Education, and Women & Child Development.
    2. Teacher Capacity: Necessitates training educators in child development beyond academic instruction.
    3. Ecosystem Building: Engages parents, non-profits, philanthropic institutions, and CSR initiatives to create a supportive ECCD environment.

    Conclusion

    Early childhood care and development is the most cost-effective and high-impact investment India can make to secure its long-term economic, social, and democratic future. While India has succeeded in improving child survival, the absence of a universal, integrated, and development-focused ECCD framework risks locking future generations into avoidable health, learning, and productivity deficits. Treating the first 3,000 days as a national mission, rather than a welfare add-on, will determine whether India’s demographic potential translates into a resilient, skilled, and globally competitive workforce by 2047.

  • Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation launches new logo and mascot

    Why in the news?

    The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has unveiled a new logo and a mascot to modernise its institutional identity and strengthen public outreach, as reported by DD News.

    About MoSPI

    MoSPI is the nodal ministry for official statistics in India. It is responsible for data collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination to support evidence based policymaking and national development.

    Aim of the initiative

    • Promote the theme Data for Development
    • Make official statistics more accessible, relatable, and trustworthy
    • Enhance public participation in surveys
    • Improve transparency and accuracy in India’s statistical system

    Key features

    New logo

    • Ashoka Chakra symbolising truth, transparency, and good governance
    • Rupee symbol highlighting the role of statistics in economic planning and policymaking
    • Numerical elements and growth bar representing modern data systems and data driven progress
    • Colour palette of saffron, white, green, and deep blue signifying growth, sustainability, stability, and knowledge

    Mascot “सांख्यिकी”

    • Citizen centric character to simplify complex statistical concepts
    • To be used in surveys, awareness campaigns, educational initiatives, digital platforms, and public events

    Significance

    • Builds public confidence in official statistics through consistent and recognisable communication
    • Encourages higher survey participation leading to better data quality
    • Reinforces evidence based policymaking
    • Supports India’s shift towards transparent, data led governance

    Prelims pointers

    • MoSPI is the nodal ministry for official statistics in India
    • New logo and mascot aim to improve public engagement with data
    • Mascot “सांख्यिकी” is designed for citizen outreach and statistical awareness
    [2009] Which one of the following brings out the publication called “Energy Statistics” from time to time? 

    (a) Central Power Research Institute 

    (b) Planning Commission 

    (c) Power Finance Corporation Ltd. 

    (d) Central Statistical Organization

  • [25th Dcember 2025] The Hindu OpED: New labour codes, the threats to informal workers

    [UPSC 2024] Discuss the merits and demerits of the four ‘Labour Codes’ in the context of labour market reforms in India. What has been the progress so far in this regard?

    Linkage: This question directly falls under GS Paper III, Labour Reform, testing the ability to critically evaluate structural labour market reforms under liberalisation. The article on new labour codes provides concrete evidence on demerits which can be used to balance the “merits vs demerits” and assess reform progress.

    Introduction

    India enacted four labour codes in 2019-20 to consolidate existing labour laws relating to wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety. While projected as universalising worker welfare, the codes substantially marginalise unorganised workers, who constitute over 90% of India’s workforce and contribute nearly 65% of GDP. The article flags structural exclusions, regulatory dilution, and erosion of welfare institutions affecting informal labour across sectors.

    Why in the News

    The issue has gained prominence as States, including Tamil Nadu, deliberate on notifying rules under the Social Security Code. Unions and worker organisations have intensified opposition, citing first-time dismantling of long-standing welfare boards, dilution of inspection systems, and absence of funding guarantees. The transition marks a sharp departure from sector-specific, State-level welfare architectures built over decades.

    What are the new labour codes and how were they enacted?

    1. Legislative Consolidation: Replaced 29 labour laws with four codes covering wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety.
    2. Consultative Deficit: Enacted without tripartite consultation at the Indian Labour Conference, violating established labour law-making practice.
    3. Coverage Gap: Unorganised workers excluded from consideration in three codes, except limited mention in the Social Security Code.

    How do the codes affect unorganised workers structurally?

    1. Workforce Magnitude: Unorganised workers constitute over 90% of India’s workforce and generate 65% of GDP.
    2. Policy Blindness: Codes assume uniform work conditions, ignoring sectoral diversity across agriculture, construction, salt pans, beedi, mining, and domestic work.
    3. Legal Erasure: Repeal of sector-specific laws removes tailored protections evolved over decades.

    How does consolidation weaken occupational safety and health?

    1. Regulatory Dilution: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code replaces site-based inspections with process-based systems.
    2. Safety Deficit: Absence of nearly 180 safety rules earlier applicable to construction sites under BOCW Act.
    3. International Violation: Contravenes ILO Convention 81, ratified by India, mandating effective labour inspections.

    Why are occupational diseases inadequately addressed?

      1. Sectoral Health Risks:
    • Construction: High prevalence of silicosis.
    • Agriculture: Cancer linked to pesticide exposure.
    • Salt Work: Chronic eye, skin, and kidney diseases.
    1. Institutional Gap: OSHWC Code ignores diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation obligations.
    2. Convention Breach: Violates ILO Convention 161, which mandates national occupational health services.

    How does the Social Security Code undermine welfare boards?

    1. Institutional Replacement: Creates a single national welfare board with no sectoral differentiation.
    2. Board Dissolution Risk: Threatens dissolution of 39 State-level welfare boards in Tamil Nadu.
    3. Benefit Loss: Eliminates protections such as old-age pensions, maternity assistance, and education support for workers’ children.

    What are the funding-related risks under the new framework?

    1. Cess Abolition: Removes sector-specific cesses (beedi, salt, mining) without replacement revenue.
    2. Funding Uncertainty: No guaranteed employer contribution for welfare funds.
    3. Unutilised Corpus: Centralised e-Shram registration may allow Centre to access nearly ₹11 lakh crore in unspent welfare funds, especially from construction sector.

    How have States responded to these changes?

    1. Legislative Resistance: Andhra Pradesh shut down welfare boards post-codes.
    2. Institutional Strength: Tamil Nadu retains strong welfare architecture under the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers Act, 1982.
    3. Worker Coverage: Approximately 3 crore informal workers registered across welfare boards in Tamil Nadu.

    What needs to be done?

    1. Institutional Protection: Preserve State-level welfare boards and sector-specific laws.
    2. Fiscal Safeguards: Retain saving clauses for welfare funds and statutory cesses.
    3. Legislative Resistance: Refuse notification of rules under the codes, as done by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
    4. Welfare Continuity: Strengthen existing State welfare infrastructure instead of centralisation.

    Conclusion

    The four labour codes mark a significant shift in India’s labour market architecture by prioritising consolidation, flexibility, and ease of compliance. However, as highlighted in the article, this reform has simultaneously weakened occupational safety regimes, dismantled sector-specific welfare institutions, and left unorganised workers, who form the backbone of the economy, without assured social security or funding guarantees. Unless States retain and strengthen existing welfare boards, inspection mechanisms, and financing arrangements, labour market reforms risk deepening informality and inequality rather than enabling inclusive and sustainable growth.

  • [24th December 2025] The Hindu OpED: The VB-G RAM G Act 2025 fixes structural gaps

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2023] Most of the unemployment in India is structural in nature. Examine the methodology adopted to compute unemployment in the country and suggest improvements.

    Linkage: The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 directly addresses structural unemployment and episodic employment by strengthening the statutory employment guarantee. The Act’s emphasis on advance planning, enhanced person-days, and timely payments responds to long-standing concerns over the mitigation of rural unemployment.

    Mentor’s Comment

    The enactment of the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 marks a decisive recalibration of India’s rural employment guarantee framework. Amid debates on fiscal withdrawal, centralisation, and dilution of rights, this article examines how the Act addresses long-standing structural and implementation gaps in MGNREGA while preserving its legal core.

    Introduction

    The President’s assent to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 enhances the statutory rural employment guarantee from 100 to 125 days. Contrary to claims of dilution, the Act seeks to correct fragmentation, weak enforceability, episodic employment, and accountability deficits that emerged during earlier phases of implementation.

    Reframing Welfare and Development as Complementary

    1. Conceptual Continuum: Treats income support, asset creation, agricultural stability, and long-term rural productivity as interlinked outcomes rather than competing objectives.
    2. Statutory Anchoring: Retains the justiciable right to employment while strengthening enforceability through procedural reforms.
    3. Design Philosophy: Embeds welfare delivery within durable infrastructure creation and productivity enhancement.

    Expansion and Strengthening of Legal Entitlements

    1. Enhanced Employment Guarantee: Expands guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, reversing stagnation in entitlements.
    2. Removal of Dilutionary Provisions: Eliminates procedural disincentives that earlier nullified unemployment allowance in practice.
    3. Grievance Redressal: Reinforces time-bound grievance mechanisms to address delayed payments and denial of work.

    Institutionalisation of Demand-Based Employment

    1. Worker-Centric Demand: Preserves demand-based employment generation, ensuring work availability when demanded rather than post-distress.
    2. Advance Planning: Anchors employment planning at the village level, preventing administrative denial of work.
    3. Operational Efficiency: Transforms planning into a facilitative tool rather than a demand-suppressing mechanism.

    Correcting Fragmentation through Coordinated Decentralisation

    1. Gram Panchayat Primacy: Retains gram panchayats as primary planning and implementing authorities with approval powers over local plans.
    2. Vertical Integration: Aggregates village plans at block, district, and state levels to enable inter-sectoral convergence.
    3. Decision Authority: Centralises coherence without centralising execution, correcting fragmentation while preserving decentralisation.

    Fiscal Architecture and Equity-Based Allocation

    1. Budgetary Expansion: Increases allocations from ₹33,000 crore (2013-14) to ₹86,000 crore (2024-25).
    2. Enhanced Central Contribution: Raises the Centre’s share from ₹86,000 crore to nearly ₹95,000 crore, countering claims of withdrawal.
    3. Funding Model: 60:40 Centre-State structure for general states; accords 90:10 for northeastern, Himalayan states and Jammu & Kashmir.
    4. Normative Allocation: Ensures equity through rule-based state-wise allocations determined by objective parameters.

    Improved Delivery Outcomes and Financial Inclusion

    1. Person-Days Generated: Increases from 1,660 crore (pre-2014) to 3,210 crore, stabilising thereafter.
    2. Completed Works: Expands completed assets from 153 lakh to 862 lakh, addressing episodic employment
    3. Women’s Participation: Rises from 48% to 56.73%, strengthening gender inclusion.
    4. Payment Efficiency: Achieves 99% on-time fund transfers; links nearly all active workers to Aadhaar Payment Bridge.

    Addressing Structural Weaknesses of the Earlier Framework

    1. Episodic Employment: Reduces migration-driven spikes and post-crisis employment volatility.
    2. Weak Enforceability: Strengthens legal backing of unemployment allowance.
    3. Leakages: Addresses duplication, ghost entries, and fake job cards through digital governance systems.
    4. Crisis Resilience: Incorporates flexibility to respond to disruptions such as COVID-19.

    Contextual Flexibility within Cooperative Federalism

    1. Advance Notification: Empowers states to notify employment periods aggregating up to 60 days aligned with agricultural lean seasons.
    2. Local Customisation: Allows differentiated notification at district, block, or gram panchayat level based on agro-climatic conditions.
    3. Disaster Response: Permits temporary expansion of permissible works and employment during natural disasters.

    Lessons from the previous Governance and Fiscal Failures

    1. Wage Stagnation: Caps wages at ₹100 per day from 2009 despite inflation, undermining real income security.
    2. Allocation Cuts: Reduces allocations from ₹40,000 crore (2010-11) to ₹33,000 crore (2012-13) amid rising demand.
    3. Employment Decline: Falls from 7.55 crore workers (2010-11) to 6.93 crore (2013).
    4. CAG Findings (2013): Highlights 4.33 lakh fake job cards, unpaid wages, delayed payments, and misuse of funds across states.

    Conclusion

    The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 represents a calibrated structural renewal of India’s rural employment guarantee framework rather than a retreat from welfare commitments. By expanding legal entitlements, correcting fiscal and governance distortions, institutionalising decentralised planning, and improving delivery outcomes, the Act addresses the core weaknesses revealed through years of implementation experience. In doing so, it reinforces the employment guarantee as a legally enforceable instrument of inclusive growth, rural stability, and cooperative federalism, aligned with both constitutional intent and evolving development priorities.

  • 20yrs on, a radical revamp of the rural jobs framework

    Introduction

    Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005, institutionalised a legal guarantee of 100 days of wage employment for rural households and became the backbone of India’s rural safety net. Over two decades, it generated billions of person-days of work and served as a counter-cyclical buffer during economic shocks. The proposed Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G Bill seeks to replace this framework with a restructured employment model, redefining work guarantees, funding patterns, and state responsibilities. The transition reflects a deeper policy shift from entitlement-based welfare to administratively calibrated employment provisioning.

    Why This Policy Shift Matters Now

    The proposed overhaul comes at a time when official data reveals a steady decline in MGNREGA employment intensity despite rising budgetary allocations. Average days of employment per household fell from 51.52 days in 2020-21 to 35.52 days in 2025-26, while the total individuals who worked declined from 11.19 crore to 6.25 crore during the same period. This disconnect between expenditure and employment outcomes, coupled with persistent wage arrears and fiscal pressures on the Centre, has prompted a rethinking of the rural employment guarantee framework for the first time since its inception.

    A Gradual Decline in Employment Outcomes

    1. Average employment days: Declined from 51.52 (2020-21) to 35.52 (2025-26) per household.
    2. Households completing 100 days: Reduced from 7.19 lakh to 4.74 lakh, indicating shrinking access to full entitlements.
    3. Total individuals employed: Fell sharply from 11.19 crore to 6.25 crore, despite higher nominal allocations.
    4. Average wage per person: Increased from ₹200.77 to ₹266.98, reflecting inflation adjustment rather than employment expansion.
    5. Expenditure trend: Actual spending rose even as person-days stagnated, indicating cost pressures rather than job creation.

    Redefining the Employment Guarantee

    1. Household entitlement: Retains 100 days per household, but limits the scope for extended employment.
    2. Individual eligibility: Introduces a cap of 125 days per individual, reducing flexibility for households with high dependency on wage labour.
    3. Expanded discretionary employment: Allows additional 50 days only under specific conditions such as SC/ST households, disaster-hit areas, or drought-affected regions.
    4. Shift in legal framing: Weakens the justiciable right to work by increasing administrative discretion in work allocation.

    Restructuring the Funding Architecture

    1. Centre’s responsibility: Continues to pay full unskilled wages.
    2. States’ responsibility: Bear full material costs and a share of skilled wages, increasing fiscal pressure on state budgets.
    3. Fiscal implications: States face higher upfront expenditure at a time of shrinking fiscal space and competing welfare commitments.
      1. The proposed framework shifts rural employment financing to a CSS-like structure, 60:40 for most states, 90:10 for NE and Himalayan states, and 100% Central funding for UTs without legislatures, marking a departure from MGNREGA’s earlier wage-centric Central funding.

    Normative Allocation and Centralised Control

    1. Normative allocation: Replaces demand-driven funding with pre-determined allocations decided by the Centre.
    2. Objective criteria: Allocation based on labour budgets, past expenditure, and agricultural calendars.
    3. Reduced state autonomy: States lose flexibility to respond to local employment demand spikes.
    4. Administrative oversight: Central government gains greater control over expenditure approvals and fund releases.

    Seasonal Pauses in Employment

    1. Pause during peak agricultural seasons: Introduces a 60-day pause during sowing and harvesting periods.
    2. Rationale: Ensures adequate agricultural labour availability.
    3. Regional variation: Agricultural calendars differ across states, making uniform pauses administratively complex.
    4. Impact: Reduces income smoothing for landless labourers dependent on continuous wage employment.

    Shift in Governance and Panchayat Role

    1. Gram Panchayat function: Continues as the primary implementing agency.
    2. Planning structure: Integrates Panchayat plans into larger district and state labour plans.
    3. Administrative layering: Adds oversight mechanisms, reducing Panchayat-level autonomy in work selection and execution.
    4. Accountability shift: Moves from citizen-driven demand to bureaucratic allocation.

    Budgetary Implications

    1. FY 2025-26 allocation: ₹86,000 crore for rural employment.
    2. Administrative and material costs: Estimated at ₹1.51 lakh crore including state share.
    3. Cost pressures: Rising wages and material expenses increase fiscal stress without proportional employment gains.

    Conclusion

    The proposed overhaul of the rural employment framework marks a decisive shift from MGNREGA’s rights-based, demand-driven architecture to a fiscally calibrated, centrally managed scheme. By introducing normative allocations, CSS-style funding ratios, and tighter limits on employment days, the reform prioritises expenditure control and administrative predictability over employment assurance. While this may ease Central fiscal pressures, it risks weakening the role of rural employment as a social safety net, making the success of the new framework contingent on states’ fiscal capacity and the Centre’s willingness to balance efficiency with inclusion.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2024] Examine the pattern and trend of public expenditure on social services in the post-reforms period in India. To what extent this has been in consonance with achieving the objective of inclusive growth?

    Linkage: The question examines whether social-sector spending translates into inclusive growth. The article shows this gap through rising allocations but declining MGNREGA employment outcomes.

  • PM Vishwakarma Scheme  

    Why in the News?

    The National Steering Committee for the PM Vishwakarma scheme has approved several proposals and policy measures to improve loan sanctioning and disbursement under the scheme.

    About PM Vishwakarma Scheme

    • Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
     • Launched to support artisans and craftspeople engaged in traditional, family based occupations
     • Focuses on strengthening the Guru Shishya parampara and preserving traditional skills

    Objectives

    • Nurture traditional artisans working with hands and tools
     • Improve skill levels, access to credit, and market linkage
     • Promote digital transactions among artisans

    Time Period

    • Five years
     • From FY 2023 24 to FY 2027 28

    Eligibility and Coverage

    • Available to both rural and urban artisans across India
     • Minimum age: 18 years
     • Must be engaged in a traditional trade
     • Beneficiary should not have availed similar government loans in the last five years
     • Covers 18 traditional crafts including Boat Maker, Armourer, Blacksmith, Hammer and Tool Kit Maker, and others

    Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana’ has been launched for (2015)

    (a) providing housing loan to poor people at cheaper interest rates 

    (b) promoting women’s Self-Help Groups in backward areas 

    (c) promoting financial inclusion in the country 

    (d) providing financial help to the marginalized communities

    The PM Vishwakarma Scheme is a targeted intervention aimed at marginalized craftspeople, providing them access to credit, digital transaction support, and market linkages. These components are crucial mechanisms of financial inclusion.

  • Onboarding of MTNL Pensioners onto SAMPANN  

    Why in the News?

    The Controller General of Communication Accounts (CGCA) has inaugurated the onboarding of all Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) pensioners onto the SAMPANN portal, marking a major step in modernizing pension administration under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

    About the MTNL Pensioners

    • The onboarding covers 45,939 MTNL pensioners from Delhi and Mumbai.
    • Includes both current retirees (November 2025) and past pensioners.
    • Event held at the Office of Principal CCA, Delhi.
    • Pensioners received E-PPOs (Electronic Pension Payment Orders) during the event.

    About SAMPANN

    System for Accounting and Management of Pension (SAMPANN)

    • A centralized, comprehensive telecom pension management platform of the DoT.
    • Enables fully digital processing of pension cases.

    Key Features of SAMPANN

    • Accurate, rule-based pension calculations.
    • Integrated case processing with end-to-end digital workflow.
    • PFMS-linked timely pension disbursements.
    • Multi-modal grievance redressal system.
    • Mobile app support (Android and iOS).
    • Real-time dashboards for monitoring and transparency.
    • Reduction of paperwork and delays.
    Consider the following statements: (2020)

    1. Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored for more than three months. 

    2. State cannot enter into any contract with private corporations for sharing of Aadhaar data. 

    3. Aadhaar is mandatory for obtaining insurance products. 

    4. Aadhaar is mandatory for getting benefits funded out of the Consolidated Fund of India. 

    Which of the statements given above is/ are correct? 

    (a) 1 and 4 only (b) 2 and 4 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 only

  • Centre notifies four new Labour Codes

    Why In The News?

    The Centre notified all four Labour Codes, introducing major reforms and replacing 29 outdated labour laws dating back to the 1930s.

    1)Introduction to the Labour Codes Notification:

    • Major Reform Announcement: The Centre notified all four Labour Codes, introducing wide-ranging changes in India’s labour framework.
    • Key Focus Areas: The reforms expand social security to gig workers, ensure gender pay parity, enhance women’s workplace rights, and introduce fixed-term employment.
    • Replacement of Old Laws: The Codes replace 29 fragmented labour laws dating back to the 1930s–1950s.

    2)Government’s Stance:

    • Prime Minister’s View: PM Modi described the reforms as one of the most comprehensive labour transformations since Independence.
    • Worker Empowerment: The government highlights that the Codes aim to ensure universal social security, timely wage payments, and safer workplaces.
    • Simplified Compliance: The reforms are expected to promote ease of doing business through simplified compliance mechanisms.
    • Minister’s Statement: Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Codes will formalise employment and make the labour ecosystem globally aligned.
    • State-Level Readiness: Most States have already issued draft rules; the Centre is supporting those still finalising rules.

    3)Key Provisions:

    • Women’s Safety and Rights: Expanded rights, including permission for night shifts and enhanced workplace safety.
    • Health and Social Security: Free annual health check-ups for workers above 40 and nationwide ESIC coverage, including hazardous units.
    • Simplified Procedures: A single registration, licensing, and return system for employers.
    • Wage and Safety Standards: Introduction of a national floor wage and creation of a National OSH Board for uniform safety standards.
    • Fixed-Term Employment: Allows fixed-term workers to receive all benefits equivalent to permanent workers.
    • New Work Categories: Gig workers, platform workers, and aggregators are legally defined for the first time.
    • Universal Account Number: Aadhaar-linked UAN ensures portability and easy access to welfare benefits.
    • Inclusion of Plantation Workers: Plantation workers brought under OSHWC and Social Security Codes.

    4)Responses from Stakeholders:

    Trade Union Concerns:

    • Opposition to Codes: Several central trade unions reject the Labour Codes, labelling them anti-worker and pro-employer.
    • Issues with Timing: CTUs argue implementing the Codes amid rising unemployment and inflation will worsen workers’ hardships.
    • Protest Plans: Unions have announced nationwide protests on November 26 and cite earlier strikes against the Codes.
    • Fear of Exploitation: Trade unions warn the reforms could revive a “master-servant” relationship, reducing worker protections.

    BMS Standpoint: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh supports implementation but seeks amendments to remove perceived anti-worker provisions in OSH and Industrial Relations Codes.

    Industry View: CII praises the reforms as a transformative step towards a modern and simplified labour ecosystem.

    [UPSC 2021] With reference to casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements: 1.All casual workers are entitled to Employees Provident Fund coverage.

    2.All casual workers are entitled to regular working hours and overtime payment.

    3.The government can, by notification, specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account. Which of the above statements are correct? Options: (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only* (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2, and 3

     

  • 2.25 Crore Ineligible Beneficiaries removed  from Free Ration Scheme

    Why in the News?

    About 2.25 crore ineligible people were removed from the NFSA free ration list in the past 4–5 months to ensure benefits reach only rightful beneficiaries.

    About Free Ration Scheme:

    • Foodgrain Allocation: The scheme provides 5 kg of free foodgrains (wheat or rice) per person per month to poor households for basic sustenance.
    • Criteria for Ineligibility: Ineligible individuals included those owning four-wheelers, earning above the income threshold, holding company directorships, or deceased persons.
    • Verification Process: The Centre identified suspect entries and shared them with States for verification and deletion.
    • Role of State Governments: States are responsible for identifying beneficiaries, issuing ration cards, and continuously updating lists.
    • Current Coverage: The scheme currently covers around 80.56 crore people, with scope to add about 0.79 crore more beneficiaries.
    • Ration Card & Distribution Network: India has over 19 crore ration card holders and around 5 lakh fair price shops.
    • Beneficiary Categories:
      • Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY): 35 kg per household per month
      • Priority Households (PHH): 5 kg per person per month

    About National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA):

    • Enactment: NFSA was signed into law on 12 September 2013, with effect from 5 July 2013.
    • Coverage Goal: It aims to provide subsidized food grains to about two-thirds of India’s population, covering 75% rural and 50% urban populations.
    • Legal Entitlements: It converts food security schemes into legal entitlements for eligible households.
    • Subsidized Prices: Mandated Targeted Public Distribution System prices:
      • Rice – ₹3/kg
      • Wheat – ₹2/kg
      • Coarse grains – ₹1/kg
    • Household Head Provision: The eldest woman aged 18 or above in a household is designated as the head for issuing ration cards.
    • Nutritional Support: Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children (6 months–14 years) receive free meals under ICDS and Mid-Day Meal schemes.
    • Maternity Benefits: Pregnant and lactating women are entitled to a ₹6,000 maternity benefit, paid in installments.
    • Entitlements Under NFSA:
      • Priority Households: 5 kg foodgrains per person per month
      • AAY Households: 35 kg per month
      • Universal coverage of ICDS and Mid-Day Meals
    [UPSC 2018] With reference to the provisions made under the National Food Security Act, 2013, consider the following statements:

    1. The families coming under the category of ‘below poverty line (BPL)’ only are eligible to receive subsidies food grains.

    2. The eldest woman in a household, of age 18 years or above, shall be the head of the household for the purpose of issuance of a ration card.

    3. Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a ‘take-home ration’ of 1600 calories per day during pregnancy and for six months thereafter.

    (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 only* (c) 1 and 3 (d) 3 only

     

  • We need to move from a caste census with a capital C to one with a small c

    Introduction

    The government’s announcement of a caste census has reignited the social justice debate. After decades of delay, the exercise promises to redefine India’s path toward equality. However, scholars like Anand Teltumbde and sociologist Trina Vithayathil caution that unless thoughtfully designed, the census could become a token gesture perpetuating caste divisions instead of dismantling them.

    Why in the News?

    For the first time in over 90 years, India appears poised to conduct a comprehensive caste enumeration, a long-standing demand of social justice movements. The announcement marked a political and social milestone, yet it raised concerns over methodology, intent, and execution. The last major caste data collection was the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, whose data was never released. Hence, this move represents both continuity and rupture, an opportunity for social reform, but also a test of political sincerity.

    What is the significance of a caste census today?

    1. Historical Backdrop: The last caste enumeration occurred in 1931, and SECC 2011 failed to release its caste data.
    2. Social Justice Milestone: Seen as the next big step in India’s march toward reducing structural caste inequalities.
    3. Relevance to Policy: Data essential for designing targeted affirmative action and inclusive public welfare policies.

    The Peril of a Caste Census

    1. Tokenism Risk: Scholars warn against viewing the caste census as a panacea for social justice without structural reform.
    2. Reinforcement of Hierarchies: Poorly designed enumeration could re-entrench caste identity rather than diminish it.
    3. Ambedkarite Vision: Real emancipation lies in annihilating caste, not merely counting it.

    How do recent scholarly works shape the debate?

    1. Teltumbde’s “The Caste Conundrum”: Advocates linking caste enumeration with transformative social change.
    2. Vithayathil’s “Counting Caste”: Based on bureaucratic fieldwork, highlighting how technical details can determine whether enumeration promotes inclusion or exclusion.
    3. Common Ground: Both scholars stress reflection and purpose, not mechanical data gathering.

    What are the operational and moral questions involved?

    1. Scope and Inclusion: Full enumeration must include all religions (Hindus, Muslims, Christians) and not just OBC, SC, ST categories.
    2. Methodological Integrity: SECC 2011 was flawed, protocols discouraged recording caste among minorities.
    3. Question of Purpose: Census must ask not “what caste are you?” but “how do caste-based structures impact opportunity and power?”

    How can the census become a tool for transformation?

    1. Redesign for Equality: Move from a capital C Census (bureaucratic, divisive) to a small c census (reflective, reformist).
    2. Policy Integration: Use caste data to redesign reservation, education, and economic mobility programs.
    3. Ethical Imperative: Must ensure it does not become a tool to perpetuate caste privilege, but a means to dismantle inherited inequities.

    Conclusion

    The caste census, if executed thoughtfully, can become a historic step toward data-backed equality. But if reduced to political arithmetic, it risks becoming a bureaucratic ritual reinforcing caste privilege. The challenge is to move from enumeration to emancipation from a Census that counts people to one that makes people count.

    PYQ Relevance

    [UPSC 2018] Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, the caste system cannot be eradicated in India. Comment.

    Linkage: It reflects how caste persists through new political and institutional forms. The caste census debate illustrates this continuity between identity and policy in modern India.