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GS Paper: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

  • Every third informal worker is now registered on E-Shram Portal

    Every third informal sector worker in India is now registered on the e-Shram portal with registration on the portal crossing the 14 crore mark in four months.

    About E-Shram Portal

    • The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched the E-Shram Portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) this year.
    • The E-Shram portal will cover all unorganised workers of the nation and help link them to social security schemes of the Government of India.
    • Aadhaar with mobile number linked is mandatory for the registration.

    Category of unorganized workers covered:

    1. Construction Worker
    2. Migrant Worker
    3. Gig & Platform Worker
    4. Street Vendor Worker
    5. Agriculture Worker
    6. Others

    Broad objectives of this portal

    • Creation of a centralized database of all unorganized workers (UWs)
    • To improve the implementation efficiency of the social security services for the unorganized workers
    • Integration of Social Security Schemes meant for UWs being administered by MoLE and subsequently, those run by other ministries as well
    • Portability of the social security and welfare benefits to the migrant and construction workers
    • Providing a comprehensive database to Central and State Governments for tackling any National Crises like COVID-19 in future

    Benefits of registration

    • Under the scheme, Rs 2.0 Lakh Accidental Insurance cover will be provided to every registered (on E-Shram portal) unorganized worker.
    • Every registered unorganized worker shall be issued an E- Shram card with a unique Universal Account Number (UAN).
    • He/She will be able to access the benefits of the various social security schemes through this Card anywhere anytime.

    Who can register on this Portal?

    Any individual satisfying the following conditions can register on the portal:

    • An unorganized worker (UW).
    • Age should be between 16-59 years.
    • Not a member of EPFO/ESIC or NPS (Govt. funded)

    What is required for registration?

    Following is required to register on the portal:

    • Aadhaar Number
    • Mobile number linked with Aadhaar.
    • Savings Bank Account Number with IFSC code

    Registrations done so far

    • The latest data of the portal shows that the top five States in terms of number of registrations on e-Shram are U.P., West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand.
    • Gender analysis of the data shows that 52.56% are female while 47.44% are male.
    • The data show that 42.64% of the registered workers are other backward classes (OBC) followed by 26.45% from general category, 22.54% from the scheduled caste and 8.38% from the Scheduled Tribe.
    • It also show that over 94% registered workers’ income is ₹10,000 per month or below while over 4% have income in the rage of ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 per month.
    • About 51% workers are farm laborers, 11% in construction, 10% in domestic and household work and 6.5% in the apparel segment.

     

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  • Maharashtra govt.’s Shakti Bill

    The Maharashtra government’s Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, on crimes against women and children has recommended capital punishment in rape cases.

    Why have stringent laws have consistently failed to instill any fear in rapists? Discuss.

    Shakti Act: Key Provisions

    • Capital punishment: It proposes stringent punishment including the death penalty and heavy fines for the culprits.
    • Fast-track trial: Special police teams and separate courts will be set up for investigation and trial of cases against women and children.
    • Jail term: The perpetrators if found guilty will be punished with imprisonment for life for not less than ten years but may extend to the remainder of natural life or with death in cases which have characteristics of being heinous in nature.
    • Compensation: A sum of Rs 10 lakh will be given to an acid attack victim for plastic surgery and facial reconstruction and the amount will be collected as fine from the convict.
    • Rapid investigation: The investigation shall be completed within a period of 15 working days from the date of registration of an offence. This can be extended by 7 days.
    • In-camera investigation: Some cases will be tried in-camera for the recording of evidence of victims and witnesses who are vulnerable.

    Why in news?

    (1) Covering acid-attacks

    • Politicians in Maharashtra have recommended increasing the quantum of punishment for acid attack cases under section 326A of IPC to at least 15 years that may extend to the remainder of a convict’s natural life.
    • The expenditure of plastic surgery and face reconstruction operations for the victim will be taken care of from the monetary fine to be charged on the accused.

    (2) Social media accountability

    • The panel has also increased the punishment under the IPC section 175A for failure to share data for probe by social media platforms, internet providers.
    • Also, under Pocso Act, the data must be within three days at the pain of penalty.

    (3) Curb on false complaints

    • Punishment will be increased for false complaints and for giving wrong information to a public servant.
    • The provisions under the bill are being made more stringent to punish the culprits and set deterrence.
    • However, it is also necessary that the innocent are saved and so severe punishment is required against people filing false or wrongful complaints.
    • The committee has also scrapped the provision of not giving anticipatory bail to people making wrongful or false complaints.

    (4) Covering trans-persons

    • Under section 354E, which provides for punishment for any act of intimidating woman and insulting her modesty, the category of offenders has been increased to cover men, women and even transgender persons.

    Limitations of stringent laws

    • Despite several laws, incidences of rapes continue unabated.
    • In fact, now we hear cases of extreme brutality.
    • The general perception is that since the laws have been made more stringent, so the rapists resort to extreme measures in a bid to destroy the evidence.

    Way forward

    • What we need is better policing, making public spaces safer for women, ensuring round-the-clock surveillance of isolated areas, and deployment of police at all strategic points.
    • Prevention and not punishment is the solution and that requires concerted efforts on part of all the stakeholders.
    • It is not harsher punishments that will deter. It is the fear of being caught and not being spared.

     

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  • Raising marriage age won’t lead to women’s empowerment

    Context

    The announcement of a cabinet decision to raise the age at marriage for women from 18 to 21 years marks the fruition of a plan that was first revealed almost two years ago when a Task Force was set up for the purpose.

    Why the age of marriage of women matters

    • Age of marriage has bearing on maternal mortality rates, fertility levels, nutrition of mother and child, sex ratios, and, on a different register, education and employment opportunities for women.
    • It is also argued that other factors — such as poverty and health services — were far more effective as levers for improving women’s and children’s health and nutritional status.

    Issues with the decision

    [1] Role of poverty neglected

    •  If women who marry at higher ages seem to have better health and nutrition indicators, this is not caused by their marrying later than others — it is because women from better-off groups tend to marry at higher ages.
    • Conversely, the health indicators of poorer women do not change just because they marry at a higher age.
    • An illustration of this truth is found in the National Family Health Survey (IV) data, which show that levels of anaemia — which is the highest cause of maternal mortality in India and one of our worst statistics — show no change even at ages of marriage up to 25 years, once we control for other factors.
    • World Bank study finds no impact on women: Population control was at the heart of the 1978 amendment to the Sarda Act of 1929.
    • Moreover, reducing fertility rates globally by banning marriage before the age of 18 years is very much on the agenda of international agencies to this very day.
    • A major multi-country study undertaken by the World Bank in 2017 estimated that “savings” of no less than $5 trillion would accrue if marriage before the age of 18 was eliminated.
    • But such savings would be mostly due to reductions in fertility and consequent reductions in public health investments due to fewer births.
    • The same study saw no significant gains from raised age of marriage for women’s decision making, for lowering the levels of violence they face, or helping them find employment.
    • Restriction on the right of an adult woman: Globally, the age of 18 is widely regarded as the age of adulthood.
    • It is also viewed as an upper limit in terms of the physical and reproductive maturity of women, as well as the age of majority by child rights conventions to which India is a signatory.
    • Thus, the proposed move will restrict the rights of already adult women, an issue for legal experts to debate.
    • Law is meant to set minimum age not the right age: Equally important is the crucial slippage in the arguments made on behalf of the government from the minimum age at marriage to the right age at marriage.
    • The minimum age is obviously a floor, not a standard or desirable norm.
    • Laws are meant to set minimum levels, a threshold for triggering legal or penal action, because of the harm that may be done.

    Way forward: Address issues that drive empowerment

    • Going by the NFHS 4 data (2015-16), more than half — 56 per cent — of women in the age group 20-24 years marry before the age of 21 years.
    • The problem is that the real reasons that drive empowerment are not being addressed, at least not adequately.
    • Educational attainments have improved enormously in recent years.
    • But the shocking fact (evident in all major data sets) is that decline in early marriages has been accompanied by a fall in women’s employment rates, that persisted even during the 1990s boom.
    • Paradoxical outcomes: The proportion of women not in paid work increases at higher ages of marriage!
    • Complex paradoxes like these are the hallmark of our society.
    • They cannot be addressed by a legal fix, particularly one that will be very hard to implement.

    Consider the question “How the age of marriage of women is connected with the issue of women empowerment? What are the concerns with increasing it to 21 years? Suggest the way forward.“

    Conclusion

    Instead of criminalising our youth, the government must take concrete steps to really empower women. If they are truly in charge of their own lives — through affordable education, meaningful and decent employment opportunities — they will be able to make better decisions about whether, when and whom to marry.

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  • Disability in india

    Context

    The Draft Accessibility Standards/Guidelines recently released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for built infrastructure under its purview (police stations, prisons and disaster mitigation centres) and services associated with them assume significance.

    What are the provisions under the Standards?

    • Models for police stations: The Standards set out models for building new police stations as well as improving upon existing police stations and prisons that are modern, gender sensitive and accessible.
    • The Standards speak to the need to make the websites and institutional social networks of police stations accessible, ensuring that persons with disabilities accused of committing any crimes are treated appropriately, having disabled-friendly entrances to police stations and disabled-friendly toilets.
    • Inclusive police force: the Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.
    • Equal protection during natural disasters: Acknowledging that persons with disabilities must receive equal protection as others in such situations, the Standards provide direction on disability inclusion in disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery efforts.
    • They also stress on disability inclusive training for persons involved in disaster relief activities, data aggregation, use of information and communication technology (ICT) and enforcing accessible infrastructure models for schools, hospitals and shelters following the principle of universal design.
    • Accessibility norm: The Standards introduce accessibility norms for services associated with police stations and prisons.
    • These norms promote the use of ICTs to facilitate communication, development of police websites, app-based services for filing complaints, making enquiries, etc., as well as encouraging the use of sign language, communication systems such as Braille, images for persons with psycho-social disabilities, and other augmentative and alternative modes of communication.

    Shortcomings of the Standards/norms

    • Accessibility of signage not ensured: The Standards call for the deployment of directional signage regarding accessibility features in the MHA’s physical infrastructure as well as to indicate the location of accessible toilets.
    • However, they do not require that such signage itself be accessible to the visually challenged, such as through auditory means.
    • Certain accommodations merely recommendatory: The Standards characterise several reasonable accommodations that are necessary for the disabled as being merely recommendatory.
    • These include having trained police personnel in every police station to assist persons with disabilities and placing beepers at all entrances to enable the visually challenged/blind to locate themselves.
    • Lack of detail on human assistance: In the case of Patan Jamal Vali, the Court suggested connecting special educators and interpreters with police stations to operationalise the reasonable accommodations embodied in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
    • While the standards do require developing a mechanism to provide human assistance to the disabled such as sign language interpreters, they are short on specifics on this count.
    • Lack of representation: Interestingly, the Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.
    • This is inconsistent with the Office Memorandum issued by the Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities on August 18, 2021, according to which the Centre has exempted posts in the Indian Police Service; the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshdweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Service; as well as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service from the mandated 4% reservation for persons with disabilities in government jobs.

    Conclusion

    In sum, the Standards, when enacted into law, will mark a huge step forward in making our law enforcement apparatus more disabled-friendly. Bolstering the Standards further, by incorporating the suggestions flowing from well- thought-out public comments, will take us closer to the aim of ensuring that India’s disabled citizens truly have the police they deserve.

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  • A multi-pronged approach to end child marriage

    Context

    Reports suggest that more child marriages have been noticed during the Covid pandemic.

    Covid-19 and Girls

    Socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 are gendered, evident in the form of educational inequality, sexual violence, and increased household burden.

    • Increased domestic violence: In India, the National Commission for Women reported 2.5 times to increase in domestic violence during the initial months of nationwide lockdown.
    • Abuse & Trafficking: Closure of schools and pandemic induced poverty has increased the vulnerability of children especially the girl child to abuse and trafficking
    • School dropout: UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (2021) throws light on increased educational inequalities for adolescent girls during the Covid-19 crisis. UNESCO estimates that around 11 million girls may not return to school.
    • School Closures pushed Children into Labour: In 2021, says UNESCO, 24 million children may not find their way back to schools after the pandemic. Any child who is not in school is a potential child laborer.
    • Child Marriages: India witnessed an increase in the number of child marriages since 2020. Girls are further at risk – married off early, these child brides are also often child laborers.
    • Reduced Education Budget: Despite knowing the impact of the Pandemic on the education system & thus on Children’s future, the Union budget has Rs 5,000 crore less to spend on education for children this year.
    • Digital gender gap: The digital gender gap deters girls’ remote education and access to information.

    Child Marriage

    • It is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.
    • UNICEF estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India, which makes it home to the largest number of child brides in the world – accounting for a third of the global total.
    • A recent study by the Lancet shows that up to 2.5 million more girls (below the age of 18) around the world are at risk of marriage in the next 5 years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Prevalence of child marriage in India

    • Data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) in 2015-16 shows that even before Covid, one in four girls in India was being married before 18.
    • Around 8 percent of women aged 15-19 years were mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey.
    • The first phase findings of NFHS5 (2019-20) show that the needle has not moved substantially on ending child marriage.

    Why did Child Marriages have increased during Lockdowns?

    • Lack of Alert Mechanism: Earlier, when child marriages happened at wedding halls, temples, etc, there were people who would alert the relevant authorities or activists who would be able to reach on time to stop it.
      • But now, with marriages happening at homes, we may get fewer alerts and our going there could be treated as trespass.
    • Pandemic Induced Pressures: Economic pressures due to the pandemic have pushed poor parents to marry off girls early.
      • With no schools, the safety of children, particularly girls, was a major reason for the increase in violence against children and child marriages.

    Causes for Child Marriages

    • Age Factor: Some parents consider the age period of 15-18 as unproductive, especially for girls, so they start finding a match for their child during this age period.
      • Further, the Right To Education Act makes education free and compulsory up to the age of 14 only.
    • Insecurity: Law and Order are still not able to provide a secure environment for the girls in adolescent age, so some parents get their girl child married at a young age.
    • Other Reasons:
      • Poverty,
      • Political and financial reasons,
      • Lack of education,
      • Patriarchy and gender inequalities, etc.

    Consequences of child marriage

    • Violation of human rights: Child marriage violates girls’ human rights. It makes them almost invisible to policy.
    • Impact on education and health: It cuts short their education, harms their health, and limits their ability to fulfill themselves as productive individuals participating fully in society.
    • The low domestic status of teenage wives typically condemns them to long hours of domestic labor; poor nutrition and anemia; social isolation; domestic violence; early childbearing; and few decision-making powers within the home.
    • Malnutrition: Poor education, malnutrition, and early pregnancy lead to low birth weight of babies, perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.
    • The costs of child marriage include teenage pregnancy, population growth, child stunting, poor learning outcomes for children, and the loss of women’s participation in the workforce.

    What should be the policy interventions to end child marriage?

    • CCTs: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have been the main policy instrument introduced by most states in the last two decades to end child marriage.
    • CCTs alone cannot change social norms. We need a comprehensive approach.
    • Legislative measures: Legislation is one part of the approach.
    • Karnataka amended the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2017, declaring every child marriage, making it a cognizable offense.
    • Expansion of education: These include expansion of secondary education, access to safe and affordable public transport, and support for young women to apply their education to earn a livelihood.
    • Expansion of education goes beyond access. Girls must be able to attend school regularly, remain there, and achieve.
    • States can leverage their network of residential schools, girls’ hostels, and public transport, especially in underserved areas, to ensure that teenage girls do not get pushed out of education.
    • Teachers should hold regular gender equality conversations with high school girls and boys to shape progressive attitudes that will sustain them into adulthood.
    • Empowerment measures: Empowerment measures, too, are required to end child marriage, such as community engagement through programs like Mahila Samakhya.
    • Children’s village assemblies in the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across India can provide a platform for children to voice their concerns.
    • Government actions driving social change: Field bureaucrats across multiple departments, including teachers, Anganwadi supervisors, panchayat, and revenue staff, all of whom interact with rural communities, should be notified as child marriage prohibition officers.
    •  Decentralizing birth and marriage registration: Most important of all, decentralizing birth and marriage registration to gram panchayats will protect women and girls with essential age and marriage documents, thus better enabling them to claim their rights.

    Consider the question “What are the consequence of child marriage? Suggest the measures to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    We need to adopt a comprehensive approach to deal with the problem of child marriage. The approach should include a focus on education and legal measures.

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  • First ever All India Survey on Domestic Workers

    Union Minister for Labour and Employment  has flagged off the first ever All All India Survey on Domestic workers being conducted by Labour Bureau.

    All India Survey on Domestic Workers

    • The Survey  is aimed to estimate the number and proportion of domestic workers at National and State level.
    • It would help find percentage distribution of domestic workers with respect to Live-in/Live-out, formal/ Informal Employment, Migrant/Non-Migrant, their wages and other socio-economic characteristics.
    • The survey will also provide the Household Estimates of Live-in/Live-out domestic workers and average number of domestic workers engaged by different types of households.

    Objectives of the Survey

    • Estimate the number/proportion of DWs at National and State level.
    • Household Estimates of Live-in/ Live-out DWs.
    • Average number of DWs engaged by different types of households.

    Why need such Survey?

    • Domestic workers (DWs) constitute a significant portion of total employment in the informal sector.
    • However, there is a dearth of data on the magnitude and prevailing employment conditions of DW.
    • Hence with the view to have time series data on domestic workers, GoI has entrusted Labour Bureau to conduct an all-India survey on DWs.

    Parameters of the Survey

    The Domestic Worker Survey collects information on the following broad   parameters:

    • Household Characteristics such as HH size, Religion, Social Group, Usual Monthly Consumption Expenditure, Nature of Dwelling unit.
    • Demographic Characteristics such as Name, Age, Relation to Head, Marital Status, General Education Level, Usual Principal Activity Status, Subsidiary Activity Status and Status of DWs.
    • Information on Employer is also collected such as their preferences of DW regarding Gender and marital status, mode of payment of wages, number of days worked, mode of engagement, whether DW services were availed during ii COVID-19 pandemic, medical support given to DWs.

    Scope of the Survey

    • All India States/UTs of India covered are 37 and Districts covered are742
    • Unit of Enumeration is Villages as per Census 2011 and Urban Blocks as per latest phase of UFS.
    • At the all-India level, a total number of 12766 First Stage Units (FSUs) i.e., 6190 villages and 6576 UFS blocks will be covered in the survey.
    • 1,50,000 Households i.e., the Ultimate Stage Units (USU) will be covered.

     

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  • Dalit capitalism and Dalit entrepreneurship

    Context

    In a departure from the fixation on traditional parameters for the study of Dalit rights and empowerment, there is now a focus on how market forces can be expanded to address social exclusion.

    How Dalit entrepreneurship can help in Dalit entrepreneurship

    • While entrepreneurship alone isn’t the panacea to caste-based exclusion or marginalisation, Dalit entrepreneurship is the new narrative changing the discourse of Dalit empowerment.
    • Entrepreneurship can shape access to rights and push against entrenched social hierarchies.
    • The circulation of material benefits and the relative autonomy that comes with entrepreneurship are added advantages.
    • As per the reports by the MSME ministry, Dalit-owned ventures are still minimal in terms of numbers as well as revenue.
    • To overcome hindrances to the establishment of networks across various social groups, Dalit entrepreneurs take recourse to their internal ties and use them to sustain their economic gains.
    • It is increasingly becoming clear that supporting Dalits entrepreneurs is integral to the nation’s inclusive development and this is why institutional aid is required in this regard.

    Steps taken so far

    • The District Industries Centre (DIC) stipulates that to nurture entrepreneurs, the government must increase the share of goods produced by Dalits in its procurement.
    • State financial corporations have also been instructed to increase financial support to Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs.
    • The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation has allocated 16.2 per cent of plots to SC entrepreneurs, while the Small Industries Development Bank of India offers an additional subsidy to them.
    • One of the focussed financial interventions for SC/ST entrepreneurs is the Stand Up India initiative, guaranteeing credit up to Rs 1 crore.

    Challenges

    • Stand Up India initiative failed to deliver the expected results due to the unavailability of so-called eligible SC/ST entrepreneurship, with most of the fund lying unutilised.
    • This was primarily due to the apathy of loaning branches and officials towards proposals by Dalit entrepreneurs.
    • It is evident that despite the existence of government schemes and policies to support such initiatives, the actual benefit could never reach the beneficiaries due to the artificial inaccessibility created by inherent social and caste biases.

    Way forward

    • There is a need for Dalit-focussed alternate investment finance (AIF) and private equity (PE) funds to create a vibrant and inclusive MSME ecosystem.
    • It is evident that despite the existence of government schemes and policies to support such initiatives, the actual benefit could never reach the beneficiaries due to the artificial inaccessibility created by inherent social and caste biases.
    • There is a need to formulate multiple credit guarantee trusts by raising contributions from MNCs, FDIs, portfolio investors, corporates, etc.
    • A social vulnerability index also needs to be introduced, addressed and assessed.

    Conclusion

    Dalit entrepreneurship today holds the promise of an exciting and uncharted future for social transformation.

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  • In news: National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)

    The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) will examine the complaint of a decorated Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer against caste-based allegations by a Maharashtra minister.

    About National Commission for Scheduled Castes

    • NCSC is a constitutional body under Article 338 of the Indian Constitution.
    • It functions under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    • It was established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes.
    • It aims to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, special provisions were made in the Constitution.

    How were they established?

    • The original constitution provided for the appointment of a Special Officer under Article 338.
    • The special officer was designated as the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
    • The 65th Constitutional Amendment Act 1990, amended Article 338 of the Constitution to introduce a joint NC for SCs and STs.
    • Later by 89th Amendment, NC for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and NC for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) were separated by creating a new Article 338-A.

    Functions

    • To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the SCs
    • To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled Castes
    • To participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the SCs
    • To evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State
    • To present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards
    • To make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State
    • To discharge such other functions as the President may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify

    Note: National Commission for Backward Castes is also a constitutional body too. According to article 340, President shall establish a commission to examine the condition of social and backward class.

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  • Step towards more LGBTQIA+ affirmative medical curriculum doesn’t go far enough

    Context

    The National Medical Commission (NMC), the body responsible for regulating medical education in India, released an advisory regarding the LGBTQIA+ community and the necessary changes in the competencies of its competency-based medical education (CBME) curriculum.

    Exclusion of LGBTQIA+ community in medication

    • Medical education in India has focussed only on the binary of male and female, heterosexuality and cis-gendered lives, while excluding homosexuality and gender non-binary and transgender issues.
    • This results in the exclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community.
    • Even with the release of the competency-based medical curriculum in August 2019, the curriculum continues to include a queerphobic syllabus.

    About the NMC notification

    • The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 mandates governments to take measures for the “review of medical curriculum and research for doctors to address their [transgender] specific health issues,” but no action has been taken since then.
    • In June 2021, in response to a case filed by a queer couple, the Madras High Court laid down a set of guidelines and directed the NMC to ban queerphobic practices such as conversion therapy which aims to forcibly change the sexual orientation of a person.
    • In its notification, the NMC has advised medical colleges to teach gender in a way that is not derogatory to the queer community.
    • The authors of medical textbooks have also been asked to amend the books to remove any harmful contents regarding virginity and the queer community.

    Issues with the NMC notification

    • While the NMC advisory title mentions necessary changes in the competencies of its CBME curriculum, there are no specifications on what these changes are.
    •  At the same time, the CBME curriculum itself mentions queerphobic things that are to be taught to students.
    • Certain acts are called as sexual offences even though the Supreme Court has read down Section 377. 
    •  Also, the competencies which will make a future Indian doctor respectful and empathetic in treating a queer patient are missing.

    Way forward

    • The NMC must start by recognising the flaws in its own CBME curriculum and explicitly state the changes required.
    • Specific guidelines on how to make healthcare queer-affirmative are needed.
    • The directive also needs to specify changes across several subjects and not just forensic medicine and psychiatry.
    •  For this, there needs to be a participatory stakeholder consultation towards the development of a queer-affirmative curriculum.
    • Finally, there needs to be clarity on what the NMC plans to do for tackling queerphobia in the current set of health professionals.

    Consider the question “The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 mandates governments to take measures for the review of the medical curriculum. In light of this, discuss the changes needed in the medical curriculum regarding the LGBTQIA+ community.”

    Conclusion

    Without these changes, equitable access to healthcare for queer persons will remain a faraway dream.

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  • E-Shram

    The E-Shram portal has come into existence more than a decade after the passage of the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act in 2008.

    E-Shram

    • On August 26, 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) launched the E-Shram, the web portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which will be seeded with Aadhaar.
    • It seeks to register an estimated 398-400 million unorganized workers and to issue an E-Shram card.

    Better late than never move

    • It has come about even after repeated nudging by the Supreme Court of India.
    • It is the result of state apathy.
    • Had the Central and the State governments begun these legally mandated processes on time, much of the distress of lakhs of vulnerable workers would have been avoided.
    • In fact, the political class owe an ‘apology’ to informal workers.

    Issues with E-Shram

    (A) Time constraints

    • Long process: Given the gigantic nature of registering each worker, it will be a long-drawn process.
    • No gestation period: The Government has not mentioned a gestation period to assess its strategy and efficiency.
    • No hasty process: Employers are or required their workers to register even.While the Government can appeal to them, any penal measure will hurt the ease of doing business.

    (B) Pandemic hides

    • Considering the estimated 380 million workers as the universe of registration — debatable as the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed lakhs of workers into informality.

    (C) Data security

    • Privacy: One of the vital concerns of e-portals is data security, including its potential abuse especially when it is a mega-sized database.
    • No national framework yet: There are also media reports pointing out the absence of a national architecture relating to data security.
    • Local server issues: It has been reported that in some States such as Maharashtra, the server was down for a few days.

    (D) Structural issue

    • Aadhaar seeding: Many workers will not have an Aadhaar-seeded mobile or even a smartphone. Aadhaar-seeding is a controversial issue with political overtones, especially in the North-eastern regions.
    • Eligibility: There are several issues concerning the eligibility of persons to register as well as the definitional issues.
    • Exclusion: By excluding workers covered by EPF and ESI, lakhs of contract and fixed-term contract workers will be excluded from the universe of UW. Hazardous establishments employing even a single worker will have to be covered under the ESI, which means these workers also will be excluded.
    • No benefits for the aged: The NDUW excludes millions of workers aged over 59 from its ambit, which constitutes age discrimination.

    (D) Complex identities of workers

    • Migration: Many are circular migrant workers and they quickly, even unpredictably, move from one trade to another.
    • Mixed work: Many others perform formal and informal work as some during non-office hours may belong to the gig economy, for example as an Uber taxi or a Swiggy employee. They straddle formal and informal sectors.
    • Gig workers: Even though MOLE has included gig workers in this process, it is legally unclear whether the gig/platform worker can be classified first as a worker at all.

    (E) Other impediments

    • Dependence on States: The central government will have to depend on the State governments for this project to be successful.
    • Lack of coordination: In many States, the social dialogue with the stakeholders especially is rather weak or non-existent. The success of the project depends on the involvement of a variety of stakeholders apart from trade unions.
    • Corruption: There is also the concern of corruption as middle-service agencies such as Internet providers might charge exorbitant charges to register and print the E-Shram cards.

    Benefits: No immediate carrot

    • Workers stand to gain by registration in the medium to long run.
    • But the instant benefit of accident insurance upto ₹0.2 million to registered workers is surely not an attractive carrot.
    • The main point of attraction is the benefits they stand to gain during normal and crisis-ridden periods such as the novel coronavirus pandemic now which the Government needs to disseminate properly.

    Way forward

    • E-Shram is a vital system to provide hitherto invisible workers much-needed visibility.
    • It will provide the Labour Market Citizenship Document to them.
    • The govt should go one step further for triple linkage for efficient and leakage-less delivery of all kinds of benefits and voices to workers/citizens: One-Nation-One-Ration Card (ONOR), E-Shram Card (especially bank account seeded) and the Election Commission Card.
    • Last but not least, registrations cannot be a source of exclusion of a person from receiving social assistance and benefits.

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