Type: Schemes

Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has asked the government to roll back the system of caste-based wages, under which NREGS workers are paid based on whether they belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Others.

Back in news: MGNREGA

What is the caste-based payment system?

• Last year, the Rural Development Ministry sent an advisory to states asking them to take necessary action for payment of wages to NREGS workers according to their categories — SC, ST, and Others.
• Under the new system, if 20 individuals (say, six SCs, four STs and 10 others) work together at a site under MG-NREGA, a single muster roll would be issued.
• But payment would be done by issuing three separate Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs), one for each of the three categories.
• Due to this, some beneficiaries started complaining that despite working at the same site and registering on the same muster roll, they were getting their wages at different times depending on their categories.
• Beneficiaries in the ‘Others’ category, which includes the ‘General’ and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, especially complained of delays.

What was the earlier system of payment?

• The Rural Development Ministry notifies wage rates for states and Union Territories under Section 6(1) of The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005.
• Until 2020-21, the wages were being paid to NREGS beneficiaries through a single funds transfer order.
• In other words, if 20 beneficiaries, including SCs, STs and Others work at a site under MGNREGA, all received their wages at the same time, through a single muster roll and a single funds transfer order.

Why was the system of caste-based wage payment introduced?

• According to the Ministry, the system of category-wise payment of wages was introduced to “accurately reflect on the ground flow of funds to various population groups”.
• Last year, a process of “streamlining” of the new system was taken up.

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The Union Labour and Employment Ministry has launched the “donate a pension” scheme.

‘Donate a Pension’ Scheme

• This scheme allows any citizen to pay the premium amount on behalf of an unorganized worker under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan
• Maan-Dhan scheme is a government scheme meant for old age protection and social security of unorganized workers.

Eligibility criteria and benefits

• The scheme was launched in 2019, allows unorganized sector workers between 18 and 40 years who earn up to ₹15,000 a month to enroll by paying a premium amount between ₹55 and ₹200, depending on the age, that would be matched by the government.
• On reaching the age of 60, the beneficiaries would get a ₹3,000 monthly pension.

Features of the scheme

• The scheme allows a citizen to “donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers, helpers, caregivers, nurses in their household or establishment.
• The donor can pay the contribution for a minimum of one year, with the amount ranging from ₹660 to ₹2,400 a year depending on the age of the beneficiary, by paying through maandhan.in or visiting a Common Service Centre.

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Maharashtra may follow several other big states and opt-out Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the government’s much-highlighted crop insurance scheme.

Why do many states want to opt-out?

• The major reasons are denial and delay of claims along with a huge subsidy burden on state governments.
• The farmers are facing a problem with timely claim settlement.
• Maharashtra is studying the Beed Model for insurance settlement.

Who else has stepped out?

• Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Bihar, Gujarat (PM’s home state), Punjab and West Bengal — all predominantly agriculture states — have already opted out of the scheme.
• Some of these states have their own insurance schemes.

What is PMFBY?

• The PMFBY was launched in February 2016. It is being administered by Ministry of Agriculture.
• It provides a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the income of the farmers.
• It is implemented by empanelled general insurance companies.
• The scheme is compulsory for loanee farmers availing Crop Loan /KCC account for notified crops and voluntary for other others.

Its functioning

• PMFBY insures farmers against all non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest.
• Farmers have to pay a maximum of 2 per cent of the total premium of the insured amount for kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for rabi food crops and oilseeds as well as 5 per cent for commercial / horticultural crops.
• The balance premium is shared by the Union and state governments on a 50:50 basis and on a 90:10 basis in the case of northeastern states.

Farmers covered

• All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have insurable interest in the crop are eligible.
• To address the demand of farmers, the scheme has been made voluntary for all farmers from Kharif 2020.
• Earlier to Kharif 2020, the enrolment under the scheme was compulsory for following categories of farmers:

1. Farmers in the notified area who possess a Crop Loan account/KCC account (called as Loanee Farmers) to whom credit limit is sanctioned/renewed for the notified crop during the crop season. and
2. Such other farmers whom the Government may decide to include from time to time.

Risks covered under the scheme

• Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to non-preventable risks, such as Natural Fire and Lightning, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado.
• Risks due to Flood, Inundation and Landslide, Drought, Dry spells, Pests/ Diseases also will be covered.
• In post-harvest losses, coverage will be available up to a maximum period of 14 days from harvesting for those crops which are kept in “cut & spread” condition to dry in the field.
• For certain localized problems, Loss/damage resulting from the occurrence of identified localized risks like hailstorm, landslide, and Inundation affecting isolated farms in the notified area would also be covered.

Back2Basics: Beed Model

• The model of crop insurance in place in Maharashtra’s Beed district is being studied by a central government panel set up to suggest suitable working models for PMFBY.
• In the Beed model, there is a cap on the profit of the insurance companies.
• If the claims exceed the insurance cover, the state government pays the bridge amount.
• If the claims are less than the premium collected, the insurance company keeps 20 per cent of the amount as handling charges and reimburses the rest to the state government.
• This is expected to reduce burden of subsidies from state.

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India plans to prepare digital maps of all its 6,00,000 villages and pan-India 3D maps will be prepared for 100 cities to mark a year of the updated geospatial policy guidelines under the SVAMITVA Scheme.

What is SVAMITVA Scheme?

• SVAMITVA stands for Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas.
• Under the scheme, the latest surveying technology such as drones will be used for measuring the inhabited land in villages and rural areas.
• The mapping and survey will be conducted in collaboration with the Survey of India, State Revenue Department and State Panchayati Raj Department under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• The drones will draw the digital map of every property falling in the geographical limit of each Indian village.
• Property Cards will be prepared and given to the respective owners.

Broad Objectives

1. Leveraging property as a financial asset by the citizens of rural India
2. Creation of accurate land records for rural planning
3. Provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India
4. Serve as a means of reduction in property-related disputes. Facilitate with the determination of property tax
5. Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS (Geographic Information System) maps that can be used by any department or agency

Features of the Scheme

• Accurate survey: SVAMITVA Scheme uses the combination of Survey Grade Drones and CORS network (Continuously Operated Reference Stations) to accurately survey large areas in a very short span of time.
• High resolution: The 1:500 scale maps generated through the drone survey are of very high accuracy i.e., 3-5 cms, which the conventional methodology does not provide.
• Geo-tagging: Moreover, editable and geo-tagged maps are produced at a fraction of the cost without the need for line-of-sight.
• Permanent records: These maps facilitate the creation of the most durable record of property holdings in areas with no legacy revenue records.

What are the updated guidelines?

• The updated guidelines help private companies to prepare a variety of maps without needing approvals from a host of ministries.
• They aim to make it easier to use drones and develop applications via location mapping.
• It encompasses the trinity of geospatial Systems, Drone Policy, and unlocked Space Sector will be the hallmark of India’s future economic progress.

Also read:

[Yojana Archive] SVAMITVA Scheme

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Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers are still waiting for almost ₹3,360 crore in pending wage payments, with the largest pending payments in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

What is MGNREGA?

• The MGNREGA stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005.
• This is labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘Right to Work’.
• The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao.

Features of the scheme

• MGNREGA is unique in not only ensuring at least 100 days of employment to the willing unskilled workers, but also in ensuring an enforceable commitment on the implementing machinery i.e., the State Governments, and providing a bargaining power to the labourers.
• The failure of provision for employment within 15 days of the receipt of job application from a prospective household will result in the payment of unemployment allowance to the job seekers.
• Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid.
• Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.

Tap to read more about MGNREGS:

[Burning Issue] Reorienting MGNREGA in times of COVID