Browse: Home / 2018 / March / Universal Basic Income in Jammu and Kashmir and its Challenges

Menu

Skip to content
  • SUPPORT US
  • MEMBERSHIP
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • GET INVOLVED
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • OUR INITIATIVES
  • CONTACT US:

The New Leam

RNI : DELENG2016/67474

ISSN: 2455 - 4936

Menu

Skip to content
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR INITIATIVES
      • PUBLICATIONS
      • OUR WORKSHOPS
      • EVENTS GALLERY
      • COFFEE ADDA
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • WORK WITH US
    • FEEDBACK
    • CONTACT US:
  • VIEWPOINT
    • FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
    • CONVERSATIONS
    • EXCERPT
    • DEBATE
  • EDUCATION
    • POLICY MAKERS
    • FROM THE FIELD
  • SOCIETY
    • ARTS AND AESTHETICS
    • GENDER
    • VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY
  • ENVIRONMENT
  • FROM THE BOOKSHELF
  • My City, My Himalayan Village and Narratives of Existence
  • Rethinking educational philosophy in Our Times
  • Dry ATMs and the Monetary Shortage across Indian States
  • Finding Ways to Child Friendly Assessment
  • Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend
  • How Padman Led To an Urgent Discourse in our Times
  • Charlie Chaplin’s Cinema: Evergreen and Progressive
  • Inclusive Mathematics Education – A reality or a distant dream?
  • Kathua and Unnao – Gender, Nation and Our Collective Decadence
  • Visual Literacy is Fundamental to Teacher Education Curriculum

Universal Basic Income in Jammu and Kashmir and its Challenges

Posted by THE NEW LEAM on 21/03/2018 in SPECIAL ESSAY | View | Leave a response
155
SHARES
ShareTweetSubcribe

Mechanisms which work towards the betterment of individuals from the lowest ranks of the social order are crucial for any effective nation-state. Subsidized food and basic infrastructure are central to this context, here the author articulates about the plight of Jammu and Kashmir.


Mahendran Arumugam is a research scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, (TISS), Mumbai.


In India many subsidised schemes are being implemented to improve the living conditions of the vulnerable segments of the population. However, these schemes are plagued by various problems like huge leakages in the delivery system, misidentification of beneficiaries i.e., exclusion of deserving households and inclusion of undeserving households in the network, inadequate and untimely assistance to the beneficiaries, huge amount of subsidy involved in the implementation of these schemes and other factors.

8
J&K : the fact that Fair Price shops are premised within two kilometres distance of each card holders housing, the PDS food grain goes to the black market. Image : The New Leam

At present there is no discussion on food versus cash transfers but the focus should be on the costs and benefits of different welfare policies.

The implementation of the Basic Income Scheme could be done properly in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Alakh N Sharma in his study of Leh district in Jammu and Kashmir noted that the manifestation of the PDS apparatus is very poor. The BPL households do not have BPL cards, and nearly half of them are not getting ration, even those who have BPL ration cards are not getting their legitimate BPL rations.

Bhat in his study of the efficiency of PDS in the Kashmir model reflected on the several misappropriations of supplies. It is not properly functioning as per the expectations of the poor.  Irrespective of the fact that Fair Price shops are premised within two kilometres distance of each card holders housing, the PDS food grain goes to the black market.

Dame pointed that the departments of food and supplies in northern India were facing difficulties in providing ration after roads had been cut off due massive flash floods in August 2010.  In addition, tailor-made regional policies and programmes are needed to face the specific challenges in high mountain regions.

In 2016, the state brought forward a new food scheme entitled the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed Food Entitlement Schemes (MMSFES) for Priority and Non-Priority households. It means that families would get additional l kg of gran. But Non-Priority households are not considered a segment of the new scheme as rice prices are high and the quantity is less.

Alam(2010) in the study of planning and implementation of NREGA in Jammu and Kashmir highlighted several crucial issues but major point of view was that at  minimum wage level, the demand for NREGA work would be low.  The mode of payment was cash in Poonch and it was mix of cash and bank (ATM card) transaction in Kupwara. The problem in getting full wages was reported only 47 percent in Kupwara.

In Government of India CMDM report of Jammu and Kashmir field study of Udhampur district (2010) children were of the opinion that the meals provided were of good quality and  they had better access to drinking water. In my recent visit in February 2018 to  Udhampur, Jammu and Reasi districts, the school buildings were good, proper toilet facility of boys and girls was availablr , some schools had their own kitchens and some schools had centralised kitchen buildings. The children were happy with the Mid-day meals.

Nazni studied the effects of mid-day meals in Budgam and Baramula districts in Kashmir, the study highlighted issues about the intellectual and social development of school children. In addition, irregular attendance of children, distribution of poor quality of food items, less number of students and inadequacy of class room and teachers lead to difficult circumstances.Khera strongly suggest that preferences hinged on the implementation performance of the TPDS: in states where the system worked poorly people preferred cash, where existing food distribution worked well larger shares of people preferred food.  Ghatak points that a lot of opposition to schemes like the UBI reflects the worry that they will displace other anti-policies.

To the extent that is not the case, why not try it out, at least on a scale that is affordable. Mahendran is of the opinion that he subsidy schemes which are working fairly in a particular State should not be disturbed and only those subsidised Schemes which are not working effectively must be replaced by DBT. For instance, household survey conducted in Puducherry and Chandigarh revealed that people were happy with the existing PDS but the PDS was replaced by DBT Scheme.  Therefore, the bundle of subsidy Schemes should be State specific. This implies that the amount given to targeted households should differ from one state to another.

It more difficult in a state like Jammu and Kashmir to commit to Universal Basic Income for the poor people living Below Poverty Line (BPL) and AAY cardholders. But the choice of schemes continues to remain a decision taken by state government.  Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu announced in 2017 Budget speech to plan for Universal Basic Income. It will not only eliminate leakages but also reduce cost of delivery system of welfare schemes.

Finally, it is believed that Basic Income scheme will be functioning across the state in future and lead to better results as a cost effective welfare scheme.


Did you like the story? Go ahead and support the cause of independent journalism. DONATE NOW



Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Posted in SPECIAL ESSAY | Tagged BPL, INCOME, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, PDS

Related Posts

kashmir-armySuppressed Childhood Amidst Violence→

_8bd70d46-fa24-11e7-a1cf-7dff4aec86faPDS in Tamil Nadu: A Search for Alternatives→

dbtCan Policies Work Without Structural Transformation?→

5597CEF2-1C65-4B4B-B49E-E6EC96DA3DF7My City, My Himalayan Village and Narratives of Existence→

  • Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SUPPORT US:

The New Leam has no external source of funding. For retaining its uniqueness, its high quality, its distinctive philosophy we wish to reduce the degree of dependence on corporate funding. We believe that if individuals like you come forward and SUPPORT THIS ENDEAVOR can make the magazine self-reliant in a very innovative way.

DONATE NOW

To contribute an article to The New Leam, please write to thenewleam@gmail.com

Recent Posts

  • CONVERSATION WITH ROSHEN DALAL : Writing History for Young Minds Dr. Roshen Dalal

    Writing History for Young Minds A well-known historian and writer Roshen Dalal was born in Mussoorie, India. She did her PhD in ancient Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New […]

  • The Renewed Need of Peace Movements in an Antagonistic World    9th June 1939:  Indian thinker, statesman and nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1869 - 1948), centre, waiting for a car outside Bifla House, Bombay, on his return from Rajkoy. Amongst the group with him are Pandit Nehru (1869 - 1964) (left) and Vallabhai Patel (right).  (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

    Gandhi as a political thinker and philosopher emphasized throughout his works on the evergreen importance of peace movements for a conflict-ridden world. Even today we continue to be desperately in search of such a movement that unites the internal and the external aspects of human existence into a peaceful and harmonious reality. In this thought-provoking piece, the author compels us to revisit this critical question and work towards a peace movement that addresses the issues of the contemporary world.

    Bharat Dogra

  • The Idea of Indianness By Dr. Jeebanlata Salam jibn

    With a critique of the dominant historiography and sensitivity to diversity and folk traditions, particularly of India’s north east, the article makes us rethink the idea of Indianness and nationalism. […]

  • And the Death of Wonder By Nutan Upadhyay 448ebc18

    Recently we raise a debate on the nature of science education in the age of technological seduction. Here is a response that reveals how technocratic consciousness is killing the critical […]

  • Not Merely the Demolition of Lenin’s Statue: The Rise of the Authoritarian Personality 1045708421 (1)

    In this argumentative piece, the author has pleaded for an open society, and warned us of the danger of authoritarianism as reflected in the normalization of intolerance and violence in our times.

FOLLOW US

 
 
 
  • Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
 

©2018 The New Leam

Menu

  • FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • DEBATE
  • PRINT LATEST
  • CONVERSATIONS
  • EXCERPT
  • ABOUT US
  • FEEDBACK
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.