Day 39 – Q. 3 What measures can be taken to improve the accountability and transparency of welfare schemes for vulnerable populations, and ensure that resources allocated for these schemes reach their intended beneficiaries? Share your thoughts.

What measures can be taken to improve the accountability and transparency of welfare schemes for vulnerable populations, and ensure that resources allocated for these schemes reach their intended beneficiaries? Share your thoughts.

कमजोर आबादी के लिए कल्याणकारी योजनाओं की जवाबदेही और पारदर्शिता में सुधार के लिए क्या उपाय किए जा सकते हैं और यह सुनिश्चित किया जा सकता है कि इन योजनाओं के लिए आवंटित संसाधन उनके इच्छित लाभार्थियों तक पहुंचे? अपने विचार साझा करें।

Approach

In this question candidates need to write their thoughts on  what measures can be taken to improve accountability and transparency for welfare schemes for vulnerable population  and ensure that schemes reach their intended beneficiaries .

Introduction

India is considered to be a welfare state and government bring  schemes that  play a crucial role in solving many socioeconomic problems in  Indian society, however measures need to taken to improve accountability and transparency in these schemes and ensuring that these  schemes reached to intended beneficiaries.

Body

Measures taken to improve unacceptability and transparency of welfare schemes –

• Transparency and accountability in governance may lead to significant changes in work culture, resulting in more concern for society.
• Information: Accountability and transparency provide a new method of giving real-time information through an online dashboard. This not only answers people’s issues, but it also improves service quality.

Initiatives To Enhance Transparency In India

• Right to Information Act, Right to Public Service Legislation, Citizens Charters, e-Governance, and e-procurement are some of India’s major initiatives to improve transparency.

Right to Information (RTI) Act:

• It is an act of the Indian Parliament that establishes the laws and procedures for citizens’ access to information. It took the place of the previous Freedom of Information Act of 2002.
• Under the RTI Act, any Indian citizen may seek information from a “public authority” (a government entity or “state instrumentality”), which is supposed to respond promptly or within thirty days.

Right to Public Services legislation:

• It consists of statutory laws that ensure timely delivery of services for a variety of government services provided to citizens, as well as a system for disciplining errant public servants who fail to provide the service required by the statute.

Citizen’s Charter:

• A Citizens’ Charter represents the commitment of the Organization towards standard, quality, and time frame of service delivery, grievance redress mechanism, transparency, and accountability.

E-Governance:

• It is defined as the use of information and communication technology (ICT) at all levels of government to provide citizens with services, interact with businesses, and communicate and exchange information between different government departments in a timely, efficient, and transparent manner.

E-Procurement:

• Central Public Procurement Portal is a robust and secured platform offering full transparency in public procurement for the Government of India, most States, and Local Governments across India.

Initiatives To Enhance Accountability In India

• Lokpal and Lokayukta
• In the Republic of India, a Lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or ombudsman agency that represents the public interest.
• Lokayukta, is appointed by and for each of India’s State Governments.
• Lokpal has jurisdiction over the central government to investigate charges of corruption against its public officials and other corruption-related matters.
• Lokayukta comes into action in a state after the state legislature passes the Lokayukta Act and a person with a good reputation is nominated for the position and demonstrating the availability of justice to socially disadvantaged parties

Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS):

• Public Problems Redressal is one of the hallmark efforts for governance reform launched by the Indian central government by addressing the grievances of the general public.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances established CPGRAMS in June 2007.
• Any citizen of India can use the public grievance process to bring their problems, grievances, or requests to the attention of national and state government Ministries and Departments.

Initiatives for ensuring schemes reached to intended beneficiaries –

Persons with Disabilities

Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan:

• Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program that is launched by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) to serve the differently-able community of the country.
• The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies.

Women-

• Swadhar Greh Scheme:
• Implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development
• For rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances.
• The scheme covers women who are deserted and without any social and economic support, women victims of domestic violence, family tension, and natural disaster

MGNREGA:

• The major objective of MGNREGS is to enhance employment opportunities and increase wage rates to provide livelihood security for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized leading to a reduction of poverty in rural areas.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana:

• The financial inclusion program of the Government of India open to Indian citizens, which aims to expand affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance, and pensions.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana:

• Flagship scheme of the Government of India to extend affordable credit to micro and small enterprises.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana:

• To provide free access to healthcare for 40% of people in the country.
• PMJAY aims to provide healthcare to 10.74 crore poor families.
• Aims to help economically vulnerable Indians who require healthcare facilities

Street vendors-

• PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi):
• To empower street vendors by not only extending loans to them but also for their holistic development and economic upliftment.

Homeless-

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana:
• Aims to provide houses for the homeless.
• It also offers an interest subsidy for home loans for first-time buyers in urban areas.

National Social Assistance Programme:

• It is a welfare program being administered by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• Provides financial assistance to the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities in the form of social pensions.

PM-KISAN Scheme:

• PM Kisan is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% funding from the Government of India.
• Under the scheme, income support of 6,000/- per year in three equal installments will be provided to small and marginal farmer families having combined landholding/ownership of up to 2 hectares.
• The fund will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Conclusion-

The poor implementation of social schemes in the State have resulted in wasteful government expenditure and limited access to beneficiaries,government entitlements should reach all intended beneficiaries, without leaving anyone out. But the government will have to bridge two major gaps in the country’s social protection delivery in order to achieve it: information and accountability.