Context: Pandemic witnessed the plight of urban poor, resulting in demands for formulation social security net comparable to rural counterparts.
Need for urban social security net
Distress within India’s labour force: Increase in agricultural workforce: As per Periodic Labour Force Survey over the previous round in 2017-18 for the first time in the National Sample Survey’s history.
Concerns compounded by pandemic: Causing loss of employment due to closure of factories, industries compared to rural as agriculture remains mostly unaffected due to pandemic. This led to reverse migration.
Governance-related issues:
Parliamentary standing committee on labour argued that “the plight of urban poor has not received much attention from the government”.
Most welfare connected to specific locations, and in particular “home” villages.
Inability to expand welfare net amidst pandemic: As fiscal burden would become unmanageable.
Way forward
Devise urban MNREGA: As recommended by Parliamentary standing committee.
Account for differences in pattern of work and distress across rural and urban areas: Look beyond 100-day job guarantee as work in urban areas are not seasonal and there are many manual labourers in urban areas. (In place of casual labourers in rural areas.)
Expand welfare net: “One nation, one ration card” during the pandemic revealed the need to design welfare systems that are transferable and mobile. This need to be expanded.
Initiate urban wage support programmes: Some states have already started experimenting with urban wage support programmes. New studies and pilot implementations are to be devised.
Long term vision: Should be structural solutions like upskilling and lifelong learning.