Poverty alleviation programs in India have long been touted as essential tools in addressing the socio-economic disparities that persist in the nation. However, the efficacy of these initiatives often hinges on the political willpower to implement them effectively. Despite the plethora of well-intentioned programs, their impact remains limited without robust support and commitment from the political leadership. One such major poverty alleviation program in India is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). While MGNREGA aims to provide rural households with at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year, its success is marred by challenges such as inadequate funding, corruption, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. The disparity between policy formulation and on-the-ground implementation is stark, underscoring the importance of political will in translating intentions into tangible outcomes. Political leaders must go beyond mere lip service and actively champion these initiatives, allocating sufficient resources and ensuring transparent governance. Without unwavering political commitment, poverty alleviation programs risk becoming symbolic gestures rather than catalysts for real change. This essay delves into the critical role of political will in determining the effectiveness of poverty alleviation measures, using MGNREGA as a case study to illuminate the challenges and opportunities in bridging the gap between policy intent and actual impact.
Tag: Social justice.
Decoding the Question:
- In Introduction, try to briefly write about the background of various poverty alleviation programmes and status of poverty.
- In Body,
- Mention various poverty alleviation programs and write how these acted as showpieces. Also, mention the success of these programs.
- Write the role of political will for poverty alleviation.
- In Conclusion, shows that a strong political will and effective implementation will lead to poverty alleviation in India.
Answer:
Eradication of poverty remains a major challenge of planned economic development. In the last 15 years, India has seen the adoption of an ‘alphabet soup’ of ambitious national anti-poverty programs. However, the effectiveness of these programs has always been questioned. Below the Poverty Line card, traditionally the main point of access to government welfare schemes has turned out to be a failure. According to reports as many as half of India’s poor households do not even possess a BPL card as their allocations have been discretionary.
Why Poverty Alleviation Programmes Acted as Showpieces:
- There is no systematic attempt to identify people who are in poverty, determine their needs, address them, and enable them to move above the poverty line. For example Lakdawala Committee-based poverty line for 2004-05, 27.5 percent of the population was living in poverty. However, according to the Tendulkar Committee method, 37.2 percent of people were living in poverty.
- The resources allocated to anti-poverty programs are inadequate, thus the targets get curtailed according to fund availability. For example: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) does not provide the guaranteed 100 days of work in many states.
- There is a lack of adequate methods to ensure that programs reach the targeted section.
- The programs lacked an understanding of the chronic nature of poverty, thus unable to address the dynamics of poverty.
- Lack of awareness about the program, no formal system for information dissemination, corruption, and lack of proper implementation.
Performance of these Programmes:
- According to the poverty estimate of 2011-12, 22 percent of the population was below the poverty line, suggesting a sharp reduction compared to the 2004-05 estimates.
- According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), between 2006-2016, over 271 million people in India moved out of poverty, recording the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period.
- As per estimates, the NREGA program has successfully reduced poverty up to 32 percent.
Causes of failure:
- There is no systematic attempt to identify people who are in poverty, determine their needs, address them, and enable them to move above the poverty line.
- There is no commitment by the government to support an individual or a household for getting a minimum level of subsistence through any program.
- The resources allocated to anti-poverty programs are inadequate.
- There is no method to ensure that programs reach everybody they are meant for.
Role of Political Will for Poverty Alleviation:
- Focus on the geographical dimension of poverty, the poor States and districts should be provided with specialized plans and greater assistance. For ex.: the Aspirational District Programme, etc.
- The application of systematic indicators that assess performance-based improvement of the most vulnerable to understand the nature and dynamic of poverty.
- An effective delivery system, transparency in the operation of the schemes and adequate monitoring mechanisms can make schemes more effective. For ex.: The use of a biometric identification system, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), etc.
- Involvement of local government in planning and implementation can reduce the leakages and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the schemes.
- The lack of political commitment needs to be addressed since the upliftment of people from poverty will take many years to achieve, the continuation of these policies irrespective of the ideological differences of the political leaders would go a long way.
The Poverty Alleviation programs in India supplemented the growth effort and protected the poor against adverse consequences. Instead of only estimating the number of poor, the government should give more focus on understanding how and why many people are stuck in poverty. While the experience with such programs is not as encouraging as one envisaged, there have been pockets of good performance which gives enough reason to be hopeful.
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