Issues related to the vulnerable
Source: The Economic Times
Context:
The authors talk about the need for revamping the National Family Benefit Scheme.
Editorial Insights:
Recently yet another plight of a migrant labor family showcased the failure of the National Family Benefit Scheme in providing a safety net.
National Family Benefit Scheme:
The NFBS was launched in 1995 under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) to help the bereaved household in the event of the death of the breadwinner.
Rs 20000 will be given as lump sum emergence assistance to the bereaved family.
The eligibility:
The household has to be BPL.
The bereaved person has to be the primary breadwinner & is to be in the age bracket of 18-64 years.
The issues with NFBS:
- The Rs 20000 is insufficient for a family to survive. At the same time, the meager 20,000 benefit does not ensure the dignified survival of a poor family that has lost its breadwinner.
- The scheme's restrictive eligibility of BPL & formalities is often forbidding to help even to the minute percentage.
- Lack of transparency & accountability further delayed the meager help needed for the family.
- The NFBS budget over the years has been stagnated, making it impossible to expand its coverage or raise the benefits.
- For instance, the central expenditure on NFBS declined from Rs 862 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 623 in 2020-21.
- Some criticize that the center has been deliberately undermining NSAP (including NFBS) to promote contributory schemes such as the Atal Pension Yojana.
- However, even the contributory schemes are not attractive for the poorest of the poor because of various reasons.
- Govt has ignored the Mihir Shah committee recommendations to increase coverage & benefits of NFBS.
Steps needed to revamp the NFBS:
- There is a need to increase the amount of emergency assistance from Rs, 20000.
- Experts want the NFBS benefits to be pegged at 80% of India’s per-capita GDP i.e. approximately Rs 1 lakh.
- There is an urgent need for removing the restriction to BPL households because
- BPL lists are outdated, unreliable & full of exclusion errors in most states.
- The NFBS scheme should use the exclusion approach whereby the privileged households are excluded using simple & transparent criteria.
- Further, the NFBS formalities are needed to be simplified, transparent & people-friendly.
- The main responsibility for identifying eligible families rests with the gram Panchayat or municipality.
- There is a need for compensation in the event of delays that would help to ensure timely disbursal of benefits.
- The most important step is to increase the NFBS budget to cater to the increased coverage & benefits.
Conclusion:
The absence of any form of life insurance for the poorest of the poor is a gaping hole in India’s budding social security system. A revamped & robust NFBS would bring a big difference to the life of the vulnerable.
