How can we move financial privation to the museum?

Listening to Ground Realities

Reetika Khera,

Centre for Development Economics,

Delhi School of Economics

“Nutrition Emergency” in India

Proportion (%) of children aged under 3 years who are

1998-92005-6

Underweight 47 46

Stunted 45 38

Wasted 16 19

Not fully vaccinated 58 56

Anaemic 74 79

Source: Dreze, Khera and Narayanan (2007)

The Legal Framework

o Directive Principles (Articles 39 and 47): The state shallo “in particular, direct its policy towards securing—

o (a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood;”

o “..regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties”

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)

A step towards the right to work, as an aspect of the fundamental right to live with dignity.

Employment on demand: within 15 days Legal right: entitlement to unemployment

allowance Universal entitlement Minimum wages within 15 days of working

NREGA: Employment Generation and

Expenditure

2007-8* 2008-9

Total:

• Employment (crore person-days) 144 216

• Expenditure (Rs. crores) 15,857 27,250

• Expenditure on wage (% of total) 68 67

• Expenditure (as % of GDP) < 0.5 0.7

Employment per rural household

employed on NREGA (person-days): 42 48

* Data pertains to the 330 districts covered under NREGA at the time.

Share (%) of Disadvantaged Groups in NREGA Employment

2007-82008-9

Women: 42 48

Scheduled Tribes (ST): 29 25

Scheduled Castes (SC): 27 29

SC/ST Combined: 56 54

NREGA and “financial privation”

Social security for the able-bodied Women’s empowerment Asset creation in rural areas Financial Inclusion Distress migration Revitalizing Panchayati Raj institutions

NREGA in the Hindi heartland

Findings from a survey in six states

(Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh)

NREGA workers belong to the most disadvantaged social groups

Proportion (%) of sample workers who are:

Men Women

SC/ST 71 75 Illiterate 52 82 In “kachha” homes 81 81 Without electricity 77 62

There is massive demand for NREGA work

Proportion (%) of sample workers who want

At least 100 days of NREGA work 98

NREGA work throughout the year 50

Employment Generation: Big jump…

Average days of NREGA work per sample household in the past 12 months

All survey states 43Interstate variations

Pati (Badwani district) 85 Rajasthan 71 Bihar 23

… but way below demand

Proportion (%) of sample households that got 100 days of NREGA employment

All survey states 14Interstate variations

Pati (Badwani district) 47 Rajasthan 36 Chhattisgarh 1

Women’s participation: Highly unevenProportion (%) of women among sample workers

Rajasthan 71 Madhya Pradesh 44 Chhattisgarh 25 Jharkhand 18 Bihar 13Uttar Pradesh 5

All survey states 32

Empowering women

Proportion (%) of sample women who:*

Collect their own wages 79 (92) Kept their own wages 68 (51) Had no other source of cash

income in the past 3 months 70 (44)

* In brackets, the corresponding figures for men.

Minimum wages: getting there…

Men Women(Rs./day)

Agricultural wages 53 47 Other casual labour 71 53 NREGA wage* 85 85 Minimum wage* 88 88

* Unweighted average of worksite-specific figures.

NREGA: Just “playing with mud?”

Proportion (%) of worksites where the work being done was considered “useful”:

by the labourers 70 by the survey team 81

Proportion (%) of worksites where asset being created was considered “useful” by the survey team: 87

Financial Inclusion and NREGA Accounts opened* 8.84

Of which Joint 7.84 Banks 4.84

Proportion (%) of respondents who preferred accounts to cash payments 85

Concerns: “Business correspondent model” Transparency safeguards

* In crores. Source: www.nrega.nic.in

Awareness levels are still very low

Proportion (%) of sample workers who were aware of their entitlement to:

100 days of work 52 Minimum wage 56 Timely payment of wages 56

Wage Payments: Plenty of complaints

Proportion (%) of worksites where workers had the following complaints:

Delays in wage payment 57 Non-payment of minimum wage 47 Work is too hard 43

“NREGA-2”: Politics vs. Labourers concerns

Issues Low levels of awareness Lack of work Delayed wage payments Poor/non-existent grievance redressal

Recent amendments to the NREGA Renaming of the Act Expansion of list of works

Works on private lands Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras