Appeared on Monday 11 August 2025 | Indian Express | New Delhi Edition

Election-bound Bihar has just announced a generous pension hike from 400 Rs to 1,100 Rs for its elderly, widowed, and disabled citizens. Come election season, such announcements are not just expected but also eagerly anticipated. The trend of populist welfare is Global, and India is no exception. Though these political philanthropies provide short-term income support, they also raise a fundamental question: Should India remain trapped in fragmented, populist welfare politics, or is it time to build a unified, rights-based, and economically sustainable social security system that fuels the economy and not burns it? Can the “Digital India” ecosystem be leveraged to deliver smart social security governance that empowers and uplifts? The answer is important for the future of over half of India’s population, who are under the age of 28 and aspire to live a developed nation dream, and about one-fifth of the elderly population, who will need support by 2047. 

Preference for Doles Over Design

ILO Director-General recently lauded ‘cash and non-cash protection schemes of India in laying out a robust social protection framework that covers 64.3% i.e. 92 crore people as per ILO-Stats 2025. ILO hailed India as “a model for the rest of the world” and “inspiration for other nations to improve their own social protection systems”. Ongoing ILO-Phase II survey for India reveals that it has surpassed 100 crore beneficiary figures. This milestone is the cumulative result of numerous schemes launched by both the Central and State Governments, notably Ayushman Bharat, PM Ayush Yojana, PM-GKAY, the e-Shram portal, PM-Atal Pension Yojana (PM-APY), and PM-SVANidhi, among others. According to one estimate, there are over 34 major social protection schemes, 24 pension schemes, and several independent welfare initiatives by States.

The International Labour Organization's (ILO) World Social Protection Report (2021) initially estimated India's coverage at 24.4%, only later adjusting it to 48.8% after the Government highlighted the extent of state-level programs. When even the ILO gets messed up with data, imagine the mesh citizen’s face when looking for their scattered entitlements. While these schemes have undoubtedly made impact, their full potential remains untapped in the absence of coherence, ease of reach, and cross-scheme interoperability. 

Blame it on competitive populism, India’s social security governance faces the risk of being shaped more by short-term political adventures than development of a long-term sustainable social protection system. 

Hurdles for a national system

Towards meeting the political and economic goals, it is crucial that these schemes not only support citizens in isolation but also help build their capacity to contribute to the economy today and drive the future growth. Currently India’s amorphous and unorganized social security ecosystem is a salad of constitutional mandate, political expediency and international commitments. The ILO’s underestimation of the total social protection coverage highlighted the need for integrated data, prompting the launch of India’s Social Protection Data Pooling Exercise in March 2025. The Labour & Employment Ministry has identified several states i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Gujarat for data consolidation at the Central level. 

While the data integration exercise progresses, the pressing challenge, however, is about optimizing scattered schemes. This includes eliminating duplications, identifying the right beneficiaries, and investing in capacity building and market ready skill sets of our working population to grow the pie, rather than compete over its pieces. A related challenge is the need to reimagine direct transfers not as isolated, consumptive payouts, but as self-multiplying instruments, where one entitlement has the potential to unlock access to others. For example, could pension benefits be extended to include education allowances for grandchildren of the elderly? The ILO recognizes this principle of integrated social protection, one that goes beyond poverty alleviation to include capacity development and contribution-based sustainability.

Considering that the G-20 New Delhi Declaration calls for “sustainably financed universal social protection coverage,” a unified umbrella under “One Nation, One Social Security governance” presents a promising path forward. It can address current inefficiencies of avoidable administrative costs, duplication, and beneficiary targeting, to make the best of the scarce fiscal resources, simultaneously sparing citizens from running between various units of the Government separately for registrations and benefits. For instance, E-Shram registrations are meant for unorganized workers and EPFO registrations largely cover formal employment competing and filtering where the boundaries blur or overlap. Specified eligibility conditions and lack of interoperability often denies simple benefits envisaged by the Legislators. More complexity is added when similar benevolent legislations like the BOCW Act 1996 also jump to offer similar services to this class of workers. A closer look at many State government schemes shows they often repackage existing benefits under new names, offering little differentiated value.

Learning from international experiences

In its report ‘Successful Social Protection Floor Experiences’ (2011), ILO found several examples like Mexico’s ‘Vivir Mejor’ program to illustrate how integrated national strategy and framework was useful to provide universal social assistance and develop basic capabilities of citizens. Mexico, like India, is a country of great contrasts. Similarly, Brazil’s ‘The Fome Zero’ program brought Unified System of Social Assistance (SUAS) that regulates and organizes social assistance service network in all 26 States, Federal District and 5,564 municipalities. This body runs world famous Bolsa Família’ cash transfer scheme. Ecuador stands out as exemplar for India where multiple social protection schemes existed for decades resulting in sub-optimum coverage and expenditure overload. Ecuador, in 2008 mustered political courage to introduce a constitutional law for inalienable social right and pooled all its multiple schemes under one Umbrella of Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) to oversee, coordinate and administer its multiple schemes. South Korea faced similar challenges in the 1990s and responded by consolidating welfare programs under institutions like the National Pension Service and the National Health Insurance Service. This not only reduced the burden on the Government but also improved service delivery. A similar transition in India where citizens progressively secure pensions, insurance, and healthcare through contributory mechanisms would free up limited government resources to focus on the truly marginalized and on schemes that promote labour skilling and reskilling to capture demographic dividends in time.

One Government approach 

The idea of One Government approach is a food for thought. It moves away from silos, shifting the focus to “collective Outcomes” through a whole-of-government coordination. Collaboration, integration, and coherence are its mantras. It is time to put to best use of Digital India Stack, Aspirational Districts Programme and building on experiences from programs like PM-Gati Shakti. Eliminating overlapping schemes, creating a unified registry, ensuring seamless service, and enabling quick grievance redressal will be its advantages.

This perspective finds place in the ILO Convention-152. The convention highlights that functions of social security is to fight contingency i.e sickness, maternity, paternity, occupational hazards, dismissal indemnity, unemployment, old age, invalidity, disability and death’ and to develop basic capacity. Our constitution through DPSP though also provisions for nearly all public assistance covered under Convention-152. Its manner of delivery, however, needs reimagining.

Central legislations like Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, Employees’ Compensation Act, ESIC Act, BOCW, Maternity Benefit Act provide security to working segments across federal boundaries. Our constitution empowers States too, to frame similar schemes in their own spheres. EPFO one of the central institutions has been leading a social security ecosystem pan India cutting boundaries since decades. It currently maintains around 30 crores accounts with some 8 crores actively contributing. The Cabinet on 1st July 2025 has approved roll out of Employment Linked Incentive Scheme to enhance job creation, employability and social security in all sectors targeting about 3.5 crore jobs in two years. It has chosen EPFO as the vehicle, trusting its capacity at scale. Last financial year, EPFO settled more than 5 crore claims. ESIC similarly is another pillar that delivers at scale. These institutions can be strengthened to mimic Ecuadorian IESS to transition to One Governance System for onboarding welfare measures where the States are partners in adding value as top up rather than reinventing the wheel for small time political gains. In this manner, the model may also pass the scrutiny of our constitutional federalism.  Apart from domestic needs our diaspora also needs support to consolidate their social security rights as they switch between domestic and international assignments in the Global world. Towards this India has entered in 20 bilateral social security agreements and EPFO has been roped in for service delivery as the nodal agency.

Towards Smart Social Security

Our collective resolve to be ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 depends upon several factors. One of them is financial security during sunset days, that is gracefully earned and not sought in distress. For this a coordinated governance structure which though is developing, needs to be fast forwarded. The cash transfers planned by any unit of the Government be it the states or the centre can be routed through say UAN of EPFO. A certain percentage of such ‘transfers’ can be used for Provident Fund, Pension and Insurance. Such contributions have the potential to defer immediate consumption towards building many meaningful self-chosen areas of reskilling or education, pooling all social transfers in one basket.  As a caution, any move towards a unified social security governance model, must be federated, flexible, and incentive driven with autonomy to factor unique social realities through a plug and play model supported by digital infrastructures of Aadhaar, UAN, and E-Shram. This will offer structural unity furthering both ease of living and ease of governance. Like the GST rollout, the Centre could offer performance-linked fiscal incentives to encourage state participation.

Through bold political consensus, this transition can become one of India's most transformative governance reforms since independence, offering citizens not just entitlements, but long-term economic dignity and economic security. Whether India's political leadership and indeed, its electorate, are ready for this shift remains the key question.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-india-needs-a-unified-welfare-state-10181724/ 

Governance Betrayal

Most keenly watched speech of the Prime Minister this 15^th August was specifically noticed for his comments on OROP. In exact words, the PM said “The issue of One Rank One Pension (OROP) has come before every government, each one has considered its proposal, and each and every government has made promises on it, but the problem is still pending to be resolved. After my assuming office as Prime Minister I have not been able to do this by now”.

Through the honest confession of helplessness in inking a decision on OROP, the most decisive leader of “Team India” belittled both the glory of the Red Fort and the occasion of 15^th August that signifies liberation. The red stone mammoth, must have wailed in humiliation when this lament came from no other than a leader, armed with a historic majority of 282 parliamentarians with practically no opposition. The reiteration of his in-principle commitment to OROP while was appreciated, the criminal delay in its implementation has left the nation to debate the compelling reasons behind sluggishness in policy implementations.

The surrender to “due process” by a man, who is convinced of “minimum government and maximum governance”, is not music to any ear that craves for responsive governance. It is definitely though a rude provocation to inquire into why implementation process in government is so painful, fractured and time consuming. The OROP issue surely is not a singular example.

The sordid treatment given to high profile 26/11 attacks is another in recent memory. The then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram termed the attacks, “a game-changer” “Zero tolerance” on terrorism, and assured of adequate resources for a “swift and decisive response” in future. Five years after this, Amir Khan, writing for the Indian Express in November 2014, reported that the Bombay High Court expressed displeasure for not carrying out changes to weapon policy even after the experience of the 26/11 terror attacks that left many police personnel dead as they were not adequately armed. A sense of betrayal thus is the common man’s conclusion.

Why this state of affairs?

One answer came from the man himself. On an earlier occasion the PM said “When I came to Delhi and noticed an insider view, I felt what it was and I was surprised to see it. It seemed as if dozens of separate governments are running at the same time in one main government. It appeared that everyone has its own fiefdom. I could observe disunity and conflict among them”.

No wonder, the judicial forums in the country are clogged with litigations borne out of indifference and inaction on the part of the Government (s). In terms of numbers, as on 01.03.2015 there were 61,300 cases pending before the Supreme Court - the highest judicial forum. Attributing this to growth, largely to transparency and an informed citizenry of recent times would be a fallacy. Let us face it; something somewhere is terribly wrong in the process of Governance.

Where does the malaise lie then?

The malaise probably is not with the vision and directions of the leadership. The rot lies with rusting institutions or implementation agencies that lack a system of accountability. There has been a remarkable growth in internalisation of the paradigm that procrastinating a decision or opting for a “group insurance” by forming committees is a safe, sustainable and profitable idea. The sense of urgency and responsibility, much needed in the current phase of development therefore has evaporated from a bureaucracy that is cushioned with security of job, tenure-linked promotion and secured pension.

In the fast changing world, where tweets shape news, decision making needs to be smarter, for India to attain and maintain a competitive edge over peer nations. For smart governance we need smart system that encourages performers and penalizes lousy souls. Sadly today’s “meritocratic bureaucracy” promotes only unblemished seniority in terms of number of years of attendance in office. The senior most bureaucratic position is occupied by virtue of an over rated rank, secured “once upon a time”. The methodology of seniority by the rank at the time of entry is designed to frustrate any attempts to count real life accomplishments that made a positive difference in the lives of citizens in the process of elevation in the career. Thus it is ensured that the soaring eagle of bureaucracy is the loyal rule book follower and not the one who is a continuously inquisitive, innovative and passionate learner.

The creamy Indian Administrative Service that leads shaping of decision making, oblivious of changing needs of the society is singularly keen in securing its own fort than open new vistas. With few exceptions, it has become more of an “Indian Hopping Service” having mastered the art of quickly slipping out of scene at the time of reckoning accountability. The result without a coordinated approach to setting objectives and standards, and no means of measuring public satisfaction, government initiatives are operated on an inconsistent basis with limited emphasis on improvements. The citizen expectation that their Bureaucracy will ensure professionalism and responsiveness in efficiently serving political governments is almost at its nadir. No wonder, secure jobs fail to earn positive appreciation by the general public.

On the political front, this loss of control over the implementing agencies can be detrimental to highly competitive politics that has been seen to be overthrown over trivialities like “price of onions” leave apart serious issues. The imperfections in arriving at intelligent and workable policy options towards quenching public demand by the bureaucracy apart from impacting public good, has the real threat of marring political careers of achievers in politics, who have a long road ahead.

The Road ahead

The structure and working of bedraggled bureaucracy therefore needs a ruthless inspection. The principles taught to a beginner in economics, in this context if put to practice holds a promise. On the global scale, the human development of recent decades achieved through competition in markets is indicative of the virtue of Competition. Competition has been central to the growth of markets, fostering innovation, productivity and growth. This in turn has lead to creation of wealth and a concomitant reduction of poverty. The resource-less nation known as a little red dot on the world map called Singapore is a practitioner of this idea of healthy competition. Any one returning from Singapore can vouch for its success that transformed a nation into the shortest span of time in recent history. In a unique successful implementation, Singapore bureaucracy ensures that only the best reaches the top. And let us not be surprised to take note that a junior in reality has an opportunity to supervise his one-time boss.

Another way forward is to take learnings from the Dubai Government Excellence Programme (DGEP).  The DGEP recognises and rewards exceptional government employees, departments and initiatives on a yearly basis. Distinguished Team Performance, Distinguished Administrative Initiative, Distinguished Government Employee, Innovators are specific category awards amongst others to recognise and encourage a bureaucracy to be responsive, responsible and accountable. Measuring progress has become something of a positive obsession for the Dubai Government. The DGEP has become a widely admired and followed programme, not only within government circles, but has also interestingly attracted interest from the private sectors. Much to its credit, the DGEP won the United Nations Public Service Award in 2007.

Home-made prescription towards transforming the Indian bureaucracy is contained in the recommendation of Administrative Reforms Commission that essentially argues for infusing competition. It is time to dust it. To translate “Maan ki baat” into “Kaam ki Baat”, taking the bull by the horns is the key. The bureaucracy then will be seen to be run dispassionately by passionate professionals whose identity is merit and not those three letter suffixes after names, and who in the words of our man at 7 Race Course Road are not an assembled entity, but an organic unity, an organic entity, a harmonious whole- with one aim, one mind, one direction, one energy. 

Published on 13th Sep by a friend who picked it up from here for a surprise birth day gift.

http://epaper.centralchronicle.com/index.php?pgno=4&date1=2015-09-13