Below are some of the efforts put through by the Indian judiciary to eradicate poverty from the nation:
Right to Education, Work and Equal Pay
Education for children, youth, and women must come first in the effort to end poverty in the country. It will be challenging for a nation to develop and end poverty without education. The Indian Constitution has evolved about this matter and is taking it seriously for the advancement of the country and the eradication of poverty. The provision of free education up to the age of 14 was included in Article 45 of Directive Principles of State Policy, which is where the right to education was first recognised as a directive concept rather than a component of a basic right.
Right to Employment : In addition to guaranteeing the right to an education, Article 41 of the Constitution also mentions the right to employment in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy).
Additionally, Article 39 of the Constitution expressly and specifically calls on the state to implement policies that uphold values like “Equal rights of men and women to adequate means of livelihood” and “Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.” At this point, it’s crucial to realise that to lift the nation out of poverty, everyone — men and women alike — will need to find employment. Therefore, it won’t be beneficial for the country if women are denied access to education and employment.
Right to Equality and Dignity for Poor People
The rights of its citizens are firmly established by the Indian Constitution, which also serves as a binding legal document. In the eyes of the law, everyone, rich or poor, must be treated equally. The Indian Constitution states the rights that are accessible to all populations, including all of the impoverished people in the nation, in Articles 14 and 21. Article 14’s goal is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally in all situations, including when it comes to privileges granted and obligations placed upon them. According to Article 14, the state must “give equal protection of the law” and must not “deny to any people equality before the law.” The court said that in reading Article 14, the right to equality cannot be arbitrarily denied to equals in the absence of a legal categorization and that a person’s financial situation is not always a justification for discrimination.
When addressing Article 21, the Supreme Court stated that the right to a life with dignity embraces all of humankind and is one of the more exquisite aspects of human civilization that makes life worthwhile. As a result, the Constitution ensure that the law protects the rights and dignity of the underprivileged.
Right to Food, Livelihood and Housing
Despite not being specifically addressed in the Constitution, the right to food has been protected by Article 21 since it is essential to living a life with dignity. The relationship between Article 21 and Articles 39(a) and 47 makes it evident how the Constitution requires the state to improve the standard of living and nutritional status of its citizens. Food is a significant means of subsistence within the definition of means of livelihood as stated in Article 39(a).
Various Central Government Schemes for Assisting the Poor:
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is part of the National Mission on Financial Inclusion, to ensure comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country by providing universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic bank account to every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility. Under this, a person not having a savings account can open an account without the requirement of any minimum balance and, in case they self-certify that they do not have any of the officially valid documents required for opening a savings account, they may open a small account.
Further, to expand the reach of banking services, all of over 6 lakh villages in the country were mapped into 1.59 lakh Sub Service Areas (SSAs), with each SSA typically comprising of 1,000 to 1,500 households, and in the 1.26 lakh SSAs that did not have a bank branch, Bank Mitras were deployed for branchless banking. Thus, PMJDY offers unbanked persons easy access to banking services and awareness about financial products through financial literacy programmes. In addition, they receive a RuPay debit card, with inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh, and access to overdraft facility upon satisfactory operation of account or credit history of six months.
All eligible account holders can access through their bank accounts personal accident insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, life insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, and guaranteed minimum pension to subscribers under Atal Pension Yojana.
The Bank Mitra network has also gained in strength and usage. The average number of transactions per Bank Mitra, on the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System operated by Bank Mitras, has risen by over eightyfold, from 52 transactions in 2014-15 to 4,291 transactions in 2016-17.
From Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha
For creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor and the under-privileged, three Social Security Schemes in the Insurance and Pension sectors are applicable since 2015.
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
The PMJJBY is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit. Aadhar is the primary KYC for the bank account. The life cover of Rs. 2 lakh is for the one year period stretching from 1st June to 31st May and is renewable. Risk coverage under this scheme is for Rs. 2 lakh in case of death of the insured, due to any reason. The premium is Rs. 436 per annum which is to be auto-debited in one installment from the subscriber’s bank account as per the option given by him on or before 31st May of each annual coverage period under the scheme. The scheme is being offered by the Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with banks for this purpose. As on 30.06.2022, cumulative gross enrollment reported by banks subject to verification of eligibility, etc. is over 13.11 crore under PMJJBY. A total of 6,21,372 claims were registered under PMJJBY of which 5,92,192 have been disbursed.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
The Scheme is available to people in the age group 18 to 70 years with a bank account who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit on or before 31st May for the coverage period 1st June to 31st May on an annual renewal basis. Aadhar would be the primary KYC for the bank account. The risk coverage under the scheme is Rs. 2 lakh for accidental death and full disability and Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability. The premium of Rs.20 per annum is to be deducted from the account holder’s bank account through ‘auto-debit’ facility in one instalment. The scheme is being offered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies or any other General Insurance Company who are willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with banks for this purpose. As on 30.06.2022, cumulative gross enrolment reported by Banks subject to verification of eligibility, etc. is over 29.01 crore under PMSBY. A total of 1,26,505 Claims were registered under PMSBY of which 1,00,052 have been disbursed.
Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
A pension program that allows people to make voluntary contributions within a certain range with a matching government contribution to receive pension in the future. APY is open to all saving bank/post office saving bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years and the contributions differ, based on pension amount chosen. Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 or Rs. 5,000 at the age of 60 years. Under APY, the monthly pension would be available to the subscriber, and after him to his spouse and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber, would be returned to the nominee of the subscriber. The minimum pension would be guaranteed by the Government, i.e., if the accumulated corpus based on contributions earns a lower than estimated return on investment and is inadequate to provide the minimum guaranteed pension, the Central Government would fund such inadequacy. Alternatively, if the returns on investment are higher, the subscribers would get enhanced pensionary benefits.
In the event of pre-mature death of the subscriber, Government has decided to give an option to the spouse of the subscriber to continue contributing to APY account of the subscriber, for the remaining vesting period, till the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 years. The spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the spouse. After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age 60 of the subscriber. As on 31st March, 2019, a total of 149.53 lakh subscribers have been enrolled under APY with a total pension wealth of Rs. 6,860.30 crore.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
The scheme was launched on 8th April 2015. Under the scheme a loan of upto Rs. 50,000 is given under sub-scheme ‘Shishu’; between Rs. 50,000 to 5.0 Lakhs under sub-scheme ‘Kishore’; and between 5.0 Lakhs to 10.0 Lakhs under sub-scheme ‘Tarun’. Loans taken do not require collaterals. These measures are aimed at increasing the confidence of young, educated or skilled workers who would now be able to aspire to become first generation entrepreneurs; existing small businesses, too, will be able to expand their activates. As on 31.03.2019, Rs. 3,21,722 crores sanctioned (Rs. 142,345 cr. – Shishu, Rs. 104,386 cr. Kishore and Rs. 74,991 cr. – Tarun category), in 5.99 crores accounts.
Stand Up India Scheme
Government of India launched the Stand Up India scheme on 5th April, 2016. The Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one Woman borrower per bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprises. This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector. The scheme which is being implemented through all Scheduled Commercial Banks is to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers. The scheme is operational and the loan is being extended through Scheduled Commercial Banks across the country.
Stand Up India scheme caters to promoting entrepreneurship amongst women, SC & ST category i.e those sections of the population facing significant hurdles due to lack of advice/mentorship as well as inadequate and delayed credit. The scheme intends to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these underserved sectors of the population in starting greenfield enterprises. It caters to both ready and trainee borrowers.
To extend collateral free coverage, Government of India has set up the Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand Up India (CGFSI). Apart from providing credit facility, Stand Up India Scheme also envisages extending handholding support to the potential borrowers. It provides for convergence with Central/State Government schemes. Applications under the scheme can also be made online on the dedicated Stand Up India portal(www.standupmitra.in). As on 31.03.2019, Rs. 16,085 crore has been sanctioned in 72,983 accounts (59,429 – women, 3,103-ST and 10,451 – SC).
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana
The ‘Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) has been launched by the Government to protect elderly persons aged 60 years and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions, as also to provide social security during old age. The scheme is implemented through the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and open for subscription upto 31st March, 2023.
PMVVY offers an assured rate of return 7.40% per annum for the financial year 2020-21 for policy duration of 10 years. In subsequent years, while the scheme is in operation, there will be annual reset of assured rate of return with effect from April 1st of the financial year in line with applicable rate of return of Senior Citizens Saving Scheme(SCSS) upto a ceiling of 7.75% with fresh appraisal of the scheme on breach of this threshold at any point.
Mode of pension payment under the Yojna is on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual basis depending on the option exercised by the subscriber. Minimum purchase price under the scheme is Rs. 1,62,162/- for a minimum pension of Rs. 1000/- per month and the maximum purchase price is Rs. 15 lakh per senior citizen for getting a pension amount of Rs. 9,250/- per month.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005
MGNREGA, earlier known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NREGA, is an Indian social welfare measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’. This act was passed on 23 August 2005[1] and was implemented in February 2006 .
It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to at least one member of every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Women are guaranteed one third of the jobs made available under the MGNREGA. Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets (such as roads, canals, ponds and wells). Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence, and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance. That is, if the government fails to provide employment, it has to provide certain unemployment allowances to those people. Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement. Apart from providing economic security and creating rural assets, other things said to promote NREGA are that it can help in protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration, and fostering social equity, among others.
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Aawas Yojana
Previously Indira Awas Yojana (lit. ’Indira’s Housing Scheme’), is a social welfare programme, created by the Indian Government, to provide housing for the rural poor in India. A similar scheme for urban poor was launched in 2015 as Housing for All by 2022. Under the PMGAY scheme, financial assistance worth ₹120,000 (US$1,500) in plain areas and ₹130,000 (US$1,600) in difficult areas (high land area) is provided for construction of houses. These houses are equipped with facilities such as toilet, LPG connection, electricity connection, and drinking water [convergence with other schemes e.g., Swachh Bharat Abhiyan toilets, Ujjwala Yojana LPG gas connection, Saubhagya Yojana electricity connection, etc.]. The houses are allotted in the name of the woman or jointly between husband and wife. The construction of the houses is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary and engagement of contractors is strictly prohibited but in cases where beneficiary is physically disabled then it is the responsibility of block level officer to provide full assistance in construction of house under PMAY gramin. Sanitary latrine and smokeless Chullah are required to be constructed along with each IAY house for which additional financial assistance is provided from “Total Sanitation Campaign” and “Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana” (Which is now subsumed by Deen Dayal Upadhaya Gram Jyoti Yojana) respectively. This scheme, operating since 1985, provides subsidies and cash-assistance to people in villages to construct their houses, themselves.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) or otherwise known as Pradhan Mantri Youth Training Program is a skill development initiative scheme of the Government of India for recognition and standardisation of skills.
The aim of the PMKVY scheme is to encourage aptitude towards employable skills and to increase working efficiency of probable and existing daily wage earners, by giving monetary awards and rewards and by providing quality training to them. Average award amount per person has been kept as ₹8,000 (US$100). Those wage earners already possessing a standard level of skill will be given recognition as per scheme and average award amount for them is ₹2000 to ₹2500. In the initial year, a target to distribute ₹15 billion (US$190 million) has been laid down for the scheme. Training programmes have been worked out on the basis of National Occupational Standards (NOS) and qualification packs specifically developed in various sectors of skills. For this qualification plans and quality plans have been developed by various Sector Skill Councils (SSC) created with participation of Industries. National Skill Development Council (NSDC) has been made coordinating and driving agency for the same.
Similarly a multitudes of schemes and facilities are available for the poor. Awareness is necessary to be able to harness the resources for alleviation of poverty.
