After a period of inertia and having got a major hit in the last parliament elections, the Modi establishment is coming up with a string of popular steps to keep its electoral base intact and regain lost ground. The Union Cabinet’s decision to extend the ‘free fortified rice’ distribution programme under various welfare schemes like the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana by four years till 2028 December is a welcome step. Large numbers of India’s malnourished people, facing anaemia and micronutrient deficiency, would benefit. The scheme introduced in a phased manner in 2022 has already reached all the target groups. The annual cost involved is over `17,000 crore, which will be borne by the Centre. Healthy people make a nation healthy. However, making a start in such crucial endeavours took time – a shameful three quarters of a century after Independence; and after India global tracking agencies publicised that India fared worse in global poverty, nutrition and other indices; worse than that of several African nations.
The Modi-led establishment has recently unveiled an insurance policy for those above age 70. The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, approved by the Union Cabinet, should benefit over six crore old-age people. The elderly are at a disadvantage here, as they mostly have no income on their own for subsistence. Exceptions are the retired government employees, academicians, the banking sector staff etc., who form the cream of the society. They form only about 10 per cent of the population. The call for One Nation One Pension remains unheeded in a nation whose Constitution promises ‘equal opportunities’ to all. The doles, of a maximum of Rs 2000 per person on offer in some states, is a pittance considering the fact that money value has fallen sharply. India’s total GST collection a year is now around Rs 10 trillion – meaning, taxes collected from each individual even from purchases like soap and matchboxes. This huge income must be properly used for the good of the nation and welfare of its people in a matching measure. Tax evasion is still rampant. If this is plugged, the annual collections could double or treble.
Doles must be given only to the weak – the elderly, the disabled, those from the depressed segments of the society – and not to those who can afford to work and earn. Else, the nation is burdened with a lazy generation. Today, doles are given to even those who are well off. This is the way politicians, mainly some regional satraps, woo people to win or retain power. The attempt by the Supreme Court to cry a halt to such unhealthy practices did not succeed. A line must be drawn – thus far and no further – when it comes to government largesse to the people.
