Disaster Management in India-Institutional Framework

       A terminology developed by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) defines a disaster as “A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.” The Disaster Management Act, 2005 defines a disaster as “a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of human sufferings or damage to, and destruction of property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment and is of such nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the affected area”.

            Disasters are divided into two categories. Natural Disaster and Man Made Disasters. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, tsunami and landslides & avalanches are categorized under natural disasters as these are supposed to be due to natural causes and not directly attributable to human actions although human activities are indirectly responsible for many of them by contributing in the environmental degradation. The second category is the Man-Made Disasters and includes those types of disasters which take place directly due to human actions. These include nuclear disasters, chemical disasters and biological disasters.

            India is a vast country with diverse geographical and climatic conditions and hence different parts are vulnerable to different types of disasters. As per National Disaster Management Policy, 2009, 58.6% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of varying intensity; over 40 million hectares (12% of land) is prone to floods and river erosion; out of our 7516 Km long coastline, about 5700 Km is prone to cyclones and tsunamis; 68% of the cultivable land is prone to drought and hilly areas are prone to landslides and avalanches. Further, possibility of man made disasters like chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters also exists.

Disaster Management

            Disaster management means a systematic response to a disaster. Earlier the approach to disaster was relief centric and was limited to providing relief to the disaster affected area. For the first time, the tenth five year plan devoted a chapter to disaster management. The approach subsequently changed and pre-empting the disaster, assessing disaster risk and taking preventive measures has also become a part of disaster management. The Disaster Management Act was notified on 26^th December 2005 which defines disaster management as “a continuous and integrated process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for-prevention of danger or threat of any disaster; mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences; capacity building; preparedness to deal with any disaster; prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster; assessing the severity of magnitude of effects of any disaster; evacuation, rescue and relief; and rehabilitation and reconstruction.” The Act provided for a dedicated and institutionalized framework to coordinate various aspects of disaster management. A National Policy on Disaster Management, which provided detailed guidelines on disaster management, was announced in 2009.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

            The Disaster Management ACT, 2005 provides for setting up of a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with the Prime Minister as Chairperson. Apart from him there are members whose number shall not exceed nine. One of these can be nominated as Vice-Chairperson of the Authority. Presently, Sh.M. Shashidhar Reddy, a sitting member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly is the Vice-Chairman of the Authority.  NDMA is responsible for laying down policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management for ensuring timely and effective response to disaster.

            NDMA is to be assisted by a National Executive Committee which comprises of Secretaries to the Government of India heading various Ministries or Departments having administrative control over Agriculture, Atomic Energy, Defence, drinking water supply, environment and forests, finance, health, power, rural development, science and technology, space, telecommunication, urban development and water resources. Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee is also a member of the Executive Committee.

            National Executive Committee is responsible for preparing and updating a National Plan for disaster management. The Plan includes measures to be taken for prevention of disasters or the mitigation of their effects; measures to be taken for the integration of mitigation measures in the development plans; measures to be taken for preparedness and capacity building to effectively respond to any threatening disaster situation or disaster; and defining the roles of various departments in respect of these measures.

State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)

         The Disaster Management Act 2005 also provides for setting up of Stage Disaster Management Authorities under the Chairpersonship of the Chief Minister.  State Authority is to be assisted by a State Executive Committee under the Chairpersonship of the Chief Secretary of the State. The Committee shall prepare a State Plan which would include assessment of vulnerability of different parts of the State to different forms of disasters; measures to be adopted for prevention and mitigation of disasters; capacity building; and role of departments of State Government. Apart from the planning aspect it is also involved in taking up and supervising relief and rescue operations at the time of disaster and in disseminating information about any impending disaster.

District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)

           The structure of disaster management institutions goes down to the district level where the responsibility is given to DDMA which is headed by the Collector/District Magistrate with elected representative of the local authority as co-chairperson. DDMA will act as the planning, coordinating and implementing body for disaster management at the district level. It will prepare the District Plan for disaster management in accordance with instructions by NDMA and SDMA. The DDMA will also ensure that the guidelines    for prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response measures laid down by the NDMA and the SDMA are followed by all    the Departments of  the State Government at the District level and the local            authorities in the District.

                           

Local Authority

             For the purpose of disaster management, local authorities would include Panchayati Raj institutions and those agencies which control and manage civic services. These bodies are required to ensure capacity building of their employees for managing disasters and carrying out relief and reconstruction activities in the affected areas.

National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM)

       Capacity building is an important aspect of disaster management. This requires developing human resources to handle disaster management work and undertake studies and research on the subject. Disaster Management Act gives this mandate to the National Institute of Disaster Management. The institute was formed as National Centre for Disaster Management (NCDM) in 1995 but was re-designated  as National Institute of Disaster Management in 2005 after the enacting of the Disaster Management Act. The institute is headed by the Union Home Minister and Vice-Chairman, NDMA also acts as the Vice-President of the Institute. Day to day works are looked after by the Executive Director. The institute has five divisions i.e Geo-Hazard Division; Hydro-Met Hazard Division; Policy Planning and Cross Cutting Issues Division; Response Division; and Administrative and Finance Division.

National Disaster Response Force(NDRF)

            NDRF was constituted in 2006 with 8 battalions drawn from the paramilitary forces. Presently it has strength of 10 battalions. General superintendence of the force vests in NDMA and the force is headed by the Director General of NDRF and Civil Defence. These battalions are positioned at different locations to provide timely response to disaster situations and are available to State Governments at the time of need. The force provides specialized response during disasters, is pro-actively deployed in impending disaster situations, imparts training to state disaster response force personnel and conducts programmes for creating awareness and community capacity building.

Integrated Data Resource Network(IDRN) 

            Integrated Data Resource Network is a database in the electronic form maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The data enlists inventory of equipments and human resources relevant to disaster management. Organizations related with the work update the inventory of equipments, skilled human resources and critical supplies for emergency response. Idea is to make available the information on availability of equipments and human resources required to combat any emergency situation. This database also helps the policy makers to assess the level of preparedness for specific vulnerabilities.

Other Institutional arrangements

• Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities (CCMNC) has been constituted to oversee all aspects relating to the management of natural calamities.
• National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) was created in 2000-01 by the  Govt of India with a corpus fund of Rs.500 crores with an objective of providing assistance to disaster affected states. The fund was replenished with the National Calamity Contingent Duty on certain items such as tobacco products etc. and was operated through a High Level Committee (HLC) which had Finance Minister, as Chairman and the Home Minister, Agriculture Minister & Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission as members. Since 2010, this find has been merged with National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) which is also operated by a High Level Committee with similar composition.
• Armed Forces are called upon to assist the civil administration only when the situation is beyond their coping capability. In practice, however, the armed forces form an important part of the Government’s response capacity and are immediate responders in all serious disaster situations. They have played a major role in emergency support functions like communication, search and rescue operations, medical facilities and transportation.
• Central Paramilitary forces also play a key role at the time of immediate response to disasters. Besides contributing to the NDRF, they are also required to develop adequate disaster management capability within their own forces and respond to disasters which may occur in the areas where they are posted.
• State Police and Fire Services are crucial immediate responders to disasters are required to improve their response capabilities.
• Civil Defence Act has been amended in 2009 to bring disaster management in the area of operation of civil defence agencies.
• International agencies also play a role in disaster management. UNDP alongwith NDMA took up Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Urban Risk Reduction programmes. World Bank is associated with National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) being taken up in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Red Cross Society also provides valuable support during relief operations. 

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and National Pension System

   Government of India constituted an Expert Committee for Old Age Social and Income Security (OASIS) in 1998 which submitted its report in 2000. In its report it pointed out that number of elderly people is likely to be 8.9% of the population in 2016 and 13.3% in 2026. Considering this large percentage the Committee recommended a new pension scheme covering both employees as well as self employed persons, in which the savings made by these individuals during their working years would be used for providing them pension after their retirement age. The Committee also suggested architecture for the scheme with PF Managers, Points of Presence, and Centralized Recordkeeping Agency etc and also recommended a strong regulatory body.

       In accordance with these recommendations, the Government of India set up “Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)” on 23^rd August, 2003. By an executive order dated 10^th October, 2003, it was mandated to act as a regulator of pension funds in India.  The Authority has been recently granted legal status through PFRDA Act 2013 which came into force on 19^th September 2013. As per this Act, the Authority shall comprise of a Chairperson, three full time members and three part time members. The Act also provides that PFRDA will look after National Pension System or any other scheme not regulated by any other enactment. Schemes regulated by other enactments like (i) the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948; (ii) the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952; (iii) the Seamen’s Provident Fund Act, 1966; (iv) the Assam Tea Plantations Provident Fund and Pension Fund Scheme Act, 1955; and (v) the Jammu and Kashmir Employees’ Provident Funds Act, 1961 have been excluded from the provisions of the Act as are the Central Government employees appointed before 1^st January 2004.

Earlier Scenario

Prior to PFRDA, benefit of pensions had been limited to the Government sector. This was a Fixed Benefit Scheme as it meant giving a fixed sum to the employee on the basis of length of service and last pay drawn. However, as the pension had to be paid out of the Government funds at a much higher rate than the contributions and as the number of retired employees steadily grew, the pension started becoming a burden on the Government exchequer. A small section in the organized private sector received some amount in the form of Provident Fund or some other benefits. However, no pension was available to the employee apart from this amount. However, these sections constituted a small part of the population and sizeable section of the population did not have any social security scheme to fall back in their old age. These problems required devising of a scheme in which an employee or any other individual could provide for his own pension through savings made during his working years.

  

National Pension System

            In order to address these problems the Government launched the National Pension System. The system is a Fixed Contribution Scheme and amount of benefit received by the employee at the time of retirement depends upon the amount contributed by the employee and wealth earned after investment of this contribution. The scheme was made mandatory for all those Government Employee who have entered the service on or after 1.1.2004. The scheme was opened for all citizens in 2009, but is not mandatory for them. Main features of New Pension Scheme are as under:

• The scheme is available for Indian citizens only and is being looked after by the NPS Trust. Central Records Agency, Trustee Bank, Asset Holding Company, Pension Fund Managers, Points of Presence and Annuity Service Providers are other entities of the Scheme.
• NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd. has been made the Central Records Agency and Bank of India is to function as the Trustee Bank for the scheme.
• Number of Pension Fund Managers has not been restricted and is updated from time to time. However, presently eight companies have been authorized to work as Pension Fund Managers which have offered similar number of Pension Funds. Subscriber will have the option to choose his PFM as well as the schemes.
• Each individual will open an account with the Pension Fund Manager (PFM) and select a scheme. Each scheme will have Two Tiers. First one shall be a mandatory, non-withdrawable pension account for which minimum contribution shall be Rs.500/- per contribution. Minimum contribution per annum would be Rs.6000/- and every subscriber shall have to make at least one contribution per annum. A Tier-II account shall be an optional, withdrawable account with an aim to provide liquidity to the beneficiary. However, an active Tier-I account is a pre requisite for opening a Tier-II account.
• On exiting from the NPS, a fixed percentage of the amount in the account of the subscriber would be used to buy annuity which would provide pension to the beneficiary for the rest of his life. Percentage of this amount would depend upon the age in which the subscriber exits. In case of death, whole amount would be given to his nominee.
• Service providers like Central Record Keeping Agency, Points of Presence, Trustee Bank, Pension Fund Managers etc. are entitled to certain charges which are either collected upfront or as deductions from NAVs.
• Offer document of the Scheme makes it amply clear that there are no guarantees on the scheme and the investments are subject to market and other risks. There is no guarantee that investment objectives shall be achieved.
• Another model of National Pension Scheme i.e. NPS Lite was launched for lower income group people in 2010. One can register in the scheme with a minimum contribution of Rs.100/-. There is no annual minimum subscription, though the offer document recommends that contributions of at least Rs.1000/- per annum should be made. The scheme is simpler and has lower administrative charges.
• In order to promote NPS among the unorganized workers, the Government has launched Swavlamban scheme. Government will contribute Rs.1000/- per annum in the NPS account of the subscriber for four years starting from 2010-11 onwards subject to the condition that the per annum contribution of the subscriber in the scheme is minimum Rs.1000/- and maximum Rs.12, 000/-.
• In order to popularize NPS among corporate, NPS-Corporate Model was launched in December, 2011. This model would provide a platform to the corporate to co-contribute in the pension fund of employees. While the corporate would be granted tax exemptions, the employees would have better choice of investments of their funds.   

FDI in pension fund

            In India, FDI has always been a politically sensitive issue. Certain political sections are opposed to FDI, though this may not have much sense. Pension market has already been opened to private players and the funds are already being invested into the market. Collaborating as well as non collaborating companies are equally susceptible to market risks and it may not be of much concern to the subscriber. Further, the Government needs FDI, primarily for investment in infrastructure. As per a study conducted by ASSOCHAM published in January 2012, an expenditure of one trillion dollars would be required to be invested in infrastructure during the 12^th five year plan i.e. 2012-17. This demand would be difficult to be met from local resources and FDI provides a possible solution. The study also states that Pension Funds across the world hold a capital of 16.2 trillion dollars and even if India is able to tap 1% or 2% of this amount, it would ease the situation substantially.  This is quite possible as the Indian market has hitherto remained untapped in the pension sector and can attract the interest of the investors. Considering these factors, the Government has brought FDI in the pension sector. Section 24 of the PFRDA Act 2013 provides for foreign equity in pension up to a limit of 26% or such percentage as approved for an Indian Insurance Company.  The Government has also introduced The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 which provides for FDI in insurance sector up to 49%. If passed, this would also raise the limits of FDI in pension funds.  

Present Status

            As per data of PFRDA as on 7^th May 2013, there were about 49.90 lakh NPS subscribers. Out of these about 28.4 lakhs have been from the Government sector (both Central and the State Governments) and 19.23 lakhs are NPS Lite accounts. Subscribers from private sector are only about 2.27 lakhs. This shows some lack of confidence in these schemes in some sections. This is also borne by the fact that against about 50 lakh subscribers only 8817 Tier-II accounts have been activated.

            This could be due to a number of reasons. First could be that the scheme provides no guarantee whatsoever, not even like the assured sum given by most life insurance companies after maturity of the policy. Another reason could be that there is no clarity on the amount of pension which a subscriber would get as the same would depend upon the pension wealth which in turn would depend on NAV of the fund and hence on the share market. As share market is highly volatile, pension wealth of the subscriber is likely to fluctuate for a number of reasons with which he is not even remotely connected. Political instability, terrorist attacks, natural calamities and similar other things take a toll on the share market and subscribers retiring at those points of time will suffer heavily. Last but not the least, the amount of benefit received by a subscriber would depend on the performance of Fund Managers. Subscribers in some of the funds would receive less than others because their fund managers had not made investments that efficiently.

           NPS has relieved the Government of the burden of paying pension to its employees and hence is going to stay in the public sector. However, its prospects in the private sector would depend upon the performance of various entities particularly the Fund Managers. As investments in the pension sector are long term and scheme is still at a nascent stage, it is difficult to judge the performance of fund managers at this stage. This will become clear only in the times to come when the subscribers would actually receive the benefits. 

Regionalism

Regionalism literally means connected with or specific to a geographical region. In politics, it means a political ideology focused on the interests of a particular region. India is a large and diverse country. Different languages and cultures have flourished in its different parts which were supported by regional kingdoms which came up in these regions. These factors gave each region a separate linguistic and cultural identity resulting in growth of a feeling of regional nationalism. This feeling coupled with the disparity in economic development resulted in development of politics on regional basis and consequently led to growth of regional political parties. While growth of regionalism and regional politics should be welcomed for the purpose of bringing same levels of economic development in all parts of the country and for preserving its cultural diversity due care should be taken so that the regional identity does not overshadow national identity.

Growth of regional politics

           Earliest political movement having regional traits was the demand for a separate “Dravid Nadu” in 1920s which was raised by non Brahman Tamil politicians. Although, the demand for separate Dravid Nadu was later dropped, the movement resulted in growth of Dravid Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK) as the major political force in Tamilnadu. However, regional affiliations were not so strong in the pre-independence era and during the freedom struggle. This was because the freedom fighters had a common enemy in the British rule which was supposedly responsible for all the problems of the people and it was felt that all the problems can be solved if the British leave the country.  During this period, even the Indian National Congress was in support of formation of states on linguistic basis. In Nagpur session in 1920, the Indian National Congress accepted in principle the creation of linguistic states and provincial committees of the Congress were formed on linguistic basis. However, after independence, the Congress government started having second thoughts about the idea considering it to have adverse impact on national integration.

            After independence, the first demand for creating a state on linguistic basis came from erstwhile Madras Presidency where the Telugu speaking people started an agitation for creation of a separate state. Potti Sreeramlu lost his life on 15^th December, 1952, after 52 days of a fast-unto-death in support of this demand. This led mass protests which forced the Government to accede to the demand. Later a State Reorganization Commission was appointed. On the basis of its recommendations, 14 states and 3 Union territories were created, mostly on linguistic considerations. Since then, many more states have been created from time to time. The considerations have been either linguistic; cultural; economic or a combination of these. Recently, the Union Government has taken a decision to create a separate state of Telengana out of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Increase in consciousness of regional identities has led to growth of regional political parties and regionalism has firmly entrenched itself as a political reality in Indian scenario. While some of these parties have clearly pronounced their regional ideology, others though not so explicit have modeled their policies and programmes so as to suit a particular state or geographical region. In the last few decades, regional parties have considerably strengthened their position. A number of states like UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are either being ruled by regional parties or by coalitions in which the regional party is the major partner. Growth of these parties has seriously dented the prospects of the national parties. In the last two decades none of the national parties has been able to form a national government on its own and has to resort to alliances and coalitions. This has brought in the era of coalition politics. National parties have accepted the situation and now attach great importance to their coalition partners who at times appear to have an upper hand.

Reasons for growth of regional tendencies

• Regionalism is inherent in India because of its cultural and linguistic diversity. Each region has its own history and culture. People of these regions take pride in their culture and language and want to preserve and support it. 
• National political parties have failed to understand the aspirations of people. Their leaders laid stress on nationalism and national integration without integrating these concepts with the cultural diversity of the country. This alienated those people who wanted their language and culture to prosper.
• National parties have not given due considerations to their state units.  Usually, state leadership is selected keeping in view the politics at the national level. Most of the times, election of the leader by MLAs is a mere formality, the decision having already been made by the central leadership.
• Even after that, the state units of these parties do not have reasonable independence. Regional interests are sometimes compromised for political expediency in some other part of the country. This projects state leaders of national parties in poor light vis-à-vis the leaders of regional parties who are not subject to any control and also do not have any political compulsion arising out of political expediency in other areas.
• Sometimes policies of the National government fuel regionalism. People in Southern states have been apprehensive of Hindi being imposed upon them. This was one of the factors for the growth of regional parties in these regions.
• During the course of development, some areas got preference, while others got neglected. People from these areas felt that the situation can improve if people from their region are at the helm of affairs.
• There has been inter-region movement of people. Sometimes the original inhabitants of the region feel that their domination is being threatened by the immigrants from other regions.
• Some of the local leaders have exploited the feelings of the people to gain political power. Being localized, these people also have advantage of taking up the issue of only a particular region and hence can be more vocal in their tirades.

 Positive impacts

•  By way of supporting local language and culture, it helps to preserve the cultural diversity of the country.
• Its greatest benefit is in the field of education. Imparting primary education in the local language has greatly helped in increasing literacy levels.
• States have also adopted their local language in their functioning which has made the common man more comfortable and the administration more people friendly.
• People from less developed regions have always alleged that they are being discriminated against in the matters related to development. This grudge is      removed when local people govern the region.

Negative impacts

• The world in which we presently live has considerably changed in the last few decades. Improvements in technology and liberalization have opened up communities and regions. Inter region interactions have substantially increased and no region can survive in isolation. Regionalism, while laying stress on regional aspects tends to overlook this important factor.
• There is a very thin line between respect for one’s culture and belief in superiority of one’s culture over the other. Experience has shown that this thin line has often been violated due to exhortations from various groups having a narrow and sectarian approach.
• In its extreme form, ideology of regionalism has resulted in separatist movements like ULFA movement in Assam, Khalistan movement in Punjab and other separatist movements in north east.
• At the political front, growth of regionalism has brought in coalition politics. This has diluted the ideological base of the political parties and also affected the functioning of the Government.
• Sphere of influence of some of the regional parties is coterminous with the areas of domination of a particular caste. In such cases the ideology of these parties becomes casteist in nature and is not conducive to social integration.
• Regionalism increases the magnitude of disputes between states because of the emotive aspect which comes with regional nationalism.

Conclusion

       Every concept is as good or as bad as the people implementing it. Regionalism can play a vital role in preserving the cultural diversity of the country and can also be of great help in removing regional disparities in development. However, if uncontrolled, it can also become the cause of national disintegration. The best way would be to keep a balanced approach in such matters so that there is minimal conflict of interests between the region and the nation.

Unorganized or the Informal Sector

        The terms “Informal Sector” and “Unorganized Sector” are generally used interchangeably. Although a specific definition of the sector is not possible it can be loosely defined as the sector engaged in economic activities which do not fall under the category of modern industrial activities. The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, defines unorganized sector as “an enterprise owned by individuals or self employed workers and engaged in production or sale of goods or providing any kind of service whatsoever, and where the enterprise employs workers, its number is less than ten.” The Act also defines an unorganized worker as a home based worker; a self employed worker; a wage worker in the unorganized sector or a worker who is not covered by any of the labour laws specified in the said Act. 

       Although, the sector has been termed as informal, it is the primary source of employment in India and provides employment to about 93% of the labour force. The sector also makes substantial contribution to the GDP. The sector displays diversity in the nature of trades as well as in the economic condition of the people involved in such activities. At the higher end are the small entrepreneurs, contractors and retail shopkeepers etc. who are the employers and are comparatively well off while at the lower end are the workers of these units, wage earners, rickshaw pullers etc. who can barely make the ends meet.

Characteristics

       While submitting its Second Report in the year 2002, the National Commission on Labour has devoted one chapter to the unorganized or informal sector. The Commission points out that the informal sector is too vast to be defined by way of a conceptual definition although its characteristics can be identified. Some of the important characteristics are as under:

• Organizations, both in terms of number of people involved and level of management are of lower level.
• Labour relations are either on casual basis or kinship including family labour or personal relations.
• Small amount of capital with business expenditure indistinguishable from household expenses.
• Easy entry and exit from the business and free mobility within the sector.
• Use of indigenous resources and labour intensive technology.
• Long working hours and lack of employment security.
• Lack of support from government.
• Generally a low wage and low earning sector.
• Has a high percentage of migrant as well as women workers.
• The sector is a prominent employer for child labour.
• Piece rate payment, home based work and contractual work is prevalent.
• Some types of work are seasonal which means there would be no work for some part of the year.
• Workers are not organized into trade unions which adversely affects their bargaining power.
• Health hazards exist in a number of occupations.

Relations between the formal and informal sector

            The informal or the unorganized sector does not exist independently of the formal sector. It is linked to and in some case dependent upon the organized sector. It depends on the organized sector for raw materials and other capital requirements and for marketing facilities etc. In a large number of cases informal sector does the actual production of goods for the formal sector through a channel of outsourcing. On the other hand, a large part of the formal sector, particularly the industries, has started hiring labour through a contractor, which is largely informal in nature.

Problems of informal sector

• The sector provides low wages which at times are even less than the minimum wages prescribed by the Government which makes the life of the worker quite difficult.
• As informal units have small capital, they are not able to provide proper facilities at the work place leading to health problems to the workers.
• The workers do not have any social security to fall back in times of need.
• As the units do not have sufficient capital, they usually resort to illegal cost cutting measures which include hiring of children as a cheap labour and avoiding of legal requirements.
• As these units are not covered under any labour laws, employees do not have facilities like PF and ESI which are available to workers of the organized sector.
• As the workers get low wages they are not able to afford proper housing due to which the migrant labour resorts to living in slums. Incidentally, a number of such informal units are located in slums. Bigger slums like Dharavi in Mumbai house thousands of such units.
• These units do not have proper waste disposal facilities and hence are a cause of environmental concerns.
• In some cases, particularly in rural and tribal areas, this sector faces problems due to depletion of resources like forests etc.

Efforts of the Government

            Although the sector is huge both in terms of participating people and also in terms of its contribution to the GDP, it is extremely heterogeneous with each group having its own problems. Due to this and also due to the fact that the workers are not organized into trade unions or associations, the sector did not get similar benefits accruing to workers of the organized sector. However, situation has tended to improve in the last few years and a number of schemes have been launched for benefit for this sector. Some of the benefits/protections available to workers of this sector are as under:

• Minimum Wages Act, 1948 provides for prescribing minimum wages for unskilled and skilled workers in some of the unorganized sectors. Minimum wages are revised from time to time.
• Welfare funds have been established for some specific categories of unorganized workers like beedi makers, miners working in mines other than coal mines and for cine workers. These funds are regulated through The Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1946; The Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972; The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines and Chrome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1976; The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976; and The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981.
• National Scheme for Welfare of Fishermen was launched in the year 1991-92 and is specifically dedicated for welfare of fisherman. The scheme has four components, Saving-cum-relief, Development of model fisherman villages, Group accident insurance for active fisherman and Training & Extension.
• The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 has been enacted to regulate the working conditions, safety & health measures and payments of wages and compensation.
• National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector was set up in the year 2004 to look into the problems faced by the enterprises in the unorganized or the informal sector. The Commission has submitted reports on National Policy of Vendors, Unorganized Sector Workers Bill, Framing Legislation for minimum conditions of work and social security for unorganized workers, financing of enterprises in unorganized sector and creation of a national fund for unorganized sector.
• Handicraft Artisans’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme comprising of insurance as well as health insurance was launched for benefit of artisans. Major part of the premium is paid by the Government while a small is paid by the beneficiary. A similar scheme was launched for the handloom weavers under the name Handlooms Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme.
• The Unorganized Sector Social Security Act was enacted in 2008. The Act defines unorganized sector as well as unorganized worker as provides for framing social security schemes for the unorganized sector as well as formation of National and State Level Boards.
• The Government has launched a scheme “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana” (RSBY) with effect from 1^st April 2008. The scheme provides smart card based health insurance up to Rs.30, 000/- to BPL families. Premium of the insurance is paid jointly by the Central Govt (75%) and State Govt (25%).
• Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) has been started for providing insurance cover for the head of the family or earning member of a rural landless household. The scheme provides for Rs.30, 000/- in case of natural death, Rs.75, 000/- in case of accidental death and permanent disability and Rs.37, 500/- in case of partial disability. Premium amount is shared equally by the Central and State Governments.
• National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been launched to provide employment of a minimum of 100 days to any rural household willing to do unskilled manual work.
• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme has also been launched to provide old age pension to all citizens who are more than 60 years of age and living below poverty line.
• Government has enacted National Policy on Street Vendors in 2009, with the objective of providing legal status, a regulated mechanism, credit facilities and civic facilities to the street vendors. The policy aims to serve as a model to the State Governments for enacting suitable legislation.
• The Government has also introduced “The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012”. The bill provides for setting up of a Town Vending Committee (TVC) which shall also have representatives of street vendors. The bill also provides for framing of a scheme of street vendors by the State Governments. As per the bill the local authority along with the planning authority shall prepare a vending plan every five years. The bill has recently been passed by the Lok Sabha.

Present Status

            Despite the efforts of the govt, the position of people engaged in this sector is far from satisfactory. The sector is heterogeneous in nature and many of the professions still lack adequate legal regulation and protection. Apart from adequate laws, workers are usually unorganized and ignorant about their rights. Apart from a few organizations like Self Employed Women Association (SEWA), a trade union working primarily for women workers; Cine Workers Union; National Association of Street Vendors and few other organisations, trade unions and associations are usually nonexistent.  Poor implementation of laws is another problem. Minimum wages are rarely given but the worker is forced to work for lower wages due to pressure of unemployment. Social security schemes like RSBY and AABY have helped these people to some extent but the relief under these schemes is highly inadequate.  In the present scenario, providing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate social security to all the workers in the unorganized sector remains a challenge before the policy makers.