regional conference on delivering social protection to...

Regional Conference on Delivering SocialProtection to Unorganized WorkersBangalore, India, 18 to 20 November, 2010

In the framework of an inter-country Dialogue on Social Policy in

Karnataka, Department of Labour, Government of Karnataka (GoK)

Documentation

On behalf of:

Regional Conference on Delivering SocialProtection to Unorganized WorkersBangalore, India, 18 to 20 November, 2010

In the framework of an inter-country Dialogue on Social Policy in

Karnataka, Department of Labour, Government of Karnataka (GoK)

Documentation

List of Abbreviations

AABY AamAdmiBimaYojanaAAY AntyodayaAnnaYojanaBMAS GermanFederalMinistryofLabourandSocialAffairsBMZ GermanFederalMinistryforEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentBPL BelowPovertyLineDoL DepartmentofLabourESIS EuropeanSpaceInformationSystemFCRA TheForeignContributionRegulationActGDP GrossDomesticProductGIZ DeutscheGesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit(GIZ)GmbHGTZ DeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeitIAS IndianAdministrativeServiceICT InformationandcommunicationstechnologyILSSA InstituteofLabourScienceandSocialAffairs,Hanoi,VietnamIMR InfantMortalityRateINR IndischeRupiesInWEnt CapacityBuildingInternational,GermanyIT InformationTechnologyMDGs MilleniumDevelopmentGoalsMKSS MazdoorKisanShaktiSangathanNCPRI NationalCampaignforPeoplesRighttoInformationNGO Non-GovernmentalOrganizationsNREGA NationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeActRs. RupiesRSBY RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana(HealthInsuranceProgramme)TFR TotalFertilityRateUSD USDollar

Contents

0. Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................6

0.1Background................................................................................................................................................... 60.2Aim............................................................................................................................................................... 70.3Participants................................................................................................................................................... 7

1. Background on Issues & Challenges of the Present Indian Social Security System for Unorganised Workers ........8

1.1OpeningAddresses..................................................................................................................................... 101.2KeyNoteSpeech:SocialProtection&SocialPolicyinKarnatakaandIndia–TrendsandDevelopments... 131.3VoteofThanks............................................................................................................................................ 181.4IntroductiontotheConference.................................................................................................................. 181.5PanelDiscussion.ReachingouttotheUnorganizedWorkerswithSocialProtection.Experiencesfrom

theRegionandGermany............................................................................................................................ 201.6WorkingGroups......................................................................................................................................... 28

2. Space for Creativity and Communication ........................................................................................................................................... 32

2.1Checkin:Participants’Feedback................................................................................................................ 342.2Reportingback:InformationBazaar.......................................................................................................... 342.3QuestionandAnswerRound.....................................................................................................................442.4BuzzGroups:LessonsLearntfromtheWorkingGroups(InformationBazaar)......................................... 472.5RealityCheck:TheFieldVisit.................................................................................................................... 49

3. The Way Forward ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 54

3.1Checkin..................................................................................................................................................... 563.2ChaiShop:SynthesisingStrategiesandApproaches................................................................................... 583.3CommunitiesofPractice............................................................................................................................643.4AnExampleofPractice.............................................................................................................................. 653.5Closure........................................................................................................................................................ 67

A1:InputPapers............................................................................................................................................... 68A2:ListofParticipants...................................................................................................................................... 94

Day 1: November 18, 2010

Day 2: November 19, 2010

Day 3:November 20, 2010

Annex

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6 | Regional Conference on Delivering Social Protection to Unorganized Workers

Introduction

India’sconsistentrateofeconomicgrowthoverthelastdecade,eventhroughthetormentingperiodofglo-balfinancialcrisis,hasbeenphenomenalandinter-nationallywidelyacclaimed.Theprocessofgrowth,however,hasalsoledtolarge-scaleeconomic,socialandspatialinequalitiesthreateningthesustainabil-ityofsuchagrowthinthelongterm.IfIndiasucceedsinimplementingitsaspirationof‘inclusivegrowth’,alotofemphasiswillhavetobelaidonthesubstantialenhancementoftheaccessofthevastmassesofpopula-tionintheunorganizedsector(morethan90percentofthepopulation)tobasicsocialprotectionservicesasamatterofbasicright.Thesocialcoverageofessentialriskslikeill-health,unemployment,accident/disabilityandprematurelossoflifeaswellaspovertyinoldageiscrucialnotonlyfortheindividualpersonsandtheirfamiliesbutalsoforthestate’sgeneralsocialandeco-nomicdevelopmentandsocialcohesion.

Thisrequiresraisingtheavailabilityandqualityofservicesthroughboththepublicandtheprivatesec-torsuptoappropriatestandards,creatingandenhanc-ingeffectivedemandforsuchservicesthroughgenerat-ingawarenessofpeople’srights,provisionoftimelyandupdatedinformationaboutservices,andeffectivefacili-tationmechanismstoensurethatthingsdoinfactworkontheground.

TheGovernmentofKarnatakaandtheDeutscheGes-ellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbH-nowGesellschaftfürInternationaleEntwick-lung(GIZ)-onbehalfoftheGermanFederalMinistryforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(BMZ)signedanimplementationagreementin2008forajointprojectwiththeaimofimprovingthesocialprotectionoftheunorganizedworkersinKarnataka.Oneofthecomponentsofthisprojectaimsatdevelopingacom-prehensivesocialprotectionstrategyforKarnataka,whichcouldalsoserveasaninputforpolicydevelop-mentatcentrallevel,forotherstatesofIndiaand,pos-sibly,asamodelforothercountries.Inaccordancewiththisaim,thisregionalconferenceonpolicies,strate-giesandinstrumentsonhowtoincreasethecoverageofunorganized/informalworkersinsocialprotectionschemestakesplaceinKarnataka.

Theemphasisoftheconferenceisplacedontheimpor-tanceofthetwinstrategyof:(a)effectivedemandgenerationthroughenhancedawarenessofrightsandserviceavailability,etc.;and(b)importanceofeffec-tiveservicedeliveryfacilitatingmechanisms.ThereisenoughexperienceonbothoftheseissuesindifferentsectorsofdevelopmentbothinIndiaandelsewhere.Insomecountries,so-called‘onestopwindows’,whichformoneofthekeypillarsoftheIndo-GermansocialprotectionprojectinKarnatakanamed‘WorkersFacili-tationCentres(WFCs)’,havebeenfoundtobeone

0.1 Background

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successfulmodelininformingthepublicaboutsocialprotectionschemesandinidentifyingandenrollingeli-giblebeneficiariesinvarioussocialprotectionandsocialserviceprogrammes.Selectedinternationalgood-prac-ticeson(a)optionsforapproachestosocialprotectionand(b)practicalexperiencesinservicedeliverymecha-nismswillbepresentedtowidenthescopeofpartici-patingcountriesforpotentialsolutions.

Theeventcanbeseenasadialogueplatformforshar-ingexperiencesinsocialpolicyinterventionsbetweenIndia,theSouthEastAsianRegionandGermany.TosomeextentitmayalsoprovideaninputfortherecentIndia-Brazil-SouthAfricaDialogueProcessondevelop-ingsocialprotectionframeworksforinclusivegrowthandsocialdevelopmentbydiscussingonwhatthestatecanactivelydotoincreasetheuptakeofsocialpro-grammes.

Thisconferenceaimstobeaplatformforinformationexchangeondemandgenerationcumservicedeliverymechanismsofsocialprotection,whicharesuccessfulinenhancingeffectivedemand,settingstandardsforqualitysocialprotectionservices,reducingthebarri-erstoaccessexistingsocialprotectionprogrammes,and

0.2 Aim

thus,contributingtoasustainablesocialprotectionsys-tem.Recommendationsfromthediscussionswillthere-foreenrichtheIndiannationalandstatediscussiononoptionsandpoliciesforsocialprotectionandtheireffectiveimplementation.

Asinputstothis,practicalapproachesintheformofcasestudiesfromvariousstatesofIndiaandfromothercountriesintheregiononhowtheyreachouttotheinformalsectorwillbesharedanddiscussed.Germany’sexperienceinbuildingupasystemofsocialprotectionmaytoacertainextentgiveadditionalideastospecificissueswithregardtoservicedeliveryandparticipationofthepopulationinthesearchforsolutions.

Theconferenceinvitesandinvolvespolicymakersandresearchers,particularlyrepresentativesfromcen-tralandvariousstategovernmentsofIndiaandfromotherAsiancountries,BMZ(GermanFederalMin-istryforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment),BMAS(GermanFederalMinistryofLabourandSocialAffairs),nongovernmentalorganizations(NGOs)andothercivilsocietyorganizationsworkingwiththeunor-ganizedsector,multilateralorganizations,academicinstitutions,foundations,etc.

0.3 Participants

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Background on Issues and Challenges of the Present Indian Social Security System for Unorganised Workers

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Activity

OfficialOpening

Wordsofwelcome

LightingoftheLamp

Openingaddresses• M.S.Ravishankar,CommissionerLabour,Departmentof

Labour,GovernmentofKarnataka,BangaloreIndia• B.N.BacheGowda,MinisterofLabour,GovernmentofKarna-

taka,Bangalore,India

Keynotespeech“SocialProtectionandSocialPolicyinKarnatakaandIndia–trendsanddevelopments”

Voteofthanks

Introductiontotheconference

Paneldiscussion:Reachingouttotheunorganizedworkerswithsocialprotection:ExperiencesfromtheregionandGermany

Responsible

Masterofceremony:C.K.Jalajakshi,InWEnt,Banga-lore,IndiaBarbaraKloss-Quiroga,InWEntGermanyChiefguests

ShriN.C.Saxena,retd.IndianAdministrativeService(IAS),Mem-berNationalAdvisoryCouncilMember,Delhi,India

Jean-OlivierSchmidt,GTZ,Bangalore,India

BirgitNiebuhr,Moderator,Berlin,Germany

Moderation:BirgitNiebuhr

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Thisdayhasthefollowingobjectives:• Togetaninformationalbackgroundonissuesandchallengesofthe

presentIndiansocialsecuritysystemforunorganisedworkers

• Toacquireaninsight➞ intodifferentcountries’experienceswithsocialsecuritysystems,➞ intorespectiveresponsibilitiesofstateandcivilsociety,aswellas➞ intoethical,rightsbasedanddemocraticimplicationsofthe

topic

• Toinvestigatefourmainaspectsofsocialsecurityinsmallergroupworkformationsbasedonatechnicalexpertinput.

Day 1 | November 18, 2010

Objectives

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Introductiontotheworkinggroups

WorkinggroupsessionIntroductorynotes:• WG1a:CatherineDusseaudeIbarra,RegionalHealthAdviser

forLatinAmerica,HelpAgeInternational,LaPaz,Bolivia• WG1b:PiushAnthony,SocialPolicySpecialist,UNICEF-

HyderabadandChennaiFieldOffice,Hyderabad,India• WG2a:GopakumarThampi,ChiefOperatingOfficer,Affiliated

NetworkforSocialAccountability–SouthAsiaRegionandGlo-bal,InstituteofGovernanceStudies,BRACUniversity,Dhaka,Bangalore

• WG2b:T.R.Raghunandan,FormerJointSecretaryoftheMinis-tryofPanchayatiRaj,GovernmentofIndia

• WG3a:ShivKumarNarayanan,DirectorandFounderMemberCatalystManagementServicesPrivateLimited,Bangalore,India

• WG3b:RavinderKumar,Director,VruttiLivelihoodsResourceCentre,Delhi,India

• WG4a:ParminderSingh,Director,ITforChange,Bangalore,India• WG4b:GurumurthyKasinath,Director,ITforChange,Banga-

lore,India

Coffee/Teabreak

Preparingreportingbackoftheworkinggroups

Socializingevent

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Words of welcomeby Barbara Kloss-Quiroga

Senior Project Manager, InWEnt – Capacity Building

International, Germany, Berlin, Germany

Commissioner Labour, Government of Kar-nataka, Mr. Ravishankar, General Consul of the Government of Germany in Karna-taka, Mr. Saligmann, Representative of the German Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Director of the Indo-German Pro-gramme for Social Security for the unorgan-ised workers, Mr. Jean-Olivier Schmidt, participants of the conference, dear guests:

Itisagreatpleasureandhonourformetowelcomeyouonbehalfoftheorganis-

ersoftheconference,theIndo-GermanDevelopmentCooperationinKarnataka.Wehavecometogetherforthenextthreedaystodiscussandexchangeexperiencesaboutdeliveringsocialsecuritytotheunorganisedworkers.Therearetwothoughtsthatstayinmymindsincewehavebeenpreparingtheconference,whichIwouldliketosharewithyouandwhichIwouldlikeallofustohavepresentinourdiscussions.Allofusinoneformorinanotheraredealingwithsocialdevelopment.Thatiswhyweareheretoshareourprofessionalpointsofview.Wearedealingwithpeople’sempowermentandweworktowardsanequalsociety.Yet,oftenwetalkaboutthepeopleweareworkingforandweplanourworkandconceptualizeitfortheminsteadofwiththem.Thiswillalsohappenhereinthisconference.AndIwouldlikeustobesensitivetothisrestrictionofourdiscussions.

Whenweplannedforthisconferenceandthoughtofwhomwewouldliketocomeandsharewithuswecameupwithaconsiderablenumberofpeople.ForsuchanumberitbecamedifficultduringthistimeoftheyearinBangaloretofindavenuethatwouldbebigenoughtohosteverybodyandhaveconferencefacili-tiessuitabletoallneeds.Weareconsciousaboutthecontradictionofdiscussingissuesofsocialsecurityforunorganisedworkersandbetterdeliveryinsuchaplace.Manyoftheunorganisedworkersarepoororevenverypoor.Withthemoneythatwespendhereforoneper-soninonedayourtargetgroupmemberswouldlivewiththeirwholefamilyforaboutthreemonths.

1.1 Opening Addresses

Sobeingconsciousaboutthesetwodilemmaswehavecometogetherwithoutthosewewanttoserveandinaplacethatmanyofthemwillneverbeabletoenterthroughthefrontdoorduringtheirwholelife–atleastnotinthislife–Iwouldstillliketowelcomeyouandhopeweneverthelesswillcomeupwithsolutionsforurgentproblemsandgoodpracticestobefollowed.Thankyouforyourattention.

AftertheopeningwordsofMs.Kloss-Quiroga,alampwaslightedbythechiefguestsMs.BarbaraKloss-Qui-roga,InWEntgGmbH,Mr.M.S.Ravishankar,Com-missionerLabour,DepartmentofLabour,Govern-mentofKarnataka,Bangalore,India,Mr.B.N.BacheGowda,MinisterofLabour,GovernmentofKarnataka,Bangalore,IndiaandMr.Jean-OlivierSchmidt,Pro-grammeDirector,DeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbH,SocialSecurityBene-fitsforUnorganisedWorkers,Bangalore,Indiainordertoofficiallyopentheconference.

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Welcomeby M.S. Ravishankar

Commissioner Labour, Department of Labour,

Government of Karnataka, Bangalore, India

Good morning ladies and gentlemenMr. Gowda, Minister of Labour, Government of Kar-nataka, Mr. Saxena, Member of the National Advisory Council, Ms. Barbara Kloss-Quiroga, Senior Programme Manager of InWEnt, Mr. Jean-Olivier Schmidt, Pro-gramme Director of the GTZ programme in Karnataka, representatives of the different government departments and civil society members, ladies and gentlemen, delega-tions of India and esteemed guests from abroad:

I’mprivilegedtowelcomeyoutodayinBangaloretoourregionalconferenceonDeliveringSocialProtectiontoUnorganisedWorkersandparticularlyIwarmlywel-comethegueststhathavemadetheirwayfromothercountries.

Iwouldliketomentionafewwordsaboutthecon-textoftheconferenceandtheactionbehindthis.MostofyouarecertainlyawarethatIndiahasconsistentlygrowneconomicallyoverthelastdecades,eventhroughthetormentingperiodofglobalfinancialcrisis.Banga-loreitselfhasbecomefamousforitsgloballysuccess-fulITandBTcompanies.Despitethisgrowth,andI’msurethedelegatesofothercountrieshavesimilarexpe-riences,theshareoftheinformalsectorinthelabourmarkethasnotbecomesmallerbutontheotherhandisgrowinglargereveryday.Moreofthe90%ofIndia’sworkingpopulationisstillintheunorganisedorinfor-malsector.

Whiletheeconomicgrowthhasgeneratedmanyoppor-tunities,bothontheindividuallevelaswellasonthestatelevel,wehavetoacknowledgethatithasalsoincreasedlarge-scaleeconomic,socialandspatialineq-uities.Threateningthesustainabilityofsuchagrowthonalong-termbasis,India’semphasishastobelaidonthesubstantialenhancementoftheaccesstothebasicsocialprotectionservicesasamajorbasicrightinordertorealizetheaspirationoftheinclusivegrowth.Thesocialcoverageofessentialslikeinhealth,unemploy-ment,accidentdisability,lossoflifeaswellaspovertyinoldageiscrucialnotonlyfortheindividualpersonsbutalsofortheirfamiliesandthestate’sgeneralsocialandeconomicdevelopmentandthesocialcohesionofoursociety.

ThegovernmentofKarnatakaandtheGermandevelopmentcoopera-tiononbehalfoftheGermanFed-eralMinistryforEconomicCooper-ationandDevelopment,theBMZ,havebeencollaboratingsince2008ina jointprojectwiththeaimofimproving social protection fortheunorganisedworkersinKarna-taka.Oneofthecomponentsofthisprojectaimsatdevelopingthecom-prehensivesocialprotectionstrat-egyofthestate,whichcouldprobablyserveasaninputforpolicydevelopmentatthecentrallevelandforotherstatesinIndia,andpossiblyasamodelforothercoun-triesaswell.

Theemphasisofthisconference,asIunderstand,isplacedontheimportanceofboththeeffectivedemandgenerationthroughenhancedawarenessofrightsandserviceavailabilityaswellastheimportanceofeffectiveservicedeliveryfacilitationmechanisms.Thereisevi-denceofbothissuesindifferentsectorsofdevelopmentbothinIndiaandelsewhere.Insomecountriestheso-called‘one-stop-windows’forenablingpeopletovoicetheirdemandsandgettheirsocialsecurityneedssatis-fiedhavebeentriedout.Therearemanyotherexperi-encesthatannouncethestrengtheningofthedemandside,suchasrightsinformation,rights-basedapproachesingeneralandawarenessraisingmechanisms,whichwewillcertainlydiscussinthesecomingtwoandahalfdaysofthisconference.

Thisconferenceaimsatcreatingaplatformforinfor-mationexchangeondemandgenerationcumservicedeliverymechanismsofsocialprotection,whicharesuc-cessfulinenhancingeffectivedemand,settingstand-ardsforqualitysocialprotectionservices,reducingthebarrierstoaccessexistingsocialprotectionprogrammes,andthus,contributingtoasustainablesocialprotectionsysteminourcountry.Asinputstowardsthis,practi-calapproachesintheformofcasestudiesfromvariousstatesofIndiaandfromothercountriesintheregiononhowtheyreachouttotheinformalsectorwillbesharedandhopefullydiscussed.Therecommendationsfrom


thesediscussionswillenrichtheIndiannationandthestatediscussionsontheoptionsandpoliciesofsocialprotectionandeffectiveimplementation.

I’mgladthatthebilateraldevelopmentcooperationbetweenIndiaandGermanyhasmadethisregionalconferencepossible.LetmeagainexpressmygratitudethatallofyouhavecometoBangaloreinordertoshareyourexperiencesinthisconferenceforthenexttwoandahalfdays.Thankyouverymuchandhaveeverybodyagoodday.

Welcomeby B.N. Bache Gowda

Minister of Labour, Government of Karnataka,

Bangalore, India

Mr.Saxena,MemberNationalAdvisoryCouncil,Mr.Ravishankar,LabourCommissioner,Ms.BarbaraKloss-Quiroga,SeniorProjectManagerInWEnt,Mr.OliverSchmidt,ProgrammeDirectorGTZKarnataka,Representativesofdifferentgovernmentdepartmentsandcivilsocietymembers,ladiesandgentlemenfromIndiaandesteemedguestsfromabroad:

I’mhappytoaddressyoutodayfortheopeningcere-monyofthe‘RegionalConferenceonDeliveringSocialProtectiontoUnorganizedWorkers’.

Thedeliveryofsocialsecuritytoworkersintheinfor-maleconomyisbothcrucialandchallenging.Whatmakesitmorechallengingistoreachouttothelargenumberofworkersintheinformalsector.

Theworkersintheinformalsectorarenotahomoge-neousgroup.Althoughtherearedifferencesbetween

andwithineachoftheoccupationalgroupsofworkers,theGovernmentrecognizesthatallcitizenshaveequalsocialsecurityneedsandtherighttosatisfythem.Whatisdifferent,aretheircurrentpracticesandriskmanage-mentmechanismsandtheirwillingnessandabilitytocontribute.Agreatchallengeforusis,therefore,howtoensuresocialsecuritycoverforalltheworkerswhocancontributesmallamountsandthosewhocannotcon-tributesmallamountsandthosewhocannotcontrib-uteatall.

Werecognizethattheunorganisedsectorworkershaverestrictedabilitiestoorganisethemselvesbecauseofcas-ualnatureofemployment,illiteracy,scatteredandsmallnatureofestablishments,inwhichtheyareemployed.Keepingthisinmind,thecentralgovernmentenactedtheNationalSocialSecurityActforunorganizedwork-ersinearly2009.IamhappytoinformallofyouthatmystategovernmentalreadyestablishedtheSocialSecurityBoardinKarnatakatoprovidesocialsecuritycovertoover69occupationalcategorieslikeagriculture,domesticworkers,construction,agarbathiandgarment,etc.TheGovernmentofKarnatakahaslaunchedavari-etyofschemestomeettheneedsofthedifferentgroups.Letmegiveyousomeexamples:

TheBuildingandOtherConstructionWorkersWelfareBoardhasprovidedsocialsecuritybenefitstobuildingandotherconstructionworkerssince2006.Theben-efitsprovidedbytheboardandfundsforthisaregener-atedthroughaonepercenttaxleviedonallthegovern-mentorprivateagenciesorindividualswhoundertakeaconstructionworthofmorethanRs.10lakh1forresidentialpurposesandlessthanRs.10lakhforcom-mercialpurposes.Thebenefitsareusedformaternity,deathbenefit,reimbursementofmedicalexpenses,loanforpurchasingconstructionequipment,constructionofhouses,funeralexpensesandsupportformarriageexpensesfortwochildren.

Further,theDepartmentofLabourisalsoimplement-ingRashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana,healthinsuranceforthepeoplebelowpovertyline.Underthisscheme,poorpeoplecanaccesshealthcareservicesatpublicandprivatefacilitiesandhavecoverageof30,000INRperyear.Already,1.5lakhfamilieshavebeenenrolledsinceFebruarythisyear.Soonthisschemewillbeimple-mentedinallthedistrictsofthestate.

Inadditiontoprotectingpeoplefromtheinformaleconomyagainsthighexpendituresinthecaseofill-ness,theGovernmentofKarnatakaisgoingtoimple-menttheNationalPensionScheme.Thisschemeofferstheopportunitytounorganisedworkerstohavefundsfortheiroldageretirement.Inordertocreateincentives

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forpeopletosave,theGovernmentofKarnatakaistop-pingupthesavingsofpeople.Giventhechallengesofdeliveringsocialprotectiontotheunorganisedworkers,mygovernmentiscloselylookingatconvergence.Therefore,weareimplementinganinnovativeprojectincollaborationwiththeGerman

Honourable Minister, distinguished members of the panel and friends:

Itisindeedagreatpleasureformetobehereandspeakaboutsocialsecurityforunorganisedworkersinourcountry.Ithasalreadybeensaid,thatdespiteareallyhighgrowthanddespitethefactthatemploymenthasalsogrownup,theshareoforganisedworkersinoureconomyisnotgoingup.Therearemanyreasonswhy-andIwouldliketosaysomethingaboutthat.

ThisslideaboveshowsinfactIndia’srateofgrowthoftheGDPfromthe1950supto2009/10.Asyoucansee,betweenthe50sand70s,therateofeconomicgrowthwasjustbetween3to4%,whichwascalledthe“Hindurateofgrowth“.TheHindusaresupposedtobelazyandnotveryenterprising.Afterthat,fromthe80sonwards,ourgrowthratestartedtoimprove.From3to4%itisnowreaching9%.ThisrateofgrowthcouldgenerallybereachedbecauseofthesuccessoftheprivatesectorinIndia.Ifyoulookattheperformanceoftheprivatesectorandthepublicsectoryouwillfindthattheprivatesectorisdoingverywell,butthegovernmentsectorisnotdoingsowell.WhenyoulookonhowthegovernmentisperformingontheMilleniumDevelopmentGoals(MDGs),you

1.2 Key Note Speech: “Social Protection and Social Policy in Karnataka and

India – Trends and Developments” by Shri N.C. Saxena

Retd. Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Member, National Advisory Council Member, Delhi, India

willfindthatwithallthegoalswehavenotyetachievedthetargets-whetheritistheremovalofpoverty,thereductionofthechildmortalityrate,genderequalityorsanitation-onallthosegoalswearenotdoingsowell.

Inthelast6to7yearsthegovernmentofIndiahasalsodecidedtoshifttheparadigmtotheso-calledrights-basedapproachtodevelopment.Wehavetherightofemploy-ment,therightofinformation,therightofeducation,andnottoforgettherightoffoodsecurity.Wewilllaterdiscussabouttheunorganisedworkers-whythissidehasnotbeengivenmoreprotectionfromthegovernment.

Theotherproblemofcourseisthattheprivatesec-tordoeswellandrevenuesstartincreasing-revenuesincreasebothupthetableandbelow.Thereisnofor-mulaforsharingrevenuesbelowthetable.Oneofthereasonswhythegovernmentisnotperformingwellisthatwespendmostofourtimeontryingtograbthatunder-the-tablerevenueandalsoourattention,whichshouldhavebeenpaidtosortingouttheproblemsofthepoor.However,thisisnothappening.222

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DevelopmentCooperationonhowtodeliversocialpro-tectioneffectivelytounorganisedsectorworkers.

WiththesewordsIwishthisconferenceonDeliveringSocialProtectiontoUnorganisedWorkersmuchsuccessinthecomingdaysandfruitfuldebates.


Ifyoulookonthedistributionofworkersbetweenorganisedandunorganisedworkersyouseethatthenumberoforganisedworkersinthelast15yearshasunfortunatelyremainedconstantatabout35millionpeople.Thenumberofunorganisedworkers,whohavenosupport,noguaranteeofpensionormedicalsup-port,ofmaternityleave,etc.isincreasingandtheshareisalsoincreasing.Despitethefactthatthenumberofinformalsectorworkersisincreasing,theshareofGDPisgoingdown.Thelabourproductivityofunorganisedworkersisnotmovingthesamespeedlikethelabourproductivityoftheorganisedsector.

Ifyoulookatthelastcolumnyouwillseethatinthelastthreeyearstherehasbeenverylittlegrowthontheover-allemployment.Ouroverallemploymenthasremainedalmostconstantfrom458to460millionpeople.

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Total Workers in India (in Millions)

1990-91 307 34 341

1999-00 362 35 397

2004-05 423 35 458

2007-08 460

Contribution of informal sector to GDP has

declined during 1983-2000 from 67 to 60%44

Major areas of vulnerability

• Illness requiring treatment or hospitalisation.

• Untimely death of bread winner

• Unemployment

• Maternity episodes

• Retirement from work

With about 75% people spending less than Rs 20 a day, poverty itself is the biggest cause of

deprivation and vulnerability 4

ItiswellknownthatpeopleinIndiaareverypoor.75%ofthepeopleinIndiaarespendinglessthanRs.20aday.Therefore,whenweconsidertheproblemsofunor-ganisedworkers,wehavetolooknotonlyontheissueofvulnerability.Povertyitselfisaverybigcauseofdep-rivationandvulnerability.Therefore,muchmorefundsneedtobegiven,butarenotgiven,undervariouspro-grammes,likefoodsecurityoremploymentsecurity,health,etc.

TheotherpointthatwemustrememberhereisthatinIndia,unlikeinWesterncountries,most-atleasttwothirds-oftheunorganisedworkersareself-employed.Theyaresmallfarmers,vendors,providesmallservicesorareshopkeepers.Inordertoprovidesupporttothem,itisthegovernmentthathastotakeaveryimportantinitiative.

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Programmes announced by Government

Pension for all old age (above 65 yrs) persons

Health Scheme, called Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

insurance for the poor (Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana)

New Pension Scheme with monthly contribution from the pension receiver

These will presently cover segments of BPL (below poverty line) workers only

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Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008

• No statutory binding on the government to frame schemes

• No ‘National Minimum’ social security benefits, No universal package - segmented approach

• Covers only sections of unorganised sector workers for whom the schemes would be formulated. –not for all unorganised workers

• No time frame for coverage

• Boards at the national and state levels-purely advisory & no administrative functions .

Therearefourprogrammesannouncedbythegovern-mentforcoveringtheunorganisedsector.Exceptthefirstprogramme“Pensionforallold-agepersons“,whichwasintroducedin1994/95,allotherprogrammesareofrecentorigin.Weknowthattheprogrammeofhealthinsurance,whichiscalledRashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana(RSBY),isdoingwell.Itisawell-designedpro-gramme.Otherprogrammes‘performanceisnotsosure.Therearemanyreasonswhytheseprogrammesarenotdoingwell.Certainschemesarenotverysuccess-fulbecauseofthefollowingreasons:Theyhaveadesignflaw,thestatesarenotverykeen,thelabourdepartmentisnotusedtodealwithunorganisedworkers,thereisnomechanismforadepartmentofcoordination,whichisneeded.Sothemortalityrateoftheseschemesisveryhigh.Despitethefactthatitisnotaproblemtofindabudget,designingagoodprogrammeisadifficultpoint.

Itwasalreadysaid,wehavetherighttoeducation,therighttoemployment,therighttoinformation,therighttofoodsecurity,etc.TheNationalCommissionofUnorganisedWorkershadsuggestedthatfortheunor-ganisedworkersthereshouldbealaw,whichprovidescertainsecuritylikehealthinsurance,pension,protec-tionagainstvulnerability,etc.Unfortunately,thegov-ernmentdidnotagreewiththis.Therefore,thegov-ernmentintroducedalaw,butaveryweakone.Itonlysaysaboardwillbesetup,thisboardwillsuggestcer-tainschemes,theschemeswillthengotogovernment.

Itdoesnotgiveanyrighttounorganisedworkers-thekindofrightthatisprovidedintheRighttoEduca-tionforexample.ItisoneoftheweakestlawsIhaveseenduringthelast10years.

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Public Expenditure on Health as % of GDP in 2001

7

India

Bangladesh

China

Brazil

Cuba

0 5,0

Lookingattheoverallexpenditureonhealth,Indiaunfortunatelydoesnotspendmuchonhealth.Com-paredtootherdevelopmentcountriesitwaslessthan1%ofGDPin2001.Ithasgoneupto1.1%.However,thegovernmentstatedthatitshouldbewithin2-3%.Wearenowherenearthatfigureof2-3%.IfyoulookatUK,ofalltheexpendituresonhealth80%isspentbythegovernmentand20%bythepeople.InIndia,itisjusttheotherwayround:20%ispaidbythegovern-mentand80%bythepeople.Thisisoneofthemostimportantfactorswhypeoplefallintopoverty.

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Thebottomgreenpartofthecolumnshowstheexpend-itureonhealthbythegovernment.Thenextslightlybrightergreenisthecoveragebyinsurancecompaniesorbyemployers.Thelightgreenshowstheout-of-pocketexpenditurebythepeople.Sotheout-of-pocketexpend-itureinIndiaismuchhigherthanincountriesthatarepoorerthanIndiaorbetterthanIndia.IfyoucompareIndiawithChinaorwiththeUSA,whichalsohasahighlyprivatisedeconomy,youwillfindthatinallthesecountriesitistheinsurancecompaniesortheemployerswhocontributethelightergreenpartandwhatisgreen


isthecontributionfromthegovernment.People’sownout-of-pocketcontributionisverylittle.ItisnotonlythatwehavetoprovidehealthinsurancethroughRSBY,whichisagoodscheme,butwealsohavetolookattheoverallpatternofexpenditureandwhywehavenotbeenabletoincreasetheexpenditureonhealth.IfyoulookatWorldBankdocumentsyouwillfindthatthegovernmentofIndiahasincreasedtheexpendituresonbothhealthandeducation.However,thestateshavebeenreducingtheirtotalexpenditure.

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BASIC FEATURES OF RSBY• Cover for hospitalisation expenses of Rs. 30,000/- per

family (upto five members) per annum

• All Pre-existing Diseases covered from day 1

• Sources of funding: Rs. 30 per year from Beneficiary, 75% of Premium from Central Government, 25% from State Government

• Cost of Smart Card borne by the Central Government

• Both Public and Private hospitals are empanelled

• On the spot delivery of Smart Card

20 million families covered, and 5 lakh claims settled

RSBYisagoodschemebecauseithasvariousstakehold-ers:thepeople,theinsurancecompanies,thehealthpro-viders,thehospitals.Theyallbenefitfromthescheme.Ofcourse,therearealsoproblemsrelatedtopaymentofthehospitalsbytheinsurancecompanies,whichsome-timesisdelayed,butgenerallythedesignoftheschemeisagoodoneandtheschemefunctionswell.

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SMART CARD

10

RSBYisbasedongivingasmartcardtopoorpeople.Itisacashlessscheme.Thepeoplecangotoahospitalanddonothavetospendanymoneyforthetreatmenttheyget.BeneficiariesunderRSBYareentitledtohospitaliza-tioncoverageuptoRs.30,000perannum.

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Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY)

• insurance against natural death as well as accidental death and partial/permanent disability

• Central Government bears 50% of the premium of Rs 200/- per year per person and the rest by the State Government

• Benefit – 30,000. 75,000, 37,500

• Coverage: About 30 lakh families

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TheschemeAamAdmiBimaYojana(AABY)hasbeenfundedbytheFinanceMinistryoftheGovernmentofIndia.IthasbeenimplementedbytheLifeInsurancecorporation.Ihavenotseenanyevaluation.Infact,oneofthereasonswhythisschemeisnotdoingsowellisthatthereisnooversight.Itisnotbeenevaluatedandnotassessedhowthisschemeisfunctioning.IfyouwanttoimprovethesocialsectorperformanceinIndiayoudonotonlyhavetoevaluateascheme,butalsojudgethestates’performancebasedoncertainassessments.ThemoneythatflowsfromthegovernmentofIndiatothestatesisabout100billionUS$.IfthisamounthadtobegiventoeachpoorfamilyinIndia,eachpoorfamilywouldhavegotRs.130everyday.IfIgavethisinformationtoapoorpersonhewouldsay:“Sir,forgetaboutalltheseschemes!JustpassRs.130adaytomebymoneyorderandIwilllookaftermyself“.Itshowsthatalthoughwespendagreatdeal,thisdevolutionisnotlinkedwithperformance.Thereshouldbeagovernanceindicatorthatjudgesthestatesonthebasisofperform-anceofthissocialsecurityschemeandlinkdevolutionwiththat.Let‘shopethatintheyearstocometheideaoflinkingdevolutionwithperformanceimproves.

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National Social Assistance Programme(Number covered in lakhs)

Old Age Pension 167.6

Disability Pension 7.1

Widow Pension 33.9

Annapurna 9.8

Family Benefit Scheme 3.3

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Thisisaveryoldprogrammelaunchedin1995.Theamountofpensiongiventothepeoplelivingbelowpovertylineisverylittle.ItisaboutRs.200.Somestatescontributetheirownmoney,othersdon‘t.SotheamountofpensionmayvarybetweenRs.200andRs.

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1000.InKarnatakaitisaboutRs.400.Thisschemeisonlyavailabletothosewhoarebelowpovertyline.Averybigquestionis:howdoIidentifypoorpeople?

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Distribution of cardholders among poor and non-poor

% poor with no ration card

% poor with BPL/AAY cards

% BPL/AAY cards with non-poor

Rajasthan 5 23.6 65.2

UP 16.4 22.9 48.7

Bihar 25.5 21.2 45.1

Assam 25.7 23.3 56

Jharkhand 22.1 31.9 42.4

Orissa 29.3 54.8 38.1

Chhattisgarh 24.1 47.9 47

MP 30 41.9 46.2

All India 19.1 36 59.8

InIndiaitiseasytosay40%ofthepeoplelivebelowpovertyline.Butwhoarethesepeople?Therearetwodifferentproblems–estimationofpovertyandidentifi-cationofpoorpeople.Nogovernmenthasbeenablesofartocomeupwithaviableansweronhowtoidentifythepoor.

Asshowninthelastrowofthetable-allIndia–20%ofthepoorpeopleinIndiaarenotidentifiedatall.Theremustbethetribes,peoplelivinginremoteareas,peo-plelivinginvillageswheretherearenoroads.Tothesepeoplenocardatallhasbeengivenyet.Only36%oftheBPL/AAYcardsweregiventothepoor,butaround60%ofthecardsweregiventothenon-poor.Thereisagreatdealofhanky-pankyintheschemes.Therefore,anewsystemofidentifyingthepoorisneeded!Itshouldbeverysimpleandtransparent.

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General Problems

• In the past meagre budget allotted for such schemes could not be spent

• AABY and NPS have yet to prove their popularity with the state governments.

• These programmes need constant interaction with the beneficiaries whereas Government lacks capacity to implement supervision-intensive programmes.

• Shortage of manpower, lack of proper training

• Labour Department in the states has no history of running promotional schemes

Many schemes announced in the past died prematurely

Fundsareprovidedbutnotspentduetoalackofiden-tification.Thelabourdepartment,whichisinchargeoftheschemes,haveadifferentmindset.Theyhavebeendealingwithorganisedworkers,withfactories.Theyhaveacity-basedoutlook.Butnowwerequirethemtogotothevillagesandtheworkismuchmorepromo-tional.Itrequiresconstantdialoguewiththepeople

andawareness-raising.Itrequiresadifferentmindset.Itrequiresnotonlytrainingbutalsoadifferentkindofpeople.Unfortunately,LabourDepartmentinIndiaisarathersmalldepartment.Theydon‘thavepeoplewiththiskindofexpertiseofgoingtothepoorestofthepoorandtellingthemtheschemes,givingthemcredibility.Thiskindofapproachisnotthere.TheotherissueisthatthebudgetoftheLabourMin-istryofIndiaissmallcomparedtothebudgetofe.g.theMinistryofRuralDevelopment.Therefore,theirapproach,credibilityandcoordinationcapacitywithinthestategovernanceislimited.Sowehavealargenumberofproblems.Theschemesarenotevaluatedontime.Theseprogrammesrequirecon-stantinteractionwiththebeneficiaries,butthegovern-mentlacksthecapacity.That‘swhywehavefoundthattheschemesgenerallydonotworkverywell.

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Issues for discussion

• Role of government vs employers

• Protection schemes vs promotional schemes

• Frequent independent assessment

• Problems are multi-sectoral related to governance

• Should schemes be targeted to the BPL or be universal?

• How to identify the BPL?

Devolution of funds to the states is not linked with accountability & performance

Inourworkshopweneedtodiscussalargenumberofissues:• Roleofgovernmentvsemployers• Protectionschemesvspromotionalschemes• Frequentindependentassessment• Problemsaremulti-sectoralrelatedtogovernance• ShouldschemesbetargetedtotheBPLorbeuniver-

sal?• HowtoidentifytheBPL?

Insomestatescertainprogrammesworkwell.Weneedtopickupbestpracticesandlearnfromthem.Thankyou.


Honourable Minis-ter, Mr. Ravishankar, Mr. Saxena, ladies and dentlemen:

Ideemitagreathon-ourandprivilegetoproposethevoteofthanksonbehalfofGTZandInWEnttothehonourableMinisterMr.BacheGowda,Mr.N.C.Saxena,andMr.Rav-

ishankar.Itisonlyappropriatethattheopeningsessionhasprovidedusabird’seyeviewofsocialprotectioninIndiaandraisedsomeofthekeyquestions,whichallofustogetherwilladdressinthecomingthreedays.I’msureithasprovidedmuchfoodforthoughtforallofuspresenthere.

1.3 Vote of Thanksby Jean-Olivier Schmidt

Programme Director, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Social

Security Benefits for Unorganised Workers, Bangalore, India

WearedelightedtohaveamongstusMr.BacheGowda,LabourMinister,GovernmentofKarnatakaashispres-encehereshowsushiscommitmenttosocialprotection.Ithankyouforyourgraciouspresenceheretoday.WeareindeeddelightedtohaveMr.N.C.Saxenaamongstus.Hispresencehasbeenasourceofguidanceandinspirationforus.ThesuccessfulculminationofthisprogrammeowesmuchtotheguidanceandsupportofMr.RavishankarandIthankhimforthesame.Ialsothankallthedistinguishedconferenceparticipantspresenthereforacceptingourinvitation.IthankallmycolleaguesfromGTZ/InWEntfortheircontinuoussup-port.

Thankyouallonceagain.

Ms.BirgitNiebuhr,moderatoroftheconference,tookovertowelcomeallparticipantsandintroducepro-gramme,objectivesandmethodologyoftheconference.

Honourable Minister Mr. Bache Gowda, Commissioner of Labour, Mr. Ravishankar, General Consul, Mr. Salig-mann and Representative of the German Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Mr. Michael Schmidt, ladies and gentlemen:

Welcome!Itisarealpleasureformetobethemoderatorofthisconference,toleadyouthroughitandtobethereforyou.ItisalsoveryspecialformesinceIhavebeentoIndia30yearsagointhelate70ies.I’vecomebackonlyoneyearagoandIcouldseemanychanges.ThisisnowmythirdtimeandIconsideritreallyaprivilegetobehere.

1.4 Introduction to the Conferenceby Ms. Birgit Niebuhr

Moderator, Berlin, Germany

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Conference outputs

• Identificationofsuccessfactorsfortheimplementa-tionofSocialSecurityProgrammesforunorganisedworkers

• Initiationofaplatformforjointlearningonsocialpolicydevelopmentandimplementationforthepoor.

Programme of the conference

Thedrawingontheboardshowsthepaththroughtheconferencestartingonthelowerleftsidewiththeoffi-cialopeningoftheconference,goingonwithakeynotespeechandfurthermorewithapaneldiscussionwithsixhonourablepanelmembers.Basedontheresultsofthepaneldiscussionthejourneycontinueswithaworkinggroupsessiononfourimportantsubjects.Theresultsoftheworkinggroupswillbepresentedlaterinaso-called“InformationMarket”.Thegoodproductselaboratedinworkinggroupswillbeputonthemarketstandforeverybodytosee.Fieldvisitsareforeseentoenrichpar-ticipants’knowledgeandgiveareal-lifeexperienceonsocialsecuritydeliveryandapproachesintheregion.Onthethirddayparticipantswillbeina“WorldCafé”todeepenthetopicsandquestionsexplored.Attheendofthejourneyparticipantsshallbereadytoformcom-munitiesofpracticeforvarioussubjectsthatwillhavebeenidentifiedduringtheconference.


Methods of the conference

Theworkingmethodthroughouttheconferenceispar-ticipatory.Thatmeansparticipantsshallactivelytakepart,shallowntheircontributionsandthediscussions’results.Thiswillbeachievedbyusingawayofvisual-isingthecontributions,sothateverybodycanseeandfollow-uptheprocess.Thus,transparencyissupported.Participants’contributionswillbemadevisiblebyusingcards.

Thisparticipatoryapproachproviding• Visibility• Transparency• Ownership

willbeanapproachforallformatsanddifferentstepsoftheconference,e.g.:• Panel• Workinggroups

• Informationmarket.

Successiveworkmode:• Theresults/questionsofonesessionformthebasis

forthenextsession.➞ Deepeningofissuesanddiscussions➞ Step-by-stepapproachthatallowsparticipants

todeepenandintensifytheirlearning.Noideawillbelost.

Process-orientedwork:• Weneedyourfeedbackinordertogowiththeproc-

essandadaptourplanaccordingly!➞ Choosearepresentativefromyourworking

groupsintheafternoon!➞ Discussamongyourselves,howthedaywasfor

you!➞ Letusknowthroughtherepresentative!

Followingtheintroductorysession,apanelwasheldinordertodeepenissuesthathadbeenbroughtupinthekeynotespeechandtolookatglobalissuesofsocialsecurity,nationallyandinternationally.

Beforeintroducingthepanelmembers,themoderatorinstructedtheparticipantsrelatedtotheworkprocessduringthepanel.

Task for participants:Whenyoulistentothediscussionandthequestions,notewhatevercomestoyourmind(questions/state-ments)onawhitecard.Donotwritemorethanonethoughtononecard.Thecardswillbecollectedafterthepaneldiscussionandtakencareofduringthecon-ference.

1.5 Panel Discussion. Reaching out to the Unorganized Workers with Social

Protection: Experiences from the Region and Germany

Moderated by Ms. Birgit Niebuhr

Thenthepanelguestswereintroduced:

Panelguest1:Michael Schmidt,Advisor,FederalMin-istryofLabourandSocialAffairs(BMAS),GermanyPanelguest2:Thomas Hochgesang,SocialPolicyAdvisor,DeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusam-menarbeit(GTZ)GmbHPanelguest3:Mr. Ravishankar,IndianAdministra-tiveOfficer,CommissionerofLabourintheStateofKarnatakaPanelguest4:Ms. Gayathri Vasudevan,Advisor,LabourNetPanelguests5:Quang Tuan Luu,DirectoroftheCen-treforInformationStrategicAnalysisandForecasting,InstituteofLabourScienceandSocialAffairs(ILSSA),Hanoi,VietnamPanelguest6:Nikhil Dey,FounderMemberMKSS,theNationalCampaignforPeoplesRighttoInforma-tion(NCPRI)andNREGAActivist,Rajastan,India

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Panel questions to Gayathri Vasudevan

When I listened to the keynote speech I was reminded of how social security came about in Germany. It came, when Bismarck needed to appease the workers during the first phase of industrialisation in Germany. He was successful with it. At the same time the social security contributed to a better standard of living and a relative empowerment of the workers. That shows me, that laws do not come out of nothing. There is always a certain context and environ-ment to it. There is always a pressure, be it from the gov-ernment, from certain interest groups, from the civil society side or others.

Now my question is: What exactly was the context in India in which the National Social Security Act for Unorganised Workers was brought about? Or differently asked: What was the rationale in India for the National Social Security Act for UnorganisedWorkers?

InIndia,theNSSAistheresultoftheintelligentsiaandcivilsocietygroupsabilitytoconvincethepoliticalelitethatNSSAisgoodforvotebankpolitics.How-ever,whiletheintentoftheActitselfislaudable,itisarathertoothlessact.TheneednowistofocusonusingtheActsspiritandlettertoprovideitsubstance.TheActaimstoprovideitspeoplewithatleastbasicsocialprotectionandlaterbuildovertimetocoverextendedsocialprotection.

Are there any experiences demonstrating that social protec-tion is able to move poor people out of poverty?

KeralaisagoodexampleofstatewhichhasadoptedafairlyadvancedsocialprotectionprogrammeanditistheonestateinIndiainwhichpeopledonotstarveandhavebasicsocialprotection.Internationallytherearemanyexamples–tonameafewSriLanka,CostaRica.Inalltheseplaces,averyconsciousanddeterminedefforthasbeentoensurethatallcitizenshavebasicsocialprotectionandovertimethishasresultedinthepeopleofthecountrymovingoutofpoverty.WithinIndiatoo,thereareotherexamplesofpock-etsinwhichtheadoptionandeffectiveimplementa-tionofsocialprotectionprogrammeshavemovedthepeopleoutofpovertyeg.Maharashtra’sEmploymentGuaranteeschemewhichistheprecursortothepresentNationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeAct.


Panel questions to Michael Schmidt

As we have heard in the keynote speech, more than 90 % of the unorganised workers in India contribute to Indian economic growth. But they do not benefit from it in terms of development and in terms of their own living standards.

Mr. Schmidt, based on what you know about the Ger-man and Asian social security systems, and specifically the Indian social security system, what are the differences and what are the commonalities?

I’mnottheexpertofIndiansocialsecurity.Ihavemuchexperienceallovertheworld,inIndia,too.ButIthinkweagreethatmodelsinventedbyindustrialcountriescannotserveforstateslikeIndia.Thatalsoappliesforsocialsecuritysystems.

Differentandcommonpointsofthesocialsecuritysys-temsinGermanyandinIndia:Thedifferencesareclear.InGermanywedonothavearealinformalsector.Wehavefiveinsurancesinoursocialsystemlikehealth,pension,unemployment,etc.Butthegreatdifferenceisthatbetween80and90%oftheGermanemployeespaycontributionstothediffer-entfieldsofsocialsecurityinsurances.Theyhavetopaycontributions.Itisnotanoption.Thesocialinsurancecoverageistraditionallylinkedtoemployment.Thereareseveralpensionschemesforself-employment,e.g.thesocialprotectionschemeforfarmersorartists,orthepensionfundforcraftsmen.

Therearealsocommonpoints:Wehavemoreso-calledpatch-workers,oftendiscon-nectedwithsocialsecurity.Inspecialcases,e.g.own-accountworkers,wehavetheminretirementprovision,butfrequentlydebitedinhealthinsurance,inpensioninsuranceandinothers.Inthelast20yearsthenumberofown-accountworkersinGermanyincreasedby2.29million.

In both countries there are very clear changes in society like demographic changes. All over the world people are getting older and older. In Germany, we face the reality that the birth rate is very low. This influences the social security sys-tem, e.g. health or pension insurance.

Do you see specific challenges for the Indian system?

NotaspecificpointbutIthinkthatthechallengeinsocialpolicyisnotonlydemographic.Therearealsochangesbetweenmenandwomen,betweenyoungandold–alltheseaspectsinfluencesocialsecurity.

Panel questions to Ravishankar, DoL

Do you agree to Mr. Saxena’s analysis? I quote: “The Department of Labour in the states has no history of running promotional schemes. They (the Department of Labour in the states) … look upon themselves as regulatory body, deeply involved in supervising compliance of labour regulatory laws.”

LookingattheexperiencesofourneighbouringstateslikeKeralathereisanumberofsocialsecurityschemesbeingadministeredandbeingservicedthroughtheDepartmentofLabouranditsorganisations.Forexam-pleinKerala,thecivilsocietyorganisationsmustbeawarethatalargenumberofsocialsecuritywelfareboardshavebeensetupforvariousprofessions.

In Germany we have noticed for some years that public administration has become more service-oriented and cli-ent-oriented. Experts call this ‘administrative modernisa-tion’, or ‘paradigm shift.’Do you see any need for a ‘paradigm shift’ for the Labour Department for moving away from a supervisory mode to becoming more client-oriented and service-oriented? Given your experience in working in other departments, do you think that the Department of Labour has something to learn from other government departments in India itself?

Ofcourse,theLabourDepartmentneedstodoapara-digmshiftforthepurposeofadministrationtosupporttheunorganisedworkers.Inthisactivitywehavetriedtoactivateorinvolvetheunitsofgovernmentatdistrictlevelinvariousdistricts.Weareinvolvingallthedis-trictlevelofficers.Someofthemalsowereinthefield.Wearetryingtoensurethattheirparticipationisthere.LookattheGTZprojectonsocialsecurityinKarna-takaforexample:Wehavesetuptheworkerfacilitationcentres.Thesecentresshallensurethateveryworkergetsallthebenefitsheorshewouldliketohaveaccesstointhesystemofourgovernment.

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Anotherpointinthiscontextisthatstatisticsandsur-veyspreviouslydonebytheInstituteofSocialandEco-nomicScienceontheprojecthavecomeupwithveryinterestingresults:Theyfoundthatalargenumberofunorganisedworkershadalreadycontributedtovariouswelfareschemes.Thereforeourstrategyistoacceler-atethecommunitywithalltheexistingprogrammes,createaspirationandalsoensurethattheunorganisedworkersbelievethatsocialsecurityisnotjustagov-ernmenthandout,buttheyshouldparticipateinthisapproachandalsocontribute.Wehavealreadystartedoneprogramme,whichwasmentionedintheopeningsession:theNewPensionScheme(NPS).Thisschemeisadefinedcontribution-basedpensionsystemlaunchedbythegovernmentofIndiain2004.TheStateGovernmentcontributestotheUnorganisedWorkersPensionFund.TheunorganisedworkerspayaminimumamountofRs.100percontri-bution,theStateGovernmentalsomakesacontribu-tionofRs.100permonth.TheGovernmentofIndia,MinistryofFinancescontributesRs.1000peryear.Itisatotallytransparentprocess.Wewouldliketoworkwiththedistrictadministra-tionstoensuretheparticipationofunorganisedwork-ers.Wewanttounderstandwhatisthedemandoftheworkers,howwouldtheyliketocontributetothewel-fareschemes.WehavesetupWorkers‘Unionstooper-atetheschemes,ensurethattheworkersunderstandthebenefitoftheschemesandensurethattheworkerscon-tributetotheirpensionfund.

Panel questions to Thomas Hochgesang

Mr. Hochgesang, we have heard that an overall envi-ronment is needed to bring about changes and policies. It is our experience that even if it is not the main objec-tive, empowerment may be brought about by providing social security. Thirdly, bureaucratic institutions are not eternally the same but they can change and become more client-oriented. Based on your experience in a number of Asian countries, how do you see these three aspects?

AgoodoverallenvironmentfromaGermanpointofviewisifyouhavesomethinglikeasocialmarketecon-omy,whichencompassesthegovernment,thestate,whichencompassestheresponsibilityofprivatesectorcompaniesandalsotheresponsibilitiesandtherightsofthecivilsociety.Ifit‘sagoodsystem,thesystemofsocialprotectioncanhelptostrengthendevelopmentingeneral.

Secondpointregardinganoverallenvironment:IwouldsayitisgoodtousethesystemIdescribedbeforeinsomekindofamulti-layerapproachsothatyouhave

willingbureaucratsandhopefullypoliticians,whowanttodosomethingtop-downbutthatyoualsohaveastrongcivilsocietyandstrongworkers,whoareabletodemand,sothatbothofthemcanmeetoncecompaniesrealisetheneedofsocialdevelopment,socialpolicyandprotectioninordertohaveageneralclimate,whichisconducivealsotoeconomicdevelopment.WithregardtowhatIunderstandfrommyanalysishowlabourdepartmentsworkinmanyIndianstates-I‘mnotsureaboutKarnataka-isthatinmanystatesthedepart-mentsoflabourhavenodirectlinktotheblocklevelsandthereforecannotdirectlysupporttheblocklevelsandGramPanchayatsontheground.TheGTZprojectcanserveasarolemodeltogettothatpoint.Onethoughttoempowerment:Ibelieve,yes,empower-mentcanbebroughtaboutbyprovidingsocialprotec-tion.Becausepeoplewhogetmoneyoncetheyareindistressdon‘tneedtogotolandownersandselltheirchildren.Theydon‘tneedtogotomoneylendersandpayhighinterests.Tostrengthenthedemandsidethroughsocialprotec-tionitmighthelptosupportthesystembottom-up.


Are there other aspects that from your point of view are rel-evant, apart from these?

ItwassaidbyMr.Saxenathattheproblemsaremulti-sectoral.Therefore,oneshouldnotonlythinkaboutsocialprotectionbutalsoaboutsustainablesocialdevel-opment-notasacontradictiontoeconomicdevelop-mentbutasanecessaryprerequisitetoachieveeco-nomicandsocialdevelopment.

Panel question to Mr. Luu

Mr. Luu, given your educational background in India, your work experience in Vietnam and your knowledge of social security systems, may I ask you to comment on these three aspects comparing Vietnam and India, and the learn-ing that both countries could take from each other?

IwastrainedinIndiainaninternationaltrainingpro-grammeofpopulationandsustainabledevelopmentfrom1998-1999.Soitisalittlebitfarfromnow.Tomyknowledge,therearesomesimilaritiesandalsodiffer-encesbetweenthetwocountriesintermsofsocialsecu-ritydevelopment.

Underthedemographyaspect,India’spopulationisverylargewithnearly1.2billionpeoplebynow;thepopulationofVietnamisaround87millionpeople.Thetotalfertilityrate(TFR)inVietnamhasalreadyreachedthereplacementrate;itisstillratherhighinIndia(around2.7).Vietnam’sinfantmortalityrate(IMR)isabout16deaths/1000livebirths;thisfig-ureinIndiaisabout30deaths/1000livebirths.Thus,thetrendofpopulationageinginVietnamseemstobefasterascomparedtothatinIndia.Presently,Indianpopulationaged65andaboveaccountsforabout5%ofthepopulation;inVietnamthisfigurereachesabout

10%.Hence,theprioritiesforthecaseofIndiaunderthisaspectissocialsecurityformaternityandchildren,whereasVietnammustnotonlyfocusontheseissuesbutalsoontheoldagepeople.Underthesocio-economicdevelopmentaspect,Viet-namisatransitioneconomy,hence,tosomeextentitcanbesaidthatnon-governmentorganizationsinViet-namarenotyetasdevelopedasinIndia,Vietnamstilllacksexperiencesinmobilisingsocialstakeholdersforparticipatinginsocialsecuritysystems.

OneoftheimportantfeaturesofIndiaandVietnamisthattheproportionofpopulationintheworkingageisratherhighinthetwocountries.Thisisanadvan-tageforbothcountriesincontributingtotheeconomicdevelopment.However,thetwoeconomiesarenotyetdeveloped.Amajorproportionoftheworkforceisstillworkingasunorganisedworkers.Hence,ensuringthesecurityofemploymentor“decentworkforall”includ-ingprovidingsocialprotectionfloorforallshouldbethekeypriorityinbothcountries.Underthisaspect,itiswidelyrecognizedthatVietnamhasachievedagreatsuccessintermsofpovertyreduction.Thepovertyratedecreasedfrom58%in1993tounder10%in2010.Thecoverageofhealthinsurancehasbeenexpanded.Presently,around60%ofthepopulationhavehealthinsurancecards.Socialpensionhasbeenprovidedtopeopleaged80andaboveandothervulnerablepeoplewiththebasicpensionofaroundUSD10amonth.

InthecaseofIndia,thepovertyrateisstillratherhighbutthecountryhasrecentlygotalotofexperiencesinorganizingpublicworkprogrammesforthepoorandunemployedones.Theoldagepeopleof65andaboveareentitledtogetamonthlysocialpension.Smart-cardshavebeenadoptedtosupportvulnerablepeopleinaccessingsocialservices.Hence,inordertopromotethesocialsecurityrightsofthepeople,twocountriescanlearnfromeachotherinthisfield.Forexample,whilepovertyneedstobereducedandtheminimumincomeincludingthebasicsocialpensionneedstobeensuredinIndia,thetargetofuniversalhealthinsuranceneedstobeachieved,socialinsuranceschemesneedtoberevisedtoattractunorganizedworkersinVietnamandthesocialpensionshouldprovidenotonlythepeopleof80yearsandabovebutalsothepeopleabovethework-ingage.Smart-cardsarealsoneededtoadoptinthecaseofVietnaminordertofacilitatethevulnerablepeo-pleinaccessingthebasicsocialservices.

Panel questions to Nikhil Dey

What we know from India is that there are a number of bottom-up activities. One example of that is the Right

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of Information campaign. We would like to know a lit-tle more about your movement. But in addition to it we would like to understand your opinion and views on ensur-ing that the aims of the National Social Security Act for Unorganised Workers are realised. What is your opinion on that?

Ifyoupermit,I‘dliketofirsttalkalittlemoreaboutthelargerparadigm.ThequestionofprotectionitselfandsocialsecuritynextIthinkissomethingthatunderminesthewholeapproachofpeople’srights.Wearefightingwiththepeoplewhosay:“Thisiswhatyouneedtosurviveandwe‘llmakesureyou‘llgetwhatyouneedtosurvive“.Andthat‘sall.That‘swherewewanttokeeplookingattheminimumpossibleandreducethatminimumfurtherandfurther.EspeciallyinthecontextofIndia,onehastostartlookingataspectsofentitlementandwherethatcomesin.Thisisactuallyacombinationofdevelopmentrightsandworkers‘rights.IntermsoftheNationalRuralEmploymentGuaran-teeActitlooksatcertaineconomicandsocialrightsaswellascertaindemocraticrights.Butinthewholeeconomy,becausewearepoor,wehavenorightsatall.Weonlygetthatminimumlevelwiththewholecon-textofrights.Therefore,Ithinkweshouldstartlookingatacombinationsothatwecometoanideaofcitizens‘rights.

Alsowithinsocialsecurity:Whatareoursocialandeconomicrightsratherthanjustprotection?Ascitizensdowehaveequalrightstothosesocialsecurityaspects?Therefore,thereisaverystrongownershipfactor.Own-ershipisverycrucial,thisiswhatworkersneed.

Do you think that the development of Information Com-munication Technology helps to empower people?

ThereisamisunderstandingaboutICT,sincemanypeoplethinkitisacomputerscreen.Wehaveusedthetermcommunicationtechnologyformanyyears.Ithinkwe‘veactuallylostthepowerofinformation.Thecommunicationaspectstartedwiththeuseofcom-putersandwebsites,andthetechnologystartedtobereducedjusttoacomputer.ButIthinkwhatwehavegainedfromthecomputerandwebsitesweneedtotransfertothepeoplemuchmoreastechnology.Wouldyouagreethatitisnotonlythegovernmentthatrequirestolearnbutthereisaneedforvariouscivilsocietyactorsandmovementstoalsolearn?Ofcourse,verymuch.Ithinkgovernmentsandmanycivilsocietyactorsneedtofirstlearnthattheyareontheotherside.Theyareactuallynotonthesideoftheworkersbuttheythinktheyare.Ithinkthisisaques-tionthatallofusneedtoputtoourselves.Doweaskenoughbasicandfundamentalquestions?Arewereally

aligningourselveswiththequestionsandconcernsthepeoplehave?Therearemanythingswehavetolearn,butIthinkfundamentallyare:Whoraisesthequestion?Whatistheirquestion?Whataretheirconcerns?

Questions at the end of the panel to all panel members

Mr. Saxena also mentions the positive dynamism that exists in the unorganised sector. My question to each one of you is: Is the aim of the Indian government that unorganised workers should move into the organised sector? Or is the aim of the Indian government that the unorganised workers may stay unorganised but at least they should have social development. May I request all of you to express your views on that statement in short.

Mr. Saxena:Theissuewhethergovernmentismovingthepeoplefromtheunorganisedtotheorganisedsectorhasbeen


discussedinmypaper.ThereisadeliberatepolicyofthegovernmentofIndiatomovepeoplefromtheorganisedtotheunorganisedsector.TheorganisedsectorinIndiaisapamperedlaw.Ifyoulookatthenumberintheorganisedsector,thereare35millionpeople.Around22millionpeopleareinthegovernmentservice,theothersarefromorganisedfactories.OrganisedlabourinIndiaisorganisedasfollows:Theorganisedworkersgetaveryhighsalarybuttheproductivityislow.There-fore,thegovernmentstartedoutsourcing.Whathadbeendoneinthepastbythegovernmentservicewasoutsourced.Sothenumberofunorganisedworkersisincreasing.Itisimpossibleforthepoortogainanythingatallunlesstheyareorganised.

Mr. Dey:Ithinkweshouldmakealittledistinctionbetweenunorganisedandinformalsectorbecausetheremustbeadesirethatallworkersshouldbeorganised,thatallpeopleshouldbeinorganisedgroups.TheNationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeActhasprovidedaplat-formforpeopletoorganise.ThepoorestaspectoftheSocialSecurityLegislationisthatithasnotgivenaplat-formforpeopletoorganiseandtofightfortheirrights.Yes,Iagreethereisapamperedlawononesideandacompletelyexploitedlawontheother.Butwemustcre-atetheopportunityforthepeopletoorganise.

Mr. Schmidt:Iwouldliketoanswerthisquestionfrommypersonalpointofview.Ithinkalotofmeasuresarenecessary.Asitwassaidbefore,therearedifferentgroupsanddif-ferentgroupsneeddifferentmeasures.InthemorningsessionwehaveheardabouttheRSBYcardsinhealthservice.Ithinkitispossibleandnecessarytoenlargethecircleforthepeoplewhogetsuchacard.InGermanywehavebasicsecuritybenefitsforprob-lematicgroupslikeunemployedpeople,pensionersorothergroups.Inaninternationaldiscussionwehavedebatedaboutsocialsystems.Inthisdiscussionwe

agreedtosupportpoororproblematicfamilieswithsocialassistanceprogrammesbutlinkthemoncertainconditions.

A voice from plenary:Whatdoesitmeanforthemtobeintheformalorinformalsector,organisedorunorganisedsector?Whentheyareprotectedbythelaw,byjustwardingthemsocialsecurityorwelfare,theydon‘tbecomeorganised.Firstofalltheemploymenthastoberegulatedandalsotheconditionsofservices.Thesetwoaspectsareveryimportant.MysubmissionisasfarasthegovernmentofIndiaisconcerned,itisnotgoingtodothat.WehavehadtheRegulationofEmploymentActforConstruc-tionWorkerssince1996.Itallowsthemtoconstitutewelfareboardsandprovidecertainsocialsecurityandwelfaremeasures.Buttheyarenotwillingtoregulatetheiremployment.

Ms. Vasudevan:IsharetheviewofNikhil.TheissueisnotwhetherthegovernmentwantstomovepeopleintotheorganisedsectorbutIthinktheissueisthattherehastobeaplat-formonwhichweareabletoorganise.Otherwise,onecannotaskforrights.I‘minvolvedinanorganisation,whichworkswithconstructionworkersandIcantellyouthattodayconstructionworkershavenorights.

Mr. Ravishankar:OnewayofraisingthedemandorcreatingawarenessorbringingabouttherightsapproachistoorganisethemingroupsasMr.Deyhassaid.Wearetryingtobringpeopleincertainprofessionsintoboards,whichwillcreategroupsafterall.Bycreatingsuchwearecertainlygoingtoraisedemands,wearegoingtoraiseexpecta-tions.Bydemandingtheirrightsineitherthegroupsorinassociationsorworkersunionstheycancertainlyensurethatthebasicsocialsecurityrightsarerequired.

Themainobjectiveofthepanelhadbeentoseehowothercountriesintheregionandbeyondaddresstheissueofsocialprotectionforunorganisedworkers.

Inconclusionthepanelbroughttolightthefollowingissues:

• Thedevelopmentandmanagementofasocialsecu-ritysystemisamultilayeredprocess.Topdownandbottomupprocesses(politiciansandbureaucratsontheoneside,activists,civilsocietyandworkersontheotherside)havetocometogetherandcompa-nieshavetorealisetheneedforsocialdevelopmentasanoverallissueandtoseetheirownresponsibil-ityinit.

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• Socialprotectionisintricablylinkedtosustain-ablesocialdevelopment,whichisaprerequisiteforeconomicdevelopment.Thus,socialprotectionmeasuresarenotincontradictionwitheconomicgrowth.

• Measuresshouldnotbeuniformbuttheyneedtobemultipleandbetailoredtodifferentpeoplesneeds.

• Whileeffectivedecentralisedservicedelivery–seenas‘administrativemodernisation’ora‘paradigmshift’-isneeded,moreresearchisinevitableinordertofullyunderstandhowprocessesandserv-iceshavetobedesignedinordertobemeaningfulforworkers.

• Socialsecuritycanbringaboutempowermentbygivingpeoplespacetoengageinquestionsoftheirpoliticalandsocialroleasopposedtotheirworry-ingaboutthedailyexistentialneeds.

• Economicandsocialrightscannotbedividedfromdemocraticrights.Thewayinwhichsocialprotec-tionandsecurityissometimesdiscussedmay,how-ever,underminesucharights-basedunderstanding.Therefore,entitlementaspectshavetobestrength-ened.

• TheGermanexperiencewithsocialprotectionhasonlylimitedvalueforIndiabecauseofsocio-eco-nomic,demographicaswellassocial-culturalrea-sons,i.e.genderrolesandgeneration-relatedissues.Therefore,eventhoughGermanyoffersinterestingperspectivesofhowasocialsecuritysystemcanberun,additionalconceptsareneededtoaccompanytheIndiansocio-economictransformationprocessandtoeffectivelyaddressitschallenges.

• VietnamdifferslargelyfromIndiawithregardtotheabsolutenumberofpopulation,populationgrowth,agestructure,reproductivehealthindi-cators,andsocio-economicdevelopment.Simi-larfeaturesofbothcountries,however,includeahighpercentageoftheworkingpopulationaswellaseconomiesthatarenotyetdevelopedandhaveahighpercentageofunorganisedworkers.Theover-archingcommonissueforbothcountriesthereforeisprovidingsocialsecurity.#

• Adistinctionoftheterms‘unorganised’and‘infor-mal’sectorisneededtoensuretransparencyandclarityofongoingdiscussionsandobjectives.Peo-pleneedtohaveskillsandopportunitytoorganise.Theirownorganisationisaprerequisitetofightfortheirrights.Thequestionifgovernmentwantstomovepeoplefromtheunorganisedtotheorganisedsectoristhereforenottherightquestionstoask.

• DevelopmentofaresponsivesocialsecuritysysteminIndiainvolvesdifferentwaysandlevelsoflearn-ing:notonlygovernmentneedstolearnbutalsocivilsociety.Particularlythelatterneedstolearntoexamineitsownquestionsandapproachesastotheirrelevanceandpertinencetotherealneedsofworkers.

Thepanelwasintendedtoshedlightonissuesofsocialresponsibilityofthestate,developmentpathsandper-spectivesofdifferentsystemsandcountries,issuesofsocialmobilisationaswellasonquestionsofethicsandrights.ItsoutcomesservedtonourishtheupcomingWorkingGroupswhichalldealtinonewayoftheotherwiththeissuesabove.


Theafternoonwasdedicatedtoanintenseworkinggroupsession.Themoderator,BirgitNiebuhr,gaveabriefintroductionintotheworkinggroups.Participantswentintosevensub-groups(thegroups4aand4bweremergedintoonegroupduetothesmallnumberofpar-ticipantsinterestedineachofthem)workingonthefol-lowingfourdifferenttopics:• Topic1:Gapsbetweenneed/demandandsupply/

barrierstoaccesssocialprotectionschemes• Topic2:Deliverysystems:Goodpracticesandhow

theywork• Topic3:Awarenesscreationandempowerment• Topic4:RoleofITinfacilitatingdelivery

Eachworkinggrouphadaninputgiverwhowasresponsibleforinitiatingthediscussioninhis/hergroup.Please,refertoAnnexA2fortheinputpapers.

1.6 Working Groups

Topic 3: Awareness creation and empowermentIntroductoryNoteWG3a:ShivKumarNarayanan,DirectorandFounderMemberCatalystManagementServicesPrivateLimited,Bangalore,Karnataka,IndiaIntroductoryNoteWG3b:RavinderKumar,Director,VruttiLivelihoodsResourceCentre,Delhi,India

Topic 1: Gaps between need/demand and supply/barriers to access social protection schemesIntroductoryNoteWG1a:CatherineDusseaudeIbarra,RegionalHealthAdviserforLatinAmerica,HelpAgeInternational,LaPaz,BoliviaIntroductoryNoteWG1b:PiushAnthony,SocialPol-icySpecialist,UNICEFHyderabadandChennaiFieldOffice,Hyderabad,India

Topic 2: Delivery systems - Good practices and how they workIntroductoryNoteWG2a:GopakumarThampi,ChiefOperatingOfficer,AffiliatedNetworkforSocialAccountability–SouthAsiaRegionandGlobal,Insti-tuteofGovernanceStudies,BRACUniversity,Dhaka,BangladeshIntroductoryNoteWG2b:T.R.Raghunandan,FormerJointSecretaryoftheMinistryofPanchayatiRaj,Gov-ernmentofIndia

Topic 4: Role of IT in facilitating deliveryIntroductoryNoteWG4a:ParminderSingh,Director,ITforChange,Bangalore,Karnataka,IndiaIntroductoryNoteWG4b:GurumurthyKasinath,Director,ITforChange,Bangalore,Karnataka,India

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Theworkinggroupsessionwasdividedintotworounds.Inthefirstroundparticipantswereaskedtohaveanintensediscussionbasedontheinputpresenta-tions(seeallinputpresentationsinannexA1).Secondround:Oncethegroupshadcometoconsen-susoftheirdiscussionresults,theyshouldthinkofhowtopresenttheseresultsintheframeworkofaninfor-mationmarket.Inordertoenhancecreativity,lotsofmaterials(colouredpapers,etc.)wereputonthework-inggrouptables.Thetaskfortheparticipantswastomaketheirproductsclear,recognisableandattractivebutalsotofollowthelogicoftheresultsthatshouldbepresented.

Additionally,participantswereaskedtotakethecardswithquestionstheycameupwithafterthepanelintotheirworkinggroupsanddiscussthemthere.Thecardswereclusteredthematicallyonboardsaccordingtothetopicsofthefollowingworkinggroupsession.

WG 1: Gap between supply and demand

Targeting• Howcanunorganisedworkersbeidentified?• Whatisanidealmethodofidentifyingbelow-pov-

erty-line(BPL)people?• Shouldn’tweskiptargetsub-groupsandinstead

mobilizepeopletoaskfortheirrights?

Funding/contribution• Whataboutsocialprotectionforsmallfarmerswho

givetheirfamilylabourwithinagriculturewithverypoorreturns?

• 10%ofthepoorestofthepoorareunorganized,migrate,havenocontinuouswageearning.HowwilltheypayRs100astheircontribution?

• Fundsseemtobeplentiful.Butaretheyproperlyused?

• Don’tyouthinkcontributionofworkersisunjusti-fiedwhenresponsibilityisofindustryandgovern-ment?

DoesNREGAimproveinfrastructure(invillages)orwastemoney?


Migrant issues• Howtoreachouttothemigrantworkersandtheir

childrenwithbasicservices?Anyexperiences?

Modernisation and social systems• Howcanasocialsecuritysystemtakecareofthe

dynamismsofmodernisation,demography,mobili-zationandgenderissues?

• Doyouseeacontradiction:Policyofopenmarket,backseatforlabourerlaws,burdenonfamilytopro-videsocialwelfare?

• Isn’ttheincreaseofinformalityanecessarycondi-tion/aspectofglobalization?

Schemes related questions• Aren’tthesocialprotectionschemescontributingto

the“formalization”oftheseworkers?(card,etc.)• WhatofESIS(likeboards)toaddtohealthof

unorganizedsector?• Whatprofessionsshouldbeincludedintheunor-

ganizedsectors’board?

WG 2: Good practices of delivery mechanisms

Delivery mechanisms• Isthereagapinthe“chain”fromthestategovern-

ment/DoLtothecommunity(block)?Howcanthisgapbebridged?

• Howparticipatoryisthesettingupofworkersfacil-itationcentres?

• Hasthegovernmentthoughtofconvergingthe

institutionstoseeeffectiveimplementationassuringsocialsecuritytoallunorganizedworkers?

• Dolabourdepartmentsmechanismshave(enough)personneltoblock/Panchayatlevel?

• Arewemakingsocialsecuritymoregovernment-centricratherthanpeople-centric?

• Whatarethemeasurestakentoensuresocialsecu-rityofconstructionworkersinlargeinfrastructuredevelopmentprojectslikemetrorail,etc.?

• Whatisthepercentageofinsuredworkersinunor-ganizedsector?

• TherehavebeenseveralchallengesintheeffectiveimplementationofNREGAinKarnataka.Whatisthegovernmentdoingtowardsensuringtoresolvetheseissues,whichappearinitseffectiveimplemen-tation?

• Organisingtheunorganisedisessential.Butshoulditbebroughtunderbureaucraticmonitoring?

WG 3: Awareness

Civil society• AccordingtoNikhilDeynotonlygovernmenthas

tochangeitsmindset,alsotheunorganisedworkershavetorealizetheirrighttosocialsecurity.Howtodothis?

• Civilsocietyorganizationsspaceforrightscurtailedthroughchangesofincometax/ForeignContribu-tionRegulationAct(FCRA)charges

• Shouldcivilsocietycontinuouslycontrolthegov-ernmentactions?

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• Unskilledlabourers’minimumwagesthoughdefinedatthedistrict–notpublicised.Howdowego?

Accountability• Howauthenticisthedatabeingprojectedon

NREGA,otherschemes?• Aftertheformationofasocietyboardmodel,who

wouldberesponsibleforimplementationofpoli-cies?

• Aspirationandstrugglesofunorganisedlabourersandtheirorganisations,totallyforgotteninputtingpressureonthegovernmenttoenacttheunorgan-isedworkerssocialsecuritylaw

Evaluation• Performancefeedback–isitsporadic,orhasit

becomemainstreamedtoenforcesocialaccounta-bility?

• Apartfromenlistingworkerswithschemes,whatcouldbethemonitoringmechanisms?

Participation and empowerment• Howisthemindsetchangebroughtabout?Dowe

havetoputupamechanism?• Awarenessislinkedtoinformationonly,alsorais-

ingtheirvoicethroughpoliticaloutlook?

Knowledge questions• WhatistheclaimratioforRSBYorhowmuchis

thepayoutthroughRSBY?• HowmanydistrictshavestartedRSBYinKarna-

taka?• WhatisthepercentageoftaxutilisedinKarnataka?

Therewasonegroupofcardsrelatedtopoliticalfac-tors,whichdidnotreallyfittotheworkinggrouptop-ics.That’swhytheorganisersrecommendedthatgroupswhodealwiththesetopicsshouldtakethesecardsandworkwiththemduringtheirworkinggroupdiscussion.

Groupsthatdealintheirworkinggroupswithrespec-tiveissuesshouldtakethefollowingcards:

Political factors• Canfederalisationbeconsideredabarriertoimple-

mentationanddeliveryofpolicies/laws?• Whycanindustryasawholenotcontributeto

thesocialsecurityoftheunorganisedworkers,thebackbone?

• Demandingrights–howmuchlegalroute/sociallitigationusedinIndiaandGermany?

(toGayathri):TowhatextenddopoliticalfactorsinfluencetheimplementationofsocialprotectionsysteminIndia?

• Howissocialsecuritymadeparticipatorywhenthey(workers)areunorganised?

• Needtoidentifyreasonsforunorganisedworkers• Whatarethemechanismsofbringingunorganised

workersunderoneumbrella?• Is“socialprotection”practicableandviableinasit-

uationof“unjustwages”tounorganisedworkers?(peoplereceiving1/3ofminimumwages)

Further questions:• Wouldproject-basedapproachhelpsocialprotec-

tiontounorganisedworkers?Ifyes:How?Ifno:Why?

• Minimumwagesforunskilledlabourers,thoughdefinedatthedistrictlevelisnotpopularized.Why?Whataretheoptionstopopularizeit?


Space for Creativity and Communication

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Thisdayhasthefollowingobjectives:• Topresent,discussandconcludeonworkinggroupresults;• ToclarifyandanswerquestionsofDay1asajointplenaryeffort• Toprepareandcarryoutafieldvisittoselectedinstitutionsofsocial

security


Objectives

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09:00h

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11:15h

13:00h

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Activity

Checkin

Reportingback:Informationmarket

Coffee/Teabreak

Plenary:Lessonslearntfromtheworkinggroups

Lunch

FieldvisitWorkerFacilitationCentreRSBYSmartCardDistribution

Responsible

BirgitNiebuhr

Workinggroups

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Duringafeedbacksessionattheendofthefirstconfer-enceday,participantscameupwiththefollowingcon-cerns:NotenoughroomtopostquestionsduringthepanelNotenoughroomfordialoguingwiththegovernmentUsingtermslike“informationmarket”and“worldcafé”onaconferenceforunorganisedworkerswhoarepoordoesnotreallymatch;itiscontradictory

Inrespondingtothefeedbackandinordertobetteraddressparticipantsconcerns,theorganisersofferedthefollowingchangesoftheprogrammeaswellasoftheterminologyusedduringtheconference:

• Slightlyshortenonesessiononthesecondconfer-encedaytoprovideroomforaquestionandanswersession.Thereissomuchexpertiseofthepeopleattendingtheconferencethattherewillberichnessofknowledgeandexperiencetobesharedamongtheparticipants.Lookingagainonthecardsoftheparticipantstherewasanumberofstraightforwardknowledgequestions,whichshouldbeansweredduringthequestionandanswerroundinplenary.Otherquestionsrelatedtotheworkinggrouptopicsshouldbeansweredduringtheinformationbazaar.Anothersetofquestionsshouldbeansweredduringthefieldvisits.

• Changeofterminology: Informationmarket=informationbazaar; Worldcafé=teahouse(ChaiShop),aplacetochat,

whereeverybodycancontribute.

Inadditionorganisersinformedtheparticipantsthat–asanunplannedevent-theCommissionerofLabourwouldreturntotheconferencetodevelopadraftroadmapfortheimplementationoftheNationalSocialSecurityActinKarnatakatogetherwithsomekeypar-ticipants.Theorganisersunderlinedthatthusthecon-ferenceprovidedauniqueopportunityforactualpolicydialoguewithpossiblysubsequentoutcomesthatmayshapefuturedirectionofsocialpolicy.

Theresultswillbefedbacktotheplenaryinordertogiveallparticipantsthechancetoreviewanddiscussthem.

2.1 Check in: Participants’ Feedback

Themethodologyoftheinformationbazaarwasintro-ducedbythemoderator:• Duration:90min.• Therearesixgroups;6-12peopleownoneproduct.• About15min.tovisitastandbeforechangetothe

nextone.

Itwasforeseenthatduringthebazaarthreeobserverslooksilentlyatthepresentations.Theywerenotallowedtointeractwiththepeopleshowingtheirproducts.Finally,theygavetheirfeedbackonwhattheysaw.

2.2 Reporting back: Information Bazaar

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Topic 1: Gaps between need/demand and supply/barriers to access social protection schemes

WorkingGroup1a

Furtherinformation:

CommonwealthFoundationishostedadiscussiononoutreachmodelofmissionconvergencein3rdweekofnovember2010Programmewaslaunchedin2008

Contact:[email protected]@gmail.com



WorkingGroup1b

Furtherinformation:

Awareness strategy and campaignContact:[email protected]

Context on community level (GP) through advocacyContact:[email protected]

Set up ombudsmen in every panchayat in 2011Contact:SwarnaBhat.Tel.:9480312074

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Topic 2: Delivery systems - Good practices and how they work

WorkingGroup2a

Furtherinformation:

Peoples organisation - organizing the unorganizedContact:[email protected]

Political will - Government of Delhi, Chief MinisterContact:[email protected]

Social mobilization - APNALAYA MumbaiContact:[email protected]

Creationofidentity-Labornet,KarnatakaContact:Gayathri


Topic 2: Delivery systems - Good practices and how they work

WorkingGroup2b

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Topic 3: Awareness creation and empowerment

WorkingGroup3a



WorkingGroup3b

Furtherinformation:

Mission Convergence Delhi - Application process for social assistance schemesContact:[email protected]

Reflection and change processContact:[email protected]

Food distribution in 5 slums of BangaloreContact:[email protected]

Using data effectivelyVietnamwithMinistry,ILSSAandresearchnetworkContact:BrigitteKoller,[email protected]

Vrutti Livelihood Resource CentreContact:[email protected]

Respect dignity of workers - PCLRA AhmedabadContact:[email protected]

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Topic 4: Role of IT in facilitating delivery

WorkingGroup4a/b


Observers’ Feedback

Aftertheparticipantshadvisitedandintensivelydis-cussedalltheproductsexposedontheinformationbazaarthethreeobserversgavetheirimpressionsonthemainissuestheyhadobserved.

Parametersbywhichtheobserverevaluatedtheposters:• Content• Wayofpresentation• Involvementofthegroupinthecommunity• Howmuchinterestdidthegrouptakeinthemarket

Ratingwasgiventoeachparameterforeachgroup.

Observer 1 (Mahaveer)Thewayinterestwascreatedwasunique;sameproductswerepresentedinverydifferentways.

Visibleissues:• Issuesrelatedtowelfaretowardsdevelopmentwere

discussedinallgroups• Regardingcontent/process:someofthegroupswere

verycontent-oriented,othersprocess-oriented;therewasastrugglebetweencontentandprocess.

• Thereisasystemfrominputtooutput:Insomeofthegroupsthediscussionwasonlyaboutsuccess.

• Strugglebetweenproject-basedapproachandmove-ment-basedapproach:Howtocreatemovement/energy?

• Access/non-accessissuescameup.• Competencyvs.non-competency• Localinterventionsvs.externalinterventionswere

visibleinmanyoftheproducts/stands.Whotakestheroleofempoweringothers?

• Service-orientedtowardsempowering

Non-visibleissues:• Thosewhoaremakinginterventions,thosewhoare

involved–nobodytalkedaboutthem.

Althoughtheobserverlikedeachpresentationinadif-ferentway,hegavethebestratingtohisowngroupduetotheir“fantasticpresentationandthewaytheyraisedtheirvoiceinthecommunity”.

Observer 2 (Vandana)Theobserverpointedouttwomainissues:• Everybodystressedonpeoplesparticipation.Need

forassessmentofthepeople,involvementofthepeo-ple,creationofpeoples’awareness–thatwasvisibleinallpresentations.

• Importanceofpoliticalwill–thisalsocameoutinalmosteverychart.

Additionally,theobservernoticedthateverybodyseemedtotakepolicyforgrantedandconcentratedmoreondelivery.Obviously,everybodythinksdeliveryisthemainchallenge.Eventhegroupdealingespeciallywiththepolicylevelandtheanalysisofgapstalkedmoreaboutdelivery.

Observer 3 (Ute)Utefounditveryinterestingandinspiringtofollowallthepresentations.Insomeofthegrouptherewasalotofcontent,sopeoplemighthavequestionedmorethantheissuestobediscussed.Generally,herobservationsweresimilartotheonesoftheothertwoobservers.Shealsoobservedagreatfocusonservicedeliveryandmisseddiscussionsonquestionslike“Isthepolicyframeworksomethingwehavetotakeforgrantedorcanwechangeorinfluenceit?Arewereallyhappywithit?Therights-aspectwashighlightedinallthegroups.Therewasalmostnocontroversy-withoneexception:theboardonIT.Hereitwasagreedthatalthoughitisdifficultforpeopleinruralareastomakeuseofnewtechnology,thegapshouldnotbemadeevenbroaderbyexcludingruralareasfromnewtechnologies.Inallgroupstherewasatechnologypart.Soitseemedpeoplehopeitwouldsupportservicedelivery.

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Afterallobservershadgiventheirratings,thewinningteamwasgroup3a/b.Thegroupunderlinedthatonepreconditionforcomingupwithsuchacreativeresultwasforthemworkingfirstofallaccordingtothestrictlogictheorganisershadproposedasanoverallguidefortheworkinggroups.Theawardfortheirexcellentworkwasafacilitators’handbookforworkerfacilitationcen-tres,whichcomprisedalltheschemesavailableinKar-natakainauserfriendlywayandhadbeencompiledbytheIndo-GermanCooperationproject.


Theorganisersdecidedtoprovideextraspaceintheprogrammeforthequestions,whichcameupduringthepaneldiscussiononday1oftheconference(seelistofquestionsonpage29ff).Thosequestionsthatwerenotyetansweredduringthepanelorthefollowingworkinggroupsessionwerefinallydiscussedinaques-tionandanswerroundwiththefollowingresults:

How authentic is the data being projected on NREGA and other schemes?

Theyareasauthenticastheexistingdocument.Butthisseemsoutdated.TheyallcomefromthedocumentsthatareavailablefromJAVA.However,therearedatafromthoseworkinginthefieldandtheyrealizethattheydon’tmatch.

Thereisnoindependentinfluence,noindependentaudit.

What is the claim ratio for RSBY or how much is the pay-out through RSBY?

Thereispayoutfromtheinsurancecompaniestothehospitals.Itisnotanindividualpayout.Thetotalamountthatcanbepaidis30,000Rupies.

2.3 Question and Answer Round(based on questions collected during the panel discussion)

Relatedtothediscussionheldwiththelabourcommis-sioner,itwasobviousthatthiscostissuewasrouted–whatcanweintroducefordomesticpurposesandforothersectors.Justnowweareintheprocessofcollectingdataonhowmanypeopleithasbeenimplementedfor.Whenwegotothefieldvisit,maybewegetabetteridea.

How many districts have started RSBY in Karnataka?

Fiveoutof30havestarted.

What is the percentage of access to schemes in Karnataka?

Notknown.

Does NREGA improve infrastructure or waste money?

Notknown.

There are some broader questions that were not covered by the topics of the working groups. They relate to the private sector, the project approach and to who is responsible to pay. The first question is: Don’t you think the contribution of workers is unjustified and responsibility is on industry and governments?

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Inthecontextoflabourconditions,theworkershavetocontribute,whatwefeelistotallyunjustifiedbecausetheyhavecontributedenoughwiththeirlabourintheunorganizedsectorandtheydon’tgetanequalportiononthat.Whenitcomestounorganizedworkers,usu-allytheindustryasawholeandtheindividualindustryoftheparticularsectorhavetomakeacontribution.Thewholecontributionhastocomefromtheindustrypluseachoftheemployedones.

Thisisaboutcostanditiscriticaltothepolicyandtheprogramme.Itwassaidthattheprivatesectordidmuchbetter.

IntheGermansystemitisnecessaryfortheworkerstopayacontributiontothedifferentpartsofthesocialsecurity.Employersandemployeescontribute.It’sasharedresponsibility.

Inthecaseoftheinformalsectorwerelyonthegov-ernmenttopayfortheinformalworkersortheinfor-malworkerspayforthemselvesandweleaveouttheemployers,althoughthegoodsthatareproduced,e.g.byconstructionworkers,ultimatelybenefitconcretemanufacturers.

We haven’t been talking about the government. My ques-tion is – where is the government?

Inthewholeglobalization,thegovernmentisgoneandthemarketbecomesthedecisionmaker.IfImentiongovernmentwearepartofit.Wearepartoftheadvi-sorycommittee,partoftheprojectandwemakeinter-ventions.Thisiscollectiveresponsibility,andIdon‘tknowwhereorwhenwewillreachit.Thisisthegov-ernmentperspective.Ithinkit’stheworkofthegovernmenttodevelopframeworkconditions,alsoforthemarketandespe-ciallyforemployment.Whatwasmentionedheretodayontheconferencewasthatalotofmoneyisthere.Itcannotbespentonlyduetotheweakdeliverysystem.Howtotranslatethisfordomesticworkers?It’sreallydifficult.Idon’thaveananswertothis.Ithink,itistheresponsibilityofthegovernmenttotakecareofthatandnot,whatIheard,toforceorsupportmoreinfor-malwork.There,globalisationplaysarole.However,I‘malsosure,ifframeworkconditionsforemployeesimproveinvariouscountriesitwillbebeneficialforallemployeesintheworld.Sothereissomethinggoodinglobalisationinthecontextofimprovingworkingcon-

ditionsinthelongrun.Idon‘thaveananswer.Thesewerejustsomecomments.

Do you see a contradiction in: Policy of open market, back-seat for labourer laws, burden on family to provide social welfare?

TherearetheneweconomicformsthatwespreadacrosstheworldandintowhichIndiaisdeeplygettingintermsofcontrolofthestructuraladjustmentpro-gramme.Thestructureadjustmentprogrammebasicallyclaimstoopenupthemarketandexporteverythingthatisproducedinthecountry.Theentireforcesofpro-ductionhavechanged.TheconditionsthatweredefinedbytheWorldBankaretocutallsubsidies,changethewholemarketsystem,changefromagriculturalcropstocashcrops,andcutdownsubsidiesofwelfare.Whenitcomestosocialwelfare,theburdenisonthestate,buttodaywerealisethatthestatehastakenabackseatandthattherearemoreandmoreprivatepillarsinsocialprotection.Ifwediscussissuesofsocialprotectionhere,Idon’tthinkwecanstartataverylocallevel.Wehavetotakeintoconsiderationthattodaythelabourmarketisopeningupwithnewkindsofconditions.Therearemanyareaswheretherearenolabourlaws.Whenthisappearsandwhentheroleofthestateismovingmoreandmoreintothebackground,theburdentogivesocialwelfareispartofthefamily.

How do we place the issue of social protection from the state?

Participation and empowerment: Awareness is linked to information only, also raising voice through political out-look?

Wedonotultimatelyblamethegovernment,butatthesametimewecannotignorethefactthattherearethreeelementstobeconsidered:1: Thelotsandlotsofmoneythatiscollectedinthe

banks2: Theabilityandtheroleofthedistricts3: Thedrawingofbasicpolicyguidelines.

Thesethreeissuesaredefinitelytheresponsibilityofthegovernment.Whenwetrytofindreasonsforthefail-ureofthesystem,someonehastobeblamed,andwestartwiththegovernment.Startingwiththegovern-ment,whoistobeblamed?Thisisoneside.Ontheotherside,ifitcomestothegovernmentpeople,thereissomuchignorance.50to60%ofourpopulationdon’t


evenexercisevoting.Theysimplydon’tgo.HowmuchdoIcareformybrotherorsisterwholivesinthevil-lage?Whobothersaboutsocialprotection?Imightlackknowledgeandthewilltodosomethingaboutit.Thissortofvillagersdoesn’tevenknowwhatsocialprotec-tionis.Itisaquestionofexercisingitasaright.Ifthegovernmentdoesn’tfunction,wehavetoensurethatitdoesfunctionthroughtheenlightenmentitissupposedtohave.

Regarding globalisation

Therehasbeenadiscussionaboutglobalisation.Ithinkglobalisationisnotanaturalphenomenon.Whereisapoliticalwill,thereisapoliticalway.Globalisationistheresponsibilityofthestateandeachgovernmentineverycountry.IsaidaboutsocialsecurityinGermany,thatemployersandemployeespaythecontributionfifty-fifty,butthereisabigamountfromthestateorthegovernmentasfromthetaxesofallthepeoplethereare30%oftheGDPspentonsocialsecurity.Thisisapoliticalquestion;thisisnotanaturalphenomenonliketheweatherorsomethinglikethat.Thisisveryimpor-tanttosee.

Regarding funding/contribution

Whenwetalkaboutsocialprotectionforunorganisedworkers,wemostlytalkaboutsocialsystems.Wedonottalkaboutsocialsecurityorcontributionsfromthesec-torworkers.InIndonesiaforexample,thereissupportfromthegovernmentforthepoorandwhentheygototheinformalsectortheyreallyneedtoknowhowtocol-lectcontributions.Itwouldbebeneficialforallofusto

discussthesedifferences-whatarethedifferentfund-ingmodalitiesfortheunorganisedworkers,whatdoweexactlymeanifwetalkaboutunorganisedworkers,aretheyallpoor,whataboutthosewhoarenotpoor,theschemewearetalkingabout,thewelfareschemefromthegovernment-alltheseissuesaswellasthedifficul-tiesandchallengesarecompletelydifferent.Weneeddifferentmechanisms,differentincentivesforpeo-pletopay.Somethingsareequal.Wemanagedtoseethatawarenessraisingisimportantforwhetherpeoplepayfortheirinsuranceornot.Evenifsomethingisforfree,peoplemightnotcomeandpickitupifitdoesnotreallyservetheirneeds.Ithinkitwouldbegoodtohaveanexchangeonthat.

Weareabletolearnalotofthingsthatwesharewitheachother.Thedifferentkindofpeoplewhoarehereshouldtakeupdifferentissuesandconsiderthemattermuchdeeperinordertoinfluencethechangesrequired.Therearealotofpoorpeopleallaroundtheworld.Ifwelookatthemasunorganisedsectorworkers,therearerequirementsforsocialprotection.

Theunorganisedsectorcontributestotheeconomyaseconomyplaysaroleindevelopmentorglobalisationorwhateveryouwanttocallit,nationallyornot.Itmeansthissectorhasgotpotentialfortheeconomyandthere-foreinformalsectorworkershavegotanotherright,notjustfordoingthework.Thisfocushasbeenmissinginthedebate.

Thediscussiondoesnotfocusontheinformalsec-tor.Wehavetoseetheroleofdifferentactorsliketheemployers,thegovernment,etc.Duringtheeconomiccrisesallpeoplewholosttheirjobsandhadnocon-tractwiththeenterpriseswentbacktotheirvillages.Afterthecrisisthegovernmenthadtopayalotofsur-pluspackages.Imeanthemoneyhadtobeinvestedinordertoprotecttheinformalsector,forthosewhohadlosttheirjobs.Lookingfromtheotherside,fromtheemployers‘perspective:Aftertheeconomyhadrecov-eredfromthefinancialcrises,itwasdifficulttocalltheinformalsectorbacktothecompanies,becausetheworkershadleftthecompanies,thecities,etc..So,look-ingfromtheemployers‘side,alltheinvestmentintotrainingoftheworkershadbeenlost.Therefore,aneco-nomiccrisisisagoodexampletoconsiderwhocanlosewhat.Itseemstomeratherimportanttoalsoaddressinthisconferencethedifferentrolesofdifferentactors.

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Introduction and task

Participantswereaskedtoformbuzzgroupsofthree.Thegroupworktaskwasasfollows:Discussamongyourselvesthelearningfromtheinfor-mationbazaar.Whatdoyoutakehome?Whatwouldyouliketotaketothefieldvisitintheafternoon?Whatarequestionsyoucouldgetansweredinthefield?Foryourselfwritedownoncardswhatyouwouldliketotakehome.Asagroup,pleasedecideonwhatisyourmostimpor-tantlearningyouwanttoshareinplenaryattheendofthediscussion.

Presentation of results

Theproblemiswhowillprotectthepolicyonthecen-trallevelandalltheschemes.Weknowthattherearemorethan150schemes.Thestatelevelisresponsibleforimplementation.Theprocessisdecentralized.Peoplesettheapproach.Basedonpeople’sneedsandbasedonpeople’sdemands,theimplementationprocesshastobeentered.Theycannotcompletelyfollowtheguideline,buttheydefinitelycaninthespirit.Lessonlearnt:people-oriented intervention is needed.

2.4 Buzz Groups: Lessons Learnt from the Working Groups (Information Bazaar)

Wethoughtabitdifferentthanthepreviousgroup.Wesaythemostimportantlearningiscontextualising the intervention,whatmeansithastobepeople-cen-tred.Theinterventionshouldnotbetechnique-driven,shouldnotcompletelygobytheguidelines.Thereshouldbeinnovation;thereshouldbeanunderstandingofwhatisgoingtoworkandwhatisnotintheparticu-larcontext.

People are central to every aspect of planning, all work and implementation.Thecentralitymeansthepeopleandtherespectthatwegivetopeoplemattersrelatedtotheseissues.

Whatcouldbetheroleofthedifferentstakeholdersandhowcoulditbemoreapproachableforthepeople?Themostimportantlearningisthe importance of differ-ent players.

First,themethodthathasbeenusedduringthesetwodayswasveryattractiveandinnovative.Secondly,regardingsocialprotection,theperspectivehastobechangedfromwelfaretorightsorentitlement.Ithastobeshiftedfromawelfareperspectivetoarightsperspec-tive.Wewouldliketomentionfourwordsaskeywords:voice–toknowtheneedsofpeople,choice–tohave


choice,accountabilityandequity.Keyinstrumentsforbridgingthegaps,likeneedassessmentorothers,playasignificantrole.Thelearninginonesentence:if there is a will there is a way.

Socialprotectioncannotbeablendofcharityandincentives.Itissupposedtobeanactor’sapproach.

Welookatsocialprotectionfromtheperspectiveofthemostimportantstakeholders.Whatwehaveseensofaristhatthereisalotofbestpracticesandgoodgovern-ancewithregardtodeliveringsocialassistancetothepeople.However,thereisadifferencebetweendemandandsupply.Weseethattherearesomepolicymak-erswhoincreasethequalityofsocialassistance.Ontheotherhandpeoplewanttoseemoreright-basedapproach.Lessonslearnt:tolinkbetweendemandandsupply.

Initiallyourdiscussionfocusedonparticipation,mobi-lisation,rights-approach,etc.,whichareveryessentialforsocialprotection.WhenitcomestotheuseofICT,peopleimmediatelythinkintermsofdelivery,businessmodels,andprivateentrepreneurs.Thisisalinetothebasicconceptofsocialsecurity.Mostimportantlearning:what is needed.

Thegovernmentisthemainactorinthedevelopingmechanism.Whatisimportantisanindependentmon-itoringofgovernmentprogrammesdonebyaninde-pendentauthority.Aninformalgroup(taskforce)isneededtoadvisethepolicymakersonthefunctioningofanydepartment.Importantlearning:development intervention should be innovative.

Thereshouldhavebeenmoregovernmentparticipa-tionforthefeasibilityofthisproject(theconference).Besides,weshouldhaveopeneddiscussionswiththe

generalaudience.Thirdly,themethodologyisnotverycompatible.Furthermore,theobjectiveoftheconfer-encewasveryopaque.Intheworldcafétheobjectivesmightbeprioritized.Onemorepointisthelackofflex-ibilityinconductingtheconferenceitself.ItwastotallydrivenbyGTZ.Abroaderaudiencecouldhavegivenadifferentdirectiontothisconference.However,weshouldadmitthatthe whole process gave us a new learning.

Wenevershouldforgetaboutthefeedback,i.e.whatpeoplesayasweareworkingforpeople.ThereisalotofgoodpracticeinIndiaandoutsideIndia.Wediscussedonwhatthetheorywasaboutandwhatwasreallyprac-ticablewithanimpacttothepeopleatgrass-rootslevel.Sinceweareoptimisticwebelievethatwedoalreadyhavealotofimpactonthepeople.Ourchallengeisnowhow to multiply all these good practicesandhowtosolvetheproblemofimplementingthechanges.

In summary

Themainaspectsthatcameoutofthediscussionswere:• Gettingfromawelfare-basedtoarights-based

approach• GivingICTitsrealroleofbridging• Havingtheimportanceoflinkagebetweencentral

andde-centrallevel• Lookingforimpact• Bothgovernmentandcivilsociety/unorganized

workershaveanimportantroletoplay• Considerinterestandpowerofactorsinvolved Beawareofthecontextissues

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Fieldvisitswereorganisedontheseconddayoftheconferencetoprovideparticipantstheopportunityofarealitycheckofissuesdiscussed.

Visit to Nemmadi Kendra

ThegroupvisitedtheNemmadiKendrainBangaloreUrbanDistrict.TheNemmadiprojectisaRuralTel-ecentreProjectinitiatedbytheGovernmentofKarna-takathroughaPublicPrivatePartnership(PPP)model.

Nemmadi projectTheGovernmentofKarnatakasetupanetworkof800telecentresatvillagehoblilevelthroughPPP.Italsogotsetup177backofficesattalukalevel.Thesetelecentreswoulddeliverarangeofservicesatthecitizen’sdoor-steps.

VisionTheGovernmentofKarnataka’svisionfortheNem-madi(Telecentre)ProjectisthatIT-enabledgovern-mentservicesshouldbeaccessibletothecommonmaninhisvillage,throughefficient,transparent,reliableandaffordablemeans.

2.5 Reality Check: The Field Visits

Objectives of the project• Tocreateefficientandsmartvirtualofficesofthe

StateGovernmentinallthevillages• Toprovidecopiesoflandrecordsandothercitizen

centricservicesoftherevenuedepartmentinacon-venientandefficientmannerthrough800villagetel-ecentresacrossruralKarnataka

• Toenhancetheaccountability,transparencyandresponsivenessofthegovernmenttocitizen’sneeds

• Toprovidegovernmentdepartmentsandagenciesofefficientandcosteffectivemethodsofservicedeliv-erytocitizens

• TomanagethedeliveryofservicesthroughPPP Toenablegovernmentdepartmentsandagenciesto

focusontheircorefunctionsandresponsibilitiesbyfreeingthemfromtheroutineoperationslikeissuingcertificates,landrecords,collectionofutilitybillsofcitizensandtherebyenhancingtheoverallproduc-tivityoftheadministrativemachinery.

Salient features of Nemmadi project • Singlewindowsystemforallgovernmentservicesat

thevillagelevel• Noneedforanywrittenapplicationtobesubmitted

foranyservice


• Manualsystemtobestoppedaltogether• UniformservicechargeofRs15foreveryservice• Tocoverallthetalukasandhoblisinthestate

Other services

• BhoomiRTC TheGovernmentofKarnatakahasbeenapioneerin

leveraginginformationtechnologyineasingthelivesofbothurbanandruralcitizens.

Thevillagetelecentreshaveakeyfunctiontodecen-tralizationoftheBhoomiprogramme,whichwillenablethecitizentogetacopyofhislandrecord(RTC)athisvillageitselfwithouthavingtotraveltothedistanttalukaoffice.

• RuralDigitalServices(RDS) RuralDigitalServices(RDS)involvethedeliveryof

servicesoftheRevenueDepartmentfromthetalukatothecitizen.TheseservicesincludethedeliveryofvarioustypesofCasteandIncomeCertificates,Reg-istrationofBirthandDeath,thedeliveryofBirthandDeathCertificatesandtheapplicationforSocialSecuritySchemeslikeOldAgePension,WidowPensionetc.Inthefuture,servicesofotherdepart-mentslikeSocialWelfare,WomenandChildDevel-opment,etc.willalsobeaddedtotheRDSplat-form.

• ESCOMElectricityBillCollection InKarnatakatherearecurrentlyfiveESCOM(Elec-

tricitySupplyCompanies)inoperation–BESCOM(BangaloreElectricitySupplyCompany),HES-COM(HubliElectricitySupplyCompany),GES-COM(GulbargaElectricitySupplyCompany),MESCOM(MangaloreElectricitySupplyCom-pany),CESCOM(ChamundeshwariElectricitySupplyCompany).Itisproposedthatthecollec-tionofpaymentsofelectricitybillsofruralcitizenswouldbedonethroughthisnetworkoftelecentres.

Currently,theGovernmentofKarnatakaisengagedinapilotprojectforthecollectionofelectricitybillsofruralcitizensintwotelecentreslocatedinAnekalTalukaofBangaloreUrbanDistrictandthreetele-centresinDavangere.Basedontheongoingcompu-terizationeffortsofthedifferentESCOMsthesameservicewillbeexpandedacrossthestateanddeliv-eredthroughthe800telecentres.

Source: Nemmadi.karnataka.gov.in

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RSBY Smart Card Distribution

AnothergroupvisitedtheM.V.J.MedicalCollegeandResearchHospitalinBangaloreinordertogetinforma-tionontheRSBYSmartCardSystem.

Thehelpdeskfacilitatoratthehospitalshowedthepar-ticipantshowtheRSBYsoftwaresystemworks.Thesoftwareallowsacashlessprocesswherethecardisswipedandthedetailsofthetransactionaredisplayedinthesystem.

RSBYhasbeenlaunchedbytheMinistryofLabourandEmployment,GovernmentofIndia,toprovidehealthinsurancecoverageforBelowPovertyLine(BPL)families.TheobjectiveofRSBYistoprovideprotec-tiontoBPLhouseholdsfromfinancialliabilitiesaris-ingoutofhealthshocksthatinvolvehospitalization.BeneficiariesunderRSBYareentitledtohospitalizationcoverageuptoRs.30,000formostofthediseasesthatrequirehospitalization.Thegovernmenthasevenfixedthepackageratesforthehospitalsforalargenumberofinterventions.Pre-existingconditionsarecoveredfromdayoneandthereisnoagelimit.Coverageextendstofivemembersofthefamily,whoincludetheheadofthehousehold,thespouseanduptothreedependents.BeneficiariesneedtopayonlyRs.30asregistrationfeewhileCentralandStateGovernmentpaythepremiumtotheinsurerselectedbytheStateGovernmentonthebasisofacompetitivebidding.

Unique Features of RSBYTheRSBYschemeisnotthefirstattempttoprovidehealthinsurancetolowincomeworkersbythegovern-mentinIndia.TheRSBYscheme,however,differsfromtheseschemesinseveralimportantways:

Empoweringthebeneficiary–RSBYprovidesthepar-ticipatingBPLhouseholdwiththefreedomofchoosingbetweenpublicandprivatehospitalsandmakeshimapotentialclientworthattractingonaccountofthesig-nificantrevenuesthathospitalsstandtoearnthroughthescheme.


BusinessModelforallStakeholders–Theschemehasbeendesignedasabusinessmodelforasocialsectorschemewithincentivesbuiltforeachstakeholder.Thisbusinessmodeldesignisconducivebothintermsofexpansionoftheschemeaswellasforitslongrunsus-tainability.

Insurers–Theinsurerispaidpremiumforeachhouse-holdenrolledforRSBY.Therefore,theinsurerhasthemotivationtoenrolasmanyhouseholdsaspossiblefromtheBPLlist.Thiswillresultinbettercoverageoftargetedbeneficiaries.

Hospitals–Ahospitalhastheincentivetoprovidetreatmenttoalargenumberofbeneficiariesasitispaidperbeneficiarytreated.EvenpublichospitalshavetheincentivetotreatbeneficiariesunderRSBYasthemoneyfromtheinsurerwillflowdirectlytothecon-cernedpublichospital,whichtheycanusefortheirownpurposes.Insurers,incontrast,willmonitorparticipat-inghospitalsinordertopreventunnecessaryproceduresorfraudresultinginexcessiveclaims.

Government–BypayingonlyamaximumsumuptoRs.750perfamilyperyear,thegovernmentisableto

Although this lady has had the RSBY card for about a year, neither she nor her family have been able yet to use the card. However, she believes RSBY is a good system.

In this family, the husband benefits more from the card than the rest of his family. 60 % of the cards‘ amount is reserved for him since he is the one who supports the family.

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provideaccesstoqualityhealthcaretotheBelowPov-ertyLinepopulation.Itwillalsoleadtoahealthycom-petitionbetweenpublicandprivateproviders,whichinturnwillimprovethefunctioningofthepublichealthcareproviders.InformationTechnology(IT)–ForthefirsttimeITapplicationsarebeingusedforsocialsectorschemesonsuchalargescale.Everybeneficiaryfamilyisissuedabiometric-enabledsmartcardcontainingtheirfinger-printsandphotographs.AllthehospitalsempanelledunderRSBYareITenabledandconnectedtotheserveratthedistrictlevel.Thiswillensureasmoothdataflowregardingserviceutilizationperiodically.

Financing of RSBYRSBYisagovernment-sponsoredschemefortheBPLpopulationofIndia.Themajorityofthefinancing,about75percent,isprovidedbytheGovernmentofIndia(GOI).BeneficiariesneedtopayonlyRs.30asregistrationfee.Thisamountshallbeusedforincurringadministrativeexpensesunderthescheme.

Preparation of BPL dataRSBYprovideshealthinsurancefortheenrolledBPLfamiliesfromeachdistrictuptoamaximumnumberofhouseholdsbasedonthedefinitionandthefiguresprovidedforeachstatebytheUnionPlanningCom-mission.TheStateGovernmentmustprepareandsub-mittheBPLdatainanelectronicformatspecifiedbytheGovernmentofIndia.Theformatrequiresdetailsofallthefamilymembersincludingname,fatherorhusband’snamefortheheadofhousehold,age,genderandrelationshipwiththeheadofhousehold.Respec-tiveStateGovernmentsneedtoconverttheirexistingBPLdatainthisformatforeachdistrictandsendthesedatatotheGovernmentofIndia,whichinturnchecksthecompatibilityofthisdatawiththestandardformat.

However,StateGovernmentsaloneareresponsiblefortheaccuracyoftheirBPLlists.Utilisation of services by beneficiariesThetransactionprocessbeginswhenthemembervis-itstheparticipatinghospital.Afterreachingthehospi-tal,thebeneficiaryvisitstheRSBYhelpdesk,wherehisidentityisverifiedbyhisphotographandfingerprints,whicharestoredonhis/hersmartcard.

Portability of Smart CardOnreceiptofthesmartcardandconsequenttothecommencementofthepolicy,thebeneficiaryshallbeabletousehealthservicefacilitiesinanyoftheRSBYempanelledhospitalsacrossIndia.Anyhospital,whichisempanelledunderRSBYbyanyinsurancecompany,willprovidecashlesstreatmenttothebeneficiary.

Source: http://www.rsby.gov.in/about_rsby.html

TogetacompletepictureoftheRSBYsystem,partici-pantsvisitedacommunitynearbyandtalkedtosomeofthesmartcardholdersabouttheirexperienceswiththesystem.ThepeoplefeltthatanamountofRs30,000isusefultomeettheirmedicalexpenses.Thecardholderscouldavailfreeoutpatientconsultations.

The photo shows the first cardholder in the village. The smart card insight a card reader


The Way Forward

3

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Thisdayhasthefollowingobjectives:• Toidentifyinsightsandfindingsofthepriortwodaysoftheconfer-

enceandtoselectivelychoosekeytopicsforfurtherelaborationinworkinggroups;

• TogetacquaintedwithworkingmodesofCommunitiesofpractise; Basedonthis,toidentifytopicsandmembersoffuturecommuni-

tiesofpractise


Objectives

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Activity

Checkinandfeedbackfromthefieldvisits

IntroductiontotheWorldCafé

ChaiShopSynthesisingthestrategiesandapproaches

Organizingcommunitiesofpractice

Evaluationandclosing

Endofconference

Responsible

BirgitNiebuhr

Workinggroups

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Reflection of the previous day

Themoderatorreflectedontheworkprocessofthepre-viousday.Outofthediscussionsduringtheinforma-tionbazaar,thebuzzgroups,andthequestion-and-answersessioninthewideraudience,aswellasthefieldvisitsthemesthatcameupwerefurtherprocessed.Inaddition,asmallgrouphadtakenuptheopportunitytodiscusswiththeCommissionerofLabourburn-ingissueswithregardtotheimplementationoftheNSSAinKarnataka.Thisverycrucialdiscussiongener-atedadditionaltopics.Thevariousideasfromthetwogroupsformedthebasisforthe‘chaishop’(thenew,culturallyadaptedtermfortheformer‘worldcafé’).Theresultsfromthechaishopdebateswillbeusedforfuturepotential‘communitiesofpractice’.

Results from the discussion with the Commis-sioner of Labour

GayathrisummarizedthemeetingwiththeCommis-sionerofLabour.

Manyofusdiscussedissuesontohowtoformulateanationalsecurityactandhowtoimplementit.WerequestedtheLabourCommissionertogiveusspaceandtimeinordertoformveryconcretediscus-sionsaroundthat.Ashewantedadiscussioninasmall

3.1 Check in

group,weselectedonepersonfromeachofthediffer-entgroupsthatwerethere.TheselectionwasbasedontheexperienceofthosewhoareworkinginKarnataka.Unfortunately,wecouldnotincludeeverybody.

FromourperspectiveIwouldliketosharetheprocesswefollowedandthewayinwhichwedid.Letmefirstintroduceallthegroupmembers:

• Mr.ParminderSingh,whowasthepanelinputpro-viderfortheroleofIT

• Mr.GopakumarThampi,whowaslookingatdeliv-erysystemsandgoodpractices

• Mr.ShivKumarNarayanan,whowaslookingatawarenessandempowering

• Mr.PiushAntony,whowaslookingatthebarrierstoaccess

• Mr.NikhilDey• Ms.NamertaSharma• Ms.RashmiSingh• Ms.GayathriVasudevan

Allofussatdownandtriedtoputdownwhatreallyworkedfromdifferentmovements,differentactivities,differentperspectivesaswellasstateperspectiveandhowwelearnfromthat.Welookedatitfromtwoangles:NikhilstronglybroughtintheperspectiveofNREGA.Whathasreallyworkedthere?Thereisanact,buthowwasitreallyimplemented?Oneoftheirkeydecisionswas:Onehastoframetherulesitself.Karnatakastatehasnotyetframedtherulesforthesocialsecurityact.

Towhatextendcanwelearnfromit?Howdoweframetherulesofthesocialsecurityact?Ithinkthesocialsecurityactdoesnotgiveusalottodo.Theactisnotverystrong.Butweallfeltitisanopportunityandsaidthatthisgroupcanprovideinputtoframetherules.Thisrequiresconsultation.TheLabourCommissionersaidhehadhadmanycon-sultations.Canweregularizetheseconsultations?Werequestedthatonedaypermonthacertaintimespaceisblockedforustobasicallydiscusstheissuesofsocialprotection.Whoeverrepresentsactivistgroups,civilsocietybodies,andtradeunionscanattendthesemeet-ingsanddiscussinanopenforum.

Theotherthingwesaidwas:Aswecannotdoall,wewillrestrictframingtherulestothreecriticalissuesofsocialprotection:

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• Oldageprotection• Lifeanddisabilitycover• Maternitybenefit

Asastatewecantakeapositionandthiswewillfirstlookat.Therearenoquestionsordoubtsabouttheissues:IfI’moldI’mold,ifI’mpregnant,I’mpregnant.Wefeltthatcouldbeawayforward.

TheLabourCommissionerexpressedthefollowingproblem:WhatisaWorkerFacilitationCentre(WFC)?WeallhaveadifferentunderstandingofaWFC.AllofushaveworkedindifferentwaysorconceptsofWFC.Butwhatisitconcretely?Theactsaysitwillbeformedunderthedistrictadministration.Thosewhoarefamil-iarwithIndiaknowthatdistrictisaveryhighleveltogetbacktothepeople.WehavetheCentralGovern-ment,whichisinDelhi.ThenwehavetheStateGov-ernment,andfinallywehavetheLocalGovernment,whichisthedistrict.However,ourdistrictsinIndiaareextremelybig.Justtogiveyouanideaofthescale:Adistricthasapopulationofcloseto400,000people.Soforaheadofadistrictitisimpossibletoknoweverysingleindividual.AccordingtotheactaWFCissup-posedtobeadisseminationcentre.Butwhatdoesthismeaninreality?Wesaidletuslooktovariouspilotmodelsthatcouldbethere.Wewanttosuggesttothegovernmentabouquet,amenu,whichtheycanactually

choosefromanddecidehowtopilot.Andweasagroupwouldlookatfacilitationfromthisperspective.

Attheendofthemeetingwebasicallyagreedontwothings:• Afirstlevelconsultationwithawiderangeofpeople• Toworkwithdifferentdepartmentsinordertosee

whattheWFCcouldget,andwewillprovidedif-ferentoptionsofpilotsthatcanbedone.


First,Birgitgaveanintroductionintothemethodology:

Therearedifferenttables.Eachtablehasatopicassigned(writtenonthetableclothitself ),whichisdiscussedbyitsvisitors.Ateachtablethereisonehost.Whilethehoststaysatthetablethroughoutthechaishopsession,tablevisitorscomeandgoafteracertaintime.Thehostissupportedbyaperson/documenter,whotakesnotesoftheimportantdiscussioninputstakingplaceatthetable.Theguestsdiscussinaveryinformalwaythetopic,firstsilentlyreflecting,possiblywritingdownideasonthetableclothandthenshar-ingthem.After20minutes,visitorsofalltablesmovetoothertables/topicsoftheirchoice.Thus,peopleareabletolookatdifferentthemesandgenerateideasontheminarelativelyshorttime.Theadvantageofthismethodisthatathemegetsalotofinputfromdiffer-entpeopleandresultsaretherebyenriched.Thevisitorshavethechanceoftakingpartinreflectionsonvarioustopics.Wheneverthereisanewround,eachtablehostisresponsibleforleadingthediscussionandintroducingthenewgueststotheresultsthathavecomeupduringthepreviousroundandforcontinuinganddeepeningthediscussionwiththenewpeopleatthetable.

Results

Table 1: What should be the roles and responsibilities of different departments implementing the National Social Security Act? Health, Welfare, Woman and Child, Rural Development

3.2 Chai Shop: Synthesising Strategies and Approaches

Thediscussionontable1dealtwiththefollowingaspects:• Informationhub• Informationsimplifiedprocedure• Activelylookingatconvergencesofa)debtleveland

b)communitylevel• CommondatabasesstructuringCBOpartnerships• Movetowardsuniversalisationofpolicyadministra-

tionfinanceforkeySPprogrammes• Budgetandadministration–singlelineofreporting• Handholdingsupportfromendtoend–informa-

tiontoaccess• Upanddowninformationflow• UsePanchayatiRajInformationSystemtocollect

dataofpeople• Women’sselfhelpgroups• WFC:

➞ Informationhub;IEL–ofallschemes➞ Simplifiedproceduresforaccessing➞ Handholdingsupporttoaccessservices➞ Departmentatdecisionlevelshouldhavenon-

targeting➞ Rulesshouldbeframed

Therepresentationofpeople(usergroups)isessentialinframinglawsandrules(throughMLAs,Mpsdoexist).Atgrass-rootslevel,thePanchayatRajSystemhastobeempoweredandincludedinpolicymaking.Thewom-en’sselfhelpgroupsshouldalsobeinvolved.

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Table 2:What are the necessary steps in changing policies from a welfare-based to a rights-based approach?

• Fundsalsoforcommunity-basedstructuresfordemandingrights

• Shareofresponsibilitiesandownershiponlyifallpartiesarecontributingtotheschemes/system

• Thedemandsidehastobestrengthened.Thereisenoughormuchdoneonthesupplyorpolicyside,e.g.empowerandprovideawarenesstowomen’sselfhelpgroupstodemandthingsastheirright

• Makeschemesuniversal• Organising(awareness)capacitybuilding;capital

formation,socialprotection• Socialsocietyeffortcanchangemindsetandpeople

andinfluencepolicy• Inclusivedevelopment• Participatory–dignityapproach• Structuresinplacetorespondtorights• Legalresource–vigilancecommittees• Sensitizingthedutybearertowardstherights-based

approach• Changetheirmindsetfromservicetorights

Givers Receivers

Sensitizing Definingtheinformalworkers(giverights)

Changemindset Organisingthem

Capacity strengthening Capacity strengthening


Table 3:What are the processes and mechanisms to ensure accountability in the implementation of the National Social Security Act?

Thegroupcameupwiththefollowingaspects:

• Issuesofaccess• Lackoftransparency• Difficultyintargetingcorrectbeneficiaries• Politicaldominationofboard• Selectionofboardmembers• Independentauditsunderstateombudsmen• NomentioningofaccountabilityinNSSA• Universalizingthebenefits–avoidissuesofexclud-

ingandinclusion• NodownwardaccountabilityintheSocialSecurity

Act• Idea:Electionsoftheboard(nonominations)plus

feedbackmechanismstothevillagelevel• Claimingone’sidentityisthefirststepinclaiming

accountabilityidentity,e.g.throughbankaccountandRSBYcard

• Innovativegrievanceredress–e.g.ParishkaraminMedak,AndhraPradesh(voice-drivencomplaintredress)

• Electedasopposedtonominated• Recallmemberswhoarenon-performing• MakeastatuarycommitteeattheGramPanchayat

levelofunorganisedworkers,andanupwardrepre-sentationshouldfindaseatatthetableintheboard

• DisplayingthebeneficiariesattheGramPanchayatlevel

• Contributoryprocessenhancesaccountability• Districtcollectorshouldtakeuptheownershipof

thegrievance• EmpowerGPstandingcommitteeswithcapac-

ity–informationonresponsibilities,awarenessonschemes/programmes

• Performanceindicatorstoreviewquarterly/yearly,e.g.lowestgenderratioinGujarat

• M&Ethroughusergroups,communitygroups• Socialauditbyanindependentbody• Makestatebodyfreefrompoliticalinterference• Accounttopeople–informationonschemesavail-

able• Statuarycommitteeforunorganisedworkers• Securitymeasuresprovidedtothepeopleshould

bedisclosedtothepeopleineveryGramaSabha.ItshouldbemademandatoryateveryGramaSabha

• Independentlinkages• PublicdisplayoftargetedbeneficiariesattheGram

Panchayatlevel• Panchayatleveltotakeupgrievanceredress

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Table 4:What are the essential steps to establish a concerted process between the government and civil society in providing social security to unorganised workers?

• Broaderengagement–assentandvoicesofdecent,partner:GovernmentandCSOs;opendemocracy

• Grievancemechanismindependentofimplementingbody

• Regularandsustaineddialogue(CSOsandgovern-ment)

• Transparentconsultativeandselectiveprocesses• Levelplayingfield(mutualrespect,“champions”in

GovernmentandISOs• NGOs:rolechangingfromconfrontationtocollab-

oration• Earlier:moreconfrontation(CSO=advocacy;Gov-

ernment=implementation)• Now:morecooperation(concertedactionnecessary,

resourcesharing,socialsectorbecomingmorepro-fessional)

• Isgovernmentoutsourcing?IsittherightPPL?Dilutingtheschemes(e.g.RSBY)

• Recognitionfrombothsides–governmentandcivilsociety

• Government–CSOs:Resourcetheeffortatdiffer-entlevels

• PRS–independentact–consultativeprocess• Transparencyinconsultativeprocessandselection• CSOs–identify“champions”insideGovernment

andNGOs• AbodyforthevoluntarysectioninUK–shouldnot

makethemconstrained• Varietyofmodelstoreachouttounorganisedwork-

ers–movediscussionswithDepartmentofLabour(alsoonmoney)

• Blamegameneedstostop• Chiefsecretaryandconvergence/streeshakti• Partnershipvs.contractorship• Accountabilitylaidoutearly

➞ PPPtobeincluded➞ Fromconcentrationtocollaboration➞ Roleofprivateinsurances➞ Moremeaningfulengagement➞ Exploredifferentmodelsofimplementation➞ Providingfinanceandcapacitydevelopment➞ Assumingtheroleasorientationagent

• Civilsocietytotakepartinallstepsofpolicyformu-lation

• Constructiveengagementofcivilsocietyorganisa-tionswithgovernment

• Changethemindsetatbothlevelsandbuildawork-ingenvironment

• FormalisemechanismfordialoguebetweenGovern-mentandcivilsociety

• Giveequalrightsbetweenthem Feedbackplatform

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Table 5:What should the Labour Department take up as their responsibility to implement the National Social Security Act in order to perform better?

• DepartmentofLabourcannotfacilitatesocialsecu-rityalone.Theyneedtocooperatewithotherstake-holders.Theyaremakingeffortsbutneedtobestrengthenedfurther.

• Mainroleregardingimplementationoftheactmustberecognised.

• Facilitationwithotherstakeholder,DoLtobetheinitiator

• CorrectprocedurestoidentifyworkersdonotrepeatBPLstory

• Specialfocusonpeoplewithdisability• Governmenttosupportverypoor(e.g.NorthKar-

natakapoorhouseholds)• Transparencyaccountability–reviewofthestatus

ofthehouseholdswhoqualifyfortheGovernmentsupport

• Tripartitedesignforthecontributiontothesocialsecurity(Government,employer-whereitcanbeidentified-andworkers)

• Decentralisedstructurebottomup(1)GP,(2)block,(3)district,and(4)StateGovernment

Grievanceredressmechanismshouldalsobedecen-tralised

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Table 6What are the necessary steps to get the private sector on board and to (re-)negotiate social responsibilities for unorganised workers’ social security?

Someofthethingsbeingdiscussedwere:• Whoistheprivatesector?Howaretheyrepre-

sented?• Goodsociallaws• Strongerpenaltiesfornon-compliance

Theconversationwasverystronglyondefiningwhatisthe“privatesector”andwhatkindofrepresentationscancomefromthatsector.Itwasagreedthatthisques-tionistrueforallkindofstakeholders.Throughoutthediscussiontheproblemwasrecognisedbutthegroupdidnotcometoclarityonhowtodefinetheprivatesec-tor.Whatwouldbetheapproachasagrouptoofferthem,toincludethem,tomakethemmoreresponsi-ble?Thegroupisstillonthatpointofdiscussion.

ThegroupwouldliketoreachtheprivatesectorinKar-natakawithGTZ,InWEntandotherpartners,point-ingoutoneortwoexamplesshowingtheconnectiontosocialsecurity.


Duringthepast2.5daysoftheconference,participantshavecomeupwithanumberofideaspotentiallyworth-whilebeingfollowedup.Thisleadstothequestion:Wheredowehaveatanktoholdalltheseideasandproposalsandthewealthofknowledgeandexperience?Itisnowimportanttofindamechanismofhowtofur-therelaboratethese.

Participantswereaskedtothinkaboutwhichofthetopicsraisedduringtheconferenceare“hot“,worthgoingonwithtogetherwithothersina“communityofpractice“.Forwhichofthethemesisthereenoughenergytostayinprofessionalcontact?

Inplenaryparticipantscameupwithanumberofpro-posalsaccordingtothefollowingquestions:• Onwhatwouldyouliketocontinueandwith

whomwouldyouliketodoit?• Howwouldyouliketodoit?(pertopic)• WhatdowehavefortheHOW?

Thefollowingflipchartshowswhatissuesparticipantshaveagreedupon:

3.3 Communities of Practice

Itwasproposedtogoandlookhowthesecommunitiesofpracticewouldfunctiondependingontheparticipa-tionofthemembers.Insteadofextendingtopicsordis-cussingmoreissuesitwassuggestedtostartfromoneconcretepoint.Thepersonwhovolunteersmakesaneffort,othersjoininandthenthetopicbecomesmoreandmoreenrichedbecausedifferentpeoplehavediffer-entpointsofviewtothesametopic.Inacommunityofpracticethereisaneedofamen-tor,whoisknowledgeableonthesubject;andthereisaneedofamoderator,wholeadsthrougheverythingthatcomesin(likeonlinecontributions)andmoderatesthewholeprocessofthecommunity.

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Whatisalreadythere?AnIndo-Germanprojectispreparedtosupportanexistingplatformforcommunitiesofpracticecomingoutofthisconference.TheobjectiveoftheplatformfortheCommunityofPracticeistofurthertakeideasanddiscussionssothattheycanmatureandaresub-sequentlyfedintothepolicydevelopmentprocess.Inthefollowing,apresentationisgivenbyAartiMohanandVikramRaifromSATTVAaboutaplatformthatisalreadyworkingandcanserveasanexampleofprac-tice.

3.4 An example of practiceby Aarti Mohan and Vikram Rai, SATTVA

Communities of Practice

21 November-2010

• One independent space for information, dialogue and progressive action

• Bring together stakeholders working on issues of social protection including practitioners, influencers and the larger community

• Act as one strong voice while engaging with policy makers and those delivering protection including the Government

What is a Community of Practice?

Information Exchange• Exchange ideas, experiences, data, best practices• Explore issues in-depth through detailed investigations and analysis

Engagement• Online and offline discussions on various contemporary issues and challenges in social protection• Interact regularly on a vibrant public interest platform with “social protection” supporters

Action• Facilitate action on some key findings/problem areas.• Push for improved systems and delivery with stakeholders, supported by data and information.

•What would COP do? Deliverables

Website•• Repository

•• User contribution

•• Knowledge exchange

Discussion forums

•• Online Meetings/Teleconferences

•• Face-to-Face

•• Forums

@…

Monthly E-zine

•• Reportage

•• Views

•• Analysis

•• Investigations

Community of Practice

• Break clutter, easy access to information from the site (search, sort, meander)

What a COP will look like online … online and offline integration

• Active forums, online discussion/posting spaces


• User contribution, informed curation to help ‘make sense’ of information

.. A larger conversation

• Involvement of practitioners and influencers

• Not just the regular voices.

• An open space sans agenda

• Endorsement by the community

• Informed use of technology and modern tools

• Built as a product for consumption

Key success factors

• Questions for us?

• Contacts:– Aarti Mohan: [email protected]

– Vikram Rai: [email protected]

Our independent online publication on social issues:

The Alternative: http://thealternative.in

Thanks! Suggested themes and focuses

• Women and Child Development

• Social Assistance, Insurance

• Financial Inclusion

• Scheme delivery

• Marginalized

• Needs and Livelihood

• Gender and nutrition

• Migrant workers, identity

• Land security

• Social assistance for old age (protection, insurance, financing alternatives)

• Sanitation and Health

• HIV/AIDS

• Technology in social protection

• Financial Inclusion

ItwasagreedthatthefutureCommunityofPracticeprocessshouldbeconceptualisedandorganisedbasedtheexistingexample.

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Inordertogivethecommunityarealimageandavision,participantswereaskedtostandupandformacircleholdinghandsandsharewhateachonewouldliketogiveasafarewellgifttothecommunity.Thecommunities’farewellgiftsaresummarizedasfollows:

• Iwouldliketotakethisknowledgefromthecom-munitybackhome.

• Iwouldliketoseetheprivatesectoralsocome.• IcamefromfarawayanditismyfirsttimeinIndia.

WhatIlearnedhereisthatwehavemoreincom-monthanwehavedifferences.Thatwasinterestingforme.Thankyou.

• Iworkatthegrass-rootlevel.NowIknowtherearemanyhandstogetherholdingmyhand.SoIfeelIhavecomeabove.

• Withthisweshouldraiseuptothenextlevel.• Thankyoutoalltheorganisersandspecialthanks

totheIndianpeople.NowIhaveaverysimplewish:Tocomebackhereintwoorthreeyears,meetallofyou,talkandlookonthewayyouwillhavedonefromtodayuntilthen.I’dliketolookatyourdevel-opment.Iwishyougoodsuccess!

• WiththepeoplecomingfromallovertheworldholdingtheirhandstogetherI’mlearningtodaythattheworld,theglobe,isstillone.

• Ialsowouldliketoextendmygratitudetoallofyouforthiswarmwelcome.IcamebacktoIndiaforquitesometimeanditisawonderfulstartofaseriesofsocialpolicydialogueconferences,becauseonthecentral(oressential?)leveltherewillalsobeasocialprotectionprojectstartingfromnextyear.SoIthinkwewillsoonmeetagain.

• Mytake-homeisbeingpartofthisglobalfamilytowelcomesocialprotectionfortheunorganisedsector–thisisagreatopportunity.Thankyou!

• IcomefromresearchinitiativesandIlearnedonthisconferenceforthepractice(howtodo)inreallife.Especiallythewaythisconferencewasorgan-isedwasverygood.

• I’mgladtoseethepositivesideofglobalisation.Iwishthatfinallyallofustalkanddiscussandthatthisstatuscontinuetoexistformanymorepeopletohaveaccessto.

• I’mtakinghometheexperiencethatthisconferencehadaverylargenumberofindividuallyveryinter-estingpeople.Ithoughtthatthiswasverydifferentfrommanyotherconferences.Wehadlivelydiscus-sionsandmostofthepeopleherearereallyworkingonthetopic.Thatwasveryinspirational.

3.5 Closure

• TheexperienceofworkingwiththegovernmentallevelofKarnatakaishopefullymultipliedinotherStatesofIndiaandinothercountriesthattakesocialprotectionseriously.IwouldliketotakethistotheStatewhereI’mworkingandpushforfurthersuchcollaboration.

• Iwouldliketosharesomeofmyideaswithallofyou:Aspartoftheorganisersofthisconferencewehavebeenworkingveryhard.AsBirgitsaid,someofusarepresenthereintheroom,others–likemycolleagueworkinginBerlin–arenotpresent.ButIthinkwehaveagoodrepresentationofallpeo-plewhohaveworkedinpreparingandconductingthisconference.Ifeelverymuchrewardedthatallthiseffortis,atleastinmyperspective,verymuchworthwhile,becausewegotsomuchbackfromyouintermsofthoughts,intermsofinitiatives,intermsofenergyandparticipation,intermsofbeingpunctual,intermsofbeingverylivelydiscussingandintermsofhavingapartytheothernight.I’mverygratefulforthisandIthinkourworkhasbeenrewarded.Thankyou!

• I’dliketoaddthatthishasbeenaconferencewherewenotjustmeet,eatandrepeat.Ithinkwehavebeenreallyjoiningtogetherandlearning.Theeffortofbringingtogetherpractitionersandotherstosharetheirideasandalsotoputitonalevelwherewecantakeitforwardhasbeensuccessfulandmademehappyandsatisfied.Sothankyouforallyourideas,timeandeffort.IcouldseethisasauniqueexerciseandI’mgratefultomycolleaguesandorganiserswhoreallyputinsomuchefforttomakeitasuccess.

Iwouldliketoseethatfromhereonwardssocialprotectionbecomesareality.


Annex 1: Input Papers

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IntroductoryNoteWG1a:Good practices in delivery systemsSocial protection services delivery for OP: The experience of Andean Countries HelpAge International, Latin America Development Centre, La Paz, Bolivia DrCatherineDusseaudeIbarra,RegionalHealthAdviser,formerprogrammeofficer

IntroductoryNoteWG1b:Barriers to accessPiushAnthony,SocialPolicySpecialist,UNICEF-HyderabadandChennaiFieldOffice,Hyderabad,India

Topic 2: Delivery systems: Good practices and how they work

IntroductoryNoteWG2a:Public service delivery systems: Good practices and how they workGopakumarThampi,ChiefOperatingOfficer,AffiliatedNetworkforSocialAccountability–SouthAsiaRegionandGlobal,InstituteofGovernanceStudies,BRACUniversity,Dhaka,Bangalore

IntroductoryNoteWG2b:Building social security systemsT.R.Raghunandan,FormerJointSecretaryoftheMinistryofPanchayatiRaj,GovernmentofIndia

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IntroductoryNoteWG3a:ShivKumarNarayanan,DirectorandFounderMemberCatalystManagementServicesPrivateLimited,Bangalore,Karnataka–India

IntroductoryNoteWG3b:RavinderKumar,Director,VruttiLivelihoodsResourceCentre,Delhi,India

Awareness to Empowerment: Exploring Pragmatic Approaches for providing social protection to unorganised workers

PerspectivePaperByN.ShivKumarandRavinderKumar,CatalystsGroup


IntroductoryNoteWG4a:ParminderSingh,Director,ITforChange,Bangalore,Karnataka–India

IntroductoryNoteWG4b:GurumurthyKasinath,Director,ITforChange,Bangalore,Karnataka–India

ICTs in Social Protection Systems in India - Matching strategic choices against technical options


Helpage International

HelpAgeInternationalisaglobalnetworkofabout80not-for-profitorganisationsworkingwitholderpeopleasagentsofchangeandsupportingtheirempowerment,promotingtheirrighttoequalityofaccesstoservicesanddevelopmentopportunities,andworkingtoendage-baseddiscriminationandreducepoverty.HelpAgeundertakesandfundspracticalprogrammesunder-pinnedbyresearch,advocacyandcapacitybuildingwitholderpeople,inpartnershipwitharangeofdevel-opmentandacademicorganisationsinterestedinissuesofageinganddevelopment.Ourvisionisofaworldinwhichallolderpeoplecanleaddignified,active,healthyandsecurelives.Ourmissionistoworkwithourpart-nerstoensurethatpeopleeverywhereunderstandhowmucholderpeoplecontributetosocietyandthattheymustenjoytheirrighttohealthcare,socialservicesandeconomicandphysicalsecurity.Weworkthroughlocalpartnersindevelopingcountries,grassrootsgroupsornationalNGOsthatareworkingwithandforolderpeople,butalsowithorganisationsworkingwithotherdisadvantagedgroups.AlthoughtheSecretariatissetinLondon,HelpAgeisaninternationalorganisation.ItwascreatedbyaffiliatestothenetworkincludingHelpAgeIndia.Itisledbyaninternationalboardandworksthroughits6internationalofficesofwhichistheLatinAmericanRegionalCentresetinLaPaz,Bolivia.

OurworkinLatinAmericareflectsthevisionandprin-ciplesofHelpAgesuchastheempowermentofOlderPeoplewhichhasbeenandisatthecoreofourstrat-egy.In2010,HelpAgeinitiatesanewstrategiccycle.Theoldandthenewstrategiesatregionalleveliden-tified4priorities:accesstoincome,health,emergen-ciesandclimatechange,andstrengtheningaregionalageingmovementwhichincludesolderpeoplethem-selves.Apartfromthesethematiclines,HelpAgehasarightbasedapproachandprioritisesthemostvulnerablegroupslikewomenorindigenouspeople.IntheLatinAmericanregional,wehavelearnedveryearlythat,inordertohaveanimpactandoptimiseresources,we

Topic 1: Gaps between need/demand and supply/barriers to access

social protection schemes

Introductory Note WG 1a:

Good practices in delivery systemsSocial protection services delivery for OP: The experience of Andean Countries HelpAge International, Latin America Development Centre, La Paz, Bolivia Dr Catherine Dusseau de Ibarra, Regional Health Adviser, former programme officer

needtolinkourgrassroots’workwithadvocacywork,feedingthelessonslearnedonthefieldwitholderpeo-pletopolicies.

Context of our work

Thechangingdemographicprofilesputtangibledemandsonhouseholds,healthandsocialprotectionsystemsandservices.In2006,some106millionpeopleaged60andoverwerelivingintheRegionoftheAmer-icas.By2050,thisfigurewillbeapproximately310mil-lion,with190millionlivinginLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.Lifeexpectancyat60todayhasbeencalcu-latedat21years,81%ofthepeoplebornintheRegionwilllivetotheageof60,while42%willlivepast80.In2025,therewillbe15millionpeopleaged80orover(4).Greaterlongevity,however,hasnotbeenaccompa-niedbycomparableimprovementsinwell-being,health,andthequalityoflife(5).EverycountryintheRegionisageing.However,inLatinAmericaandtheCarib-bean,thetransitionhasnotbeenassociatedwithafavo-rableeconomicsituationasithasinthemoreeconomi-callydevelopedregions.LACisagingdemographicallyatatimewhenitstilllackssufficienteconomicresources(4);almost50%oftheolderpersonsinterviewedfortheSABE4studysaidthattheydidnothavethefinancialmeanstomeettheirdailyneeds,andone-thirddidnothaveapensionorapayingjob.Theirlevelofschoolingislowerthanthatofthegeneralpopulation,andtheyhaveveryhighilliteracyrates(5).

Amongstthecountriesinthisregion,theAndeancoun-tries(Bolivia,Colombia,EcuadorandPeru)haveincommonnotonlythelevelofgrowthofits60+popu-lations;theyhaveincommonhighlevelsofinequal-itybetweenpoorandrich,ruralandurban,whiteandindigenous,aswellashighindicesofpoverty.Therearesomepoliciesinplacebuttheirlevelofimplementationislow.HelpAgestrategyintheregionthusfocusesontheseAndeancountriesmorethaninmoredeveloponeslikeArgentinaforexample.

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BoliviaisthepoorestcountryinSouthAmerica.ItsHumanDevelopmentRankingin2008was111outof179countries.AlthoughithasaGDPpercapitaofU.S.$1,030,twoofthirdsofBoliviansliveinextremepov-erty.Boliviarankssixthintheworldinincomeinequal-ityand80%oftheruralpopulationareunabletomeettheirbasicneeds.About62%ofBolivia’spopulationisconsideredindigenous.Olderpeoplearenoexcep-tion.Theymakeup7%ofthepopulationwith59%ofthepopulationofover60livingonlessthan$1adayandonly27%accessingcontributorypensionschemes.However,therearealsogreatdifferenceswithinthecountry.Forexample,inthepoorestruralhighlandcommunitiesaroundPotosithepercentageofOPisalreadyaround18%,largelyduetothehighlevelsofoutmigration.

Thecountrydoeshasprotectivelegislationforolderpeopleincludingauniversalnon-contributorysocialpension(theRentaDignidad),LawNo.1886provid-ingforpreferentialtreatmenttoolderpeopleinpub-licandprivateinstitutionsaswellasdiscountedratesforelectricity,waterandpublictransportandLawNo.3323HealthInsurancefortheolderpeople(SSPAM).Despitetheseadvancesmanyoftheolderpeopledonotexercisetheirrightsbecauseoflackofidentitydocu-mentation,lackofinformationormostofallalackofavailableservices.

Peru’sclassificationasamiddleincomecountryisbasedonnationwidestatisticshidingahighlyunequalandimpoverishedsociety.ApproximatelyhalfofPeruvianslivebelowthepovertylineand20%inextremepov-erty,mostlyinruralareas.Alongeconomiccrisisand20yearsofterroristviolence,combinedwithincreasedmigrationfromruraltourbanareas,havecontrib-utedtopoverty,vulnerabilityandinsecurity.OlderPeruvians,85%ofwhomliveinruralareas,areworstaffected,astheycontinuetoexperiencefoodinsecurityandmalnutrition,strugglingtoearnanincometosup-portthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Furthermore,wherestatesupportprogrammesdoexist(thereisanOlderPeoplelawwhichincludesthecreationoftheMultipur-poseIntegralcentres–CIAM-ineachmunicipality),olderpeopleareoftendiscriminatedagainstbyserviceprovidersandexcludedfrompovertyreductionpro-grammes,ortheylackaccesstothemduetophysicalisolationandilliteracyand,simply,alackofknowledgeabouttheirentitlements.Therefore,manyolderpeopleareunabletoaccesstheirstateentitlementstoservicesthatcouldmeettheirbasicneedsandreducetheirpov-erty.

InPeru,certaindevelopmentprocessesaredecentral-isedtomunicipalgovernmentsintheformofparticipa-toryplanningandbudgeting.Whilecommunitygroupsarewelcometoputforwardproposalsforlocaldevelop-ment,olderpeople’sorganisationsareoftennotrecog-nisedascredibleactorseitherduetodiscriminationbylocalauthoritiesorbecausetheysimplylacktheknowl-edgeandorganisationtoactivelyparticipate.

Bothcountrieshaveadecentralisedmodelofstateadministrationthatgivesanopportunityforthelocalauthoritiestodevelopbetterprogrammeandserviceswhilethecommunityparticipationisnotonlypossiblebutcommandedbylaw(Municipallawandautono-mieslawsinBolivia,participativebudgetsinPeru).Theproblemwasandstillisinmostparts,thatthecapacityofthelocalservicestoprovideaswellasthecapacityofthecommunitytoclaimandtoparticipateisinsuffi-cient.

Intervention

From2005to2008,HelpAgeanditspartnersimple-mentedtheprogramme“DefendingtheRightsofMar-ginalizedOlderPeopleinBoliviaandPeru”fundedbytheBigLottery(UK),IrishAid,IFKOandHelptheAged(nowAgeUK).Itwasmeanttobeimplementedin50ruralmunicipalitiesandfivesocio-legalcentresinfivecitiesinbothcountries.Partnersinvolvedwere:inBolivia–CIPE,CEDPAN,HorizontesFoundationandinPeru–CCCUNSCH,CAPIS,CentroProcesoSocial,IPEMINandtheLatinAmericaandCaribbeanRegionalNetworkofOlderPeople(LACRNOP).

Themulti-actorapproachoftheprogrammeendeav-ouredtoraisethevoiceandcapacitiesofolderpeople’sorganisationstoknow,exerciseanddefendtheirpoliti-cal,civil,economic,social,humanandculturalrights.TheprojectaimedtoprotectOPfromabuse,andena-blethemtoaccesstheirentitlements.Theprojectalsostrengthenedtheabilityofolderpeopleandgovernmen-talbodiestoworkcollaborativelyinaddressingolderpeople’spriorityneedsinplansandbudgetsatthelocalandnationallevels.Additionally,theprojectwasinstru-mentalinraisingawarenessamongstcivilsocietyonageingissuesaswellaslobbyingfortheimplementationofgovernmentcommitmentsonageingandtheinclu-sionofolderpeopleinbroaderpovertyreductionpro-grammes.IrishAid’ssupportwasparticularlyfocusedonanalysis,learninganddisseminationofbestpracticethroughevidence-basedmonitoring.


TheMainActivitieshavebeen:• Strengthencapacitiesofsocio-legaladvicecentres

(COSLAM)toattendcasesbroughtforwardbyolderpeopleregardingabuseorlegalproblemsinassessingtheirentitlementsandothercoreactivities,i.e.trainingolderpeopleontheirrights;

• Trainingandadvocacyworkshopsforolderpeopleandkeylocalauthoritiesaboutolderpeople’srightsandconcerns;

• Advocacyandawarenesscampaignstoinfluencepublicopinionandpolicy;

• StrengthenOlderPeople’sNetworksandOrgani-sationsinparticularviatrainingincommunica-tionandnegotiationskillsaswellasorganisationalstrengthening.

Allactivitieshadastrongfocusonruraldevelopmentandimprovingaccesstobenefitsforruralolderpeople.

Methodologyandresultsofthemunicipalwork:

Oneoftheexpectedoutcomesoftheprojectwasthatolderpeopleandtheirnetworksatlocalmunicipallev-elsbenefitfromincreasedinclusioninmunicipalpro-grammesandbudgets.Morethan70000olderper-sonsfrom64municipalitiesinBoliviaandPeruwereinvolvedandconsideredtheyhavebeenabletoimprovetheirqualityoflifethankstotheworkcarriedoutwiththeirgovernments.

ThemainobjectivewastogettheneedsandopinionsofolderpersonsincludedinthemunicipalstrategicandAnnualOperationalPlanAOPstressingtheactivepar-ticipationofthisagegroupinpubliclifeandwiththepurposeofobtainingeffectivesupportfromthis,themostaccessiblepartofthestate’sarchitecture.

Ontheonehand,thepovertystrengthenedorcreatedoforganisationsofolderpersonsinthemunicipalities.Ontheother,directworkwiththemunicipalgovernments

todisseminatedinformationaboutrightsandobligationsandthepossibilitiesforactioninresponsetotheageingofthepopulation.Inadditionthepartnerinstitutionsbecamefacilitatorsforthetransferofknowledgeandtheincentiveofdialogue.Thisformedabasicworktrianglebetweenolderpeople,municipalitiesandpartners.

Duringthelifeoftheprojectaround50organisationsofolderpersonsmanagedtoformthemselves.IntheBoliviancasetherewassupportfortheimplementationofLaw3323forHealthInsuranceforOlderPersons,SSPAM,(whichmakesthemunicipalitiesresponsibleforbothfinancingtheinsuranceaswellasitsimple-mentation)andtheprojectmanagedtoincreasetheaffiliationtotheschemeby3folds.Thelinesforolderpeopleinthemunicipalbudgetsincreasedleadingtoprojectsuchas:tenmunicipalitieshavecommittedtobuildingmultipurposecentresforolderpersons,15municipalitieshavedonatedfundsforthepurchaseoflandsothattheolderpersonsmaybuildoneofthesecentres(themajorityusesitforagriculturalactivities),somemunicipalitieshavegivenequippedspacesfortheworkoftheorganisationsofolderpersonsandtheyhavepaidthecostsofobtainingtheirlegalstatutorydocu-ments,insomecasesapersoninthelocalgovernmenthasbeendesignatedinchargeoftheaffairsofolderper-sonsand(sometimesevenanolderperson).Themunici-palgovernmentshaveorganizedsocio-legalservicesforolderpersons;theyhavecreatedaspecialregisterforolderpersonsandprovidethemwithamunicipaliden-titydocument.Themunicipalitieshavesupportedpro-ductiveprojectssuchasthecultivationofmedicinalplants,vegetablesandbreedingofsmallanimals.

Anotherpositiveaspectisthespacegainedintheplan-ningandimplementationinmunicipalbudgetspartici-pativeevents.Participationinthesespaceshasreturnedtoolderpeopletheirroleasagentsofdevelopment.

MethodologyandresultsoftheSociolegalcentres(COSLorCOSLAM)Thesocio-legalrightscentres(COSLorCOSLAM)havebeenoneofthemaincomponentsofthisproject.ThecoreactivityoftheCOSLAMistheprovisionofsocialservicesandlegaladvicetodisadvantagedolderpeople.Therewere5COSLsintheproject:thepioneerCOSLofLaPazwithasuccursalinElAlto,and4newones(Sucre,PotosiandSantaCruzinBolivia,LimainPeru).

Overthe3yearsoftheproject,26,541caseshavebeenattendedtobyCOSLs,14,247ofthesecaseswerewomen(54%)and12,294weremen(46%)reflectingtheratioofwomentomenfoundinthedemographicdata.All5COSLshavebeenfunctioningwithfewstaffbutwelltrainedandexperienced.

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A2TheCOSLsdistinguishbetweentwokindsofcases:casesthatrequireorientationandcounselling,whichareusuallyresolvedinthefirstinterview(theyrepre-sentapproximatelyhalfofthedemands)andcasesthatrequiremoreindepthinterventionfromtheteam,suchasfurtherresearch,homevisitsand(re)conciliationmeetings.Theprimarydemandforsocio-legalserv-icesinBoliviawasmostlyassociatedwithproblemsofidentitydocuments,oftenasaresultoferrorsinOP’sexistingdocumentationratheralackofdocumentation.InPeruhowever,themainproblemseemstobephysi-calorpsychologicalabuseandalsomoreassistancewasrequestedfromtheCOSLforpensioncases.Otherfig-uresincludeadditionalservicesprovidedthroughthecentreseg:inthecaseofSucre,asamunicipalservice,thiscentrehasalsoperformedothertaskssuchasreg-isteringOPontheSSPAMtotheHealthSchemeandMunicipalCredential.

ImpactandchangeinthelivesofOP.-AlthoughtheproblemspresentedbyOPtotheCOSLsweregener-allysolvedandtheOPcouldaccesstobenefits,itwasfeltimportanttoinvestigateanddocumentwhetherOPhadexperiencedpositivechangesintheirlivesinthelongterm,asaresultoftheseservices.TheCOSLsthereforecarriedoutaseriesoffocusgroupdiscussionsandfollowupinterviewsoverthecourseoftheprojecttocapturethelongtermimpact.Asampleofstoriesandtestimoniesshowedthateffectivelytherehasbeenanimpactintheirlivesalthoughnotonlyorsimplytheoneexpected.E.g.selfesteemandsocialisationwereimpactsclearlyperceivedasaresultoftheproject.

TheworkoftheCOSLSwasandcouldnotbelimitedtotheattentionofindividualcases.Inadditiontheyperformedtwokeytasks:a)disseminatinginformationontherightsofOlderPeoplethroughwrittendocu-mentationandtalks,b)targetingotherprofessionals

Bolivia Peru Total by gender

Male Female Male Female Male Female Total

Orientation 5,611 6,274 336 403 5,947 6,677 12,624 48

Documentation 4,172 5,097 36 42 4,208 5,139 9,347 35

Physicalandpsychologicalabuse

1,264 1,564 68 75 1,332 1,639 2,971 11

Otherabuse 520 618 287 174 807 792 1,599 6

Total 11,567 13,553 727 694 12,294 14,247 26,541

46 54 51 49 46 54

andinstitutionsthroughdirecttrainingandthroughthedevelopmentofspecificmaterialsonthemethod-ologiesusedbytheCOSLs.TheCOSLshadalsoanimportantrolepromotingolderpeopleorganisations.TwoguidelineshavebeendevelopedduringthecourseoftheprojectbytheCOSLteams-oneinBolivia(2005,toberevisedin2008)andoneinPeru(2006,toberevisedin2007).Thesemanualshavebeendesignedfortrainingtechnicalstafffromotherinstitutionssuchasstateinstitutions,andinparticular,municipalstaffinchargeoforganisingoperativeservices.TheyweredesigneddrawingontheexperienceofthevariousCOSLteams,inordertocomplementandaidetheirtrainingactivities.Onayearbasis,34workshopswereheldwith33publicinstitutions.Thistrainingcoveredexistinglegislation,bestpracticeapproachesforwork-ingwitholderpeopleaswellasthemethodologiesuti-lisedbytheCOSLs.Averyparticularaudienceforthistraininghasbeenthesocialservicesofsmallerruralmunicipalitiesasanalternativetoincreasethecapacitytodeliverservicesoflocalgovernments.

Amajorimpacthasbeentheinfluenceofthesepilots:thePeruvianpartnerinPeruparticipatedofdevelop-mentoftheregulationsandmodelsfortheCIAMwhileinBoliviaanagreementwiththeMinistryinchargeofSocialAffairswasmadetodevelopanationalframework/programme(workdonein2009).

Discussion

Ininternalandexternalevaluations,themunicipalcomponentwasconsideredtobethemostsuccessfulinfulfillingitsobjectives.Sucharangeofunexpected,butpositive,resultswereobtained.Amongstkeylearning,theneedforadifferentiatedstrategyforrural/smallandurban/bigmunicipalitieswasemphasisedthatmeans


flexibilityandadaptabilityistheserviceprovision.ItwasalsoreflectedthatitremainsdifficulttoconvincelocalauthoritiesanddonorsoftheprotagonistroleofOPinlocaldevelopment.Keymilestoneshavebeentheestablishmentoffocalpointsinthelocalgovern-mentsforOPneedsandtheearmarkingofbudgetlinesforservicestoolderpeopleand/orprojectsestablishedforolderpeople.Anotherimportantsuccessfactoristhestrengthandcapacityoftheolderpeople’sorgani-sationtocontinuetoparticipateintheplanningproc-essesandpushfortheirneedstobemet.ThisaspectisgreatlyfacilitatedifthelocalOPorganizationshavebeenlegallyestablished.

TheevaluationoftheSociolegalcentrescomponent,amainissuetopreventinthefutureconcernedthediffi-cultiesexperiencedinincorporatingtheCOSLAMintothemunicipalstructure,thusitssustainability.WiththeexceptionoftheCOSLAMinSucre,theprocesswasdifficult.Somealternativeshaveprovensuccessful,suchastheincorporationintotheMunicipalSociolegalServices-SLIMinruralmunicipalities.Theseservicesatthebeginningofitsexistenceweredirectedtochil-drenabusesandwomenprotection,buttherearenowdirectingthemselvestohaveanextendedcoverage.Forsmalllocalgovernments,tousealreadyinplaceservicesorservicesthatcoverallthepopulationrange,makessenseintermsofcosts,effectivenessandefficiency.Ontheotherinbigcities,theaffluenceofpeopleinneedofattentionistoobigtohaveonlya“general”service.Asconclusionsoftheevaluationrecommendationsincludethataspecialattentionshouldbeputformoresustainabilityin:• Makeviableagreementswithlocalgovernments,

becausethissetsinmotionaprocessfortheauthori-tiestoappropriatethemethodologyandinstitution-alizetheservice.

• Assuretheexistenceofmunicipalresolutionsthatguaranteethecontinuityoftheserviceinthemunic-ipality.

• Presentprojecttoawiderangeofinstitutionsthatcanprovidefinancinginsteadofdependingononedonor.

• Supportthecontinuingassistancefortheelabora-tionandimprovementofnationalpolicies,asanendorsementonthelongterm.AlthoughnotalllawssupportedbytheCOSLAMwillautomaticallyguar-anteethecontinuityofthisproject,theydomakecertainthatOPwillhavebetteraccesstoservicesinthefuture.

ThethreestrategiesidentifiedforreplicationoftheCOSLwere:• AsystematicmodelofattentiontoOPneeds,which

providesbasicelementsfortheimplementationof

centres,assurescomparativenessandqualitystand-ards.

• StrategicallianceswithinstitutionsandgroupsofOP,whichallowsforthestrengtheningoftheroleoftheCOSLAM

• AdvocacyfortheexerciseandacknowledgmentofOPrights.Capacitybuildingandqualitativeinfor-mationofuserscanbeusedasinputforadvocacyinothersituations.

Asawhole,averyimportantfactorforthesuccessofthisprogrammehasbeentheuniquecombinationofapproaches,methodologiesandskillsaswellasacare-fulsequenceofevents.TheCOSLAMcomponentwascrucialinprovidingadirectandveryimportantserviceforolderpeopleandalsogeneratingimportantinfor-mationontheirneedsandrightsabuses.Theorgani-sationalcomponentwasindispensableinensuringadurableimpactoftheprojectbyconstitutingsolidandexperiencedorganisationsofolderpeople,abletocon-tributetolocalandnationaldevelopmentprocesses.Themunicipalcomponentwaskeyinensuringthisincreasedknowledge,capacityandexpectationsfromolderpeopleweremetwithsimilareffortsfromtheirauthorities.Thenationalleveladvocacywork,ifoftentheleasttangibleanddifficulttocontrolandpindown,wasimportanttoensureamultipliereffectfromthelocallevelworkandtoensurelearningandmodelswereincorporatedintopoliciesandprogrammeswithlongertermandwiderimpactonthewholepopulationofolderpeople.Neitheroneofthesecomponentsonitsownwouldhaveachievedevenhalftheresultstheprojecthas.Itisthecarefulcombinationandsequencingthathasprovidedinnovationinthisproject.

Thequestionis:wouldhavebeensosuccessfulthepro-grammeincountrieswherenodecentralisationorlittledecentraliseexists?

Iwouldliketoconcludewithanillustrationofwhatcanbeachieved,withtheexampleoftheroleofthenationalAssociationofOPinBoliviaANAMBO,whichhasbeenstrengthenthroughtheprogramme(inparticularthroughbettergrassrootsruralorganisa-tionsandthroughthetrainingofitsnationalleaders).In2008theyhavebeeninvitedtodialoguewiththenationalgovernmentandtheyhavebeenabletobringonthetableclearrecommendations,enoughtocon-vincetheGovernmenttodecreasetheageoftheuni-versalpensionRentaDignidadfrom65to60aswellasincreasetheamount.Butlaterontheyhaveparticipatedinanotherroundtableofnegotiationsthathasfolloweduptheimplementationsideandhastakendecisionstoimprovecoverage.Asaresult,asystemthroughthe

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army(beingtheArmypresentinremoteareas)hasbeenimplementedtodelivertheRentaDignidadtoisolatedpeoplewhileinvestmentwasmadeinthecomputersys-temconnectedwithsatellite.Lateronthesamelead-ershaveworktoextendtheuseofbiometricmeasuresregistrationnotonlyforelectionsbuttothedeliveryofbenefits.

Annexe CasianoAmurrio“Well, things have improved a little because we are getting results, results for all the older persons and for the future it promises even greater improvements for older persons, with the increase and better implementation of the social pension Renta Dignidad, let us say, with that prize that we have received from the World Bank, and more over, when the multiple activity centre is operational. I believe that we would not have much to envy of the other more developed countries, the life of older persons will improve.”

DesiderioPrado“Because the road that I am opening up, that is to say, the organisation, has desire. I have my desire, what a thing: It is for all, for them also provided one day they reach the age, 60 or 40, 55, 70 years. And will they not maybe and occupy use the same offices? They will use the same treat-ment. They will not always be young. I believe they will not always be these children these girls, never. We are in the race; we have a goal, to arrive at the same point. When the hour of death arrives, one dies. No? But, as I tell them, I will continue working.”

StoryofJosé–Lima,PeruIn August 2007, Ms Mercedes informed the Municipal service, where the COSL was located, that José, 90 years old and widower was abandoned by his children. She told them that he suffered a stroke some years ago and is still not well. Most of the time, he is in bed. He is without income or resources to access treatment or medicines.When the social worker visited him, she found him in bed unable to stand. His son Homero and granddaugh-ter Brenda were also present in the house and were able to confirm his story. He was treated at the time and pre-scribed physiotherapy but this treatment was stopped abruptly due to a lack of resources. Although he has severe physical limitations, he still has his mental faculties. He was emotionally affected and was moved by the visit, cry-ing all the time. He was totally dependant on others and only able to move with help. He explained that he missed the meetings with his group Laderas Corazón (an associa-tion for older people) which he had founded. He was a very active president, achieving many things for older people. The social worker noticed he had problems with his ID as well.

The COSL liaised with a range of different services and managed to solve his ID problem and ensure that he could access physiotherapy through affiliation to the Peruvian Health Scheme SIS and gain possession of a wheelchair, which allowed him to move about independently and return to the meetings of the OP association.

StoryofAdelaMorales–SantaCruz,BoliviaMsAdelaMorales,76yearsold,wasreferredtotheCOSLinSantaCruzbyafriend.Shecamelookingforadviceonadebtproblem.“I asked the lawyer about a debt owed to me by my nephew who did not want to pay me back. With the lawyer’s help we drew up a document that acknowledges the debt with a plan for repayment during 6 months. Everything was signed and made official. At the right time my money was paid back (a total of 2000 us$). Only the interest agreed is now due.”“I feel alleviated. I do not have to think about the problem anymore. I feel good when I go to the centre. I went there because I was looking for somebody to trust. There, I learnt about the laws and my rights.”

Flora,Potosi“I am Flora … I am 75 years old. I live on my own. I have 4 children but three of them live in Argentina and one in Trinidad (a city far from Potosi). Sometimes they phone me but they can not take care of me because they have their own family…. For me the COSLAM has been a blessing. I came to this office for help. I could not have my Bono-sol and the bank sent me to the COSL. I had a problem of double registration of my birth certificate with different dates of birth, which is why I had to solve the problem in the Court of Justice. The COSL team took care of me. Now my documentation is in order and updated. I already had my Bonosol which is so much help for alimentation because I do not have any income. I thank the team for the grand task they perform for us, Older People.”

Ayacuchocasestudy:In 2006, contacts were made between partners (Proceso Social in charge of the COSL in Lima and CCC-UNSCH in Ayacucho) after the law of OP was published and municipalities were obliged to implement social services for OP. After the normative to implement the law (2007), in particular the normative for the CIAM (municipal inte-gral centre for OP), CCCUNSCH advocated for the open-ing of such a service in Ayacucho and convinced the munic-ipality to receive training from Proceso Social in agreement with MIMDES (the ministry in charge). This was planned for 2007 but was finally achieved in January 2008. In April 2008, Ayacucho CIAM began operations.


Introductory Note WG 1b:

Barriers to accessPiush Anthony, Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF-Hyderabad and Chennai Field Office, Hyderabad, India

Inmostdevelopingcountries,socialprotectionpoli-ciessofarhavebeenidentifiedwithex-postmeasuresasresponsestocrises(forexample,economicandfinancialcrisisoccurredintheearly1990sinAsiaandthemostrecentglobalcrisis).Mostofthedevelopingcountrieslackex-antemeasurestoaddressrisksandvulnerabili-tiesofpoorowingtotheirchronicpovertyandabsenceofbasiccapabilities.

InIndia,mostoftheworkforceisintheinformal(unorganised)sectorandtheyfacevarioustypesofrisksandvulnerabilitiesduetotheir‘workstatus’(income/employmentsecurity)aswellasduetoconditionsofliv-ingincludingpoorshelter,water,sanitation,andboutsofhungerandfoodinsecurity.Theyarealsoleastabletoparticipateinmarketdrivensocialsecuritymeasures(forexample,privatehealthinsuranceorprivatepen-sions)andfacedifficultiesinparticipatinginthecon-tributoryschemesofsocialsecurity.

Evensomeoftherudimentarysocialsecurityschemesimplementedbyvariouswelfareboardsofinformalworkerstendtohavelimitedcoverageandscope.Thiswarrantsafresh-lookattheendemicnatureofpovertyandvulnerabilityofinformalsectorworkersandwaysofaddressingsocialprotectionfromadevelopmentalperspective.

Programmeslikepublicdistribution,schoolmealpro-grammes,socialassistanceschemes,assistanceforeducationandhealthetcarerecognisedforcreatingentitlementsforbasicsocialprotection.Publicworksprogrammes(likeNREGA)arealsoaimedatcreat-ingincomesecurityandtherebyreducinghouseholdvulnerability.However,severalsuchschemesandpro-grammesaremiredwithseriesofbarriersforparticipa-tionbythemostvulnerableandneedypopulation.Itisimportanttoidentifythevariousdimensionsofbarrierstoextendsocialprotectionforall.

Whilesupplyconstraintsareoftenidentifiedassourcesofbarriersforextensionofsocialprotection,demandsidefactorsalsoplayanimportantroleinensuringaccessbyall.Theinterplaybetweendemandandsup-plyneedtobeunderstoodfromthepolicyperspec-tiveespeciallyinrelationtodesignoftheprogramme,accessconditions,targetingcriteria(oruniversalaccess)andcostsassociatedwithdeliveryofsocialprotectionprogrammes.

Itisoftenarguedthatprogrammesthatcreateentitle-mentsanduniversalaccessarepreferredindevelopingcountriesastheyminimisetargetingerrorsthatoth-erwisecreepintosocialprotectionschemes.However,itwouldbeofpolicyinteresttoinvestigatebarriersforparticipationeveninsuchuniversalschemeslikeuni-versaleducation,universalhealthanduniversalpublicworksschemes.Suchbarriersmaycomeintothepro-grammesbywayofdesign,vestedinterestsaswellasthecapacitiesofimplementingagency/bureaucracy.Thereisaneedtoidentifythesebarriersandaddressthemthroughdesignandotherneededpolicycorrections.

Thekeyquestionsatthisjuncturewouldbe:• Howdoweunpacktheelementsofaccessto

schemes(information,awareness,easysystemsandprocesses,socialandeconomicdiscrimination-bothbenignanddeliberate)?

• Whataretheinclusionandexclusionerrorsoftheexistingprogrammes?

• Whataretherisksandvulnerabilitiesthatarenotcoveredintheexistingprogrammesforinformalworkers?

• Isthereanyothervulnerablegroupsthatareleftfromaccessingthebasicsocialprotection(migrantfamilies,children)

• Whatarethethreenotablegapsbetweendemandandsupplyofsocialprotectionschemes?➞ Universalisationversustargetingofsocialpro-

tectionschemes:Whathavebeentheexperi-encesandlessons?

➞ Whatarethesourcesofbarriersforextensionofsocialprotection?(ex.Publicfinance,socialexclusion,designandimplementationappara-tus)andhowtheycanbeovercome?

➞ Whatarethespecificfactorswhichconstituteabarriertoconceptualizinganintegratedandcomprehensivesocialprotectionscheme?

➞ Whatarethewaysandmeanstointegrateasocialprotectionperspectiveintopolicy-mak-ing?

• Arethemaindifferences,ifany,betweendevelopedanddevelopingcountriesintheirapproachtosocialprotectionpolicy-making?

Howcanengenderingaccesstosocialprotectionandcreatingchildsensitivesocialprotectionpoliciesbeachieved?

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“It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped”.

Hubert H. Humphrey

Awell-functioningsocialprotectionpolicyisanimpor-tantelementofacountry’sstrategytoreducepovertyandvulnerability.Moreimportantly,itisaninstrumentwhichaddressestherisksofefficiencywithoutequityinthegrowthparadigm,throughstateprovisionofbasicsocialandeconomicservicesorthroughredistributivepolicies.Manysocialprotectionprogramsindevelop-ingcountriesinSouthAsiacontinuedaspartofpost-independencewelfaristtraditionsorbeenintroducedaspartofpoliticalopportunism,andex-postresponsestoemergencies/disastersordonor-drivendemands.Thereishoweverapressingneedtosystematizeandunifytheseeffortsinamannerwhichwillnotonlycoverthoseintheformalsectororthoseaddressingspecialcategorieslikethesociallyhandicappedanddestitute,butalso,thevastmajorityofwagedandself-employedworkersintheinformalsectorwhofallbetweenthesetwocategories.

Aquickreviewofliteratureonsocialprotectionpoli-ciesandstrategies,especiallythosereflectinginnovationandnewthinking,highlightstrendsthatareboundtoshapeandinfluencethecontoursofemergingdis-coursesandpractices1:• Economicandsocialglobalizationandtheirimpact

onthelabormarket,theinformalizationofwork,increaseofinternationalmigrations,globalhealthrisksandthe‘digitalexplosion’haveprofoundlymodifiedthenatureanddynamicsofpovertyandsocialexclusionovertime,aboveandbeyondchronicpovertyandsocialexclusion.

• Thereisapressingneedforsocialprotectionsystemstostrengthentheirlinkswithmechanismsthatpre-ventandcombatpovertyandsocialexclusion;apos-sibilityreiteratedbytheexpectationsofitscontribu-

Topic 2: Delivery systems: Good practices and how they work


Public Service Delivery Systems: Good Practices and How they WorkGopakumar Thampi, Chief Operating Offi cer, Affi liated Network for Social Accountability – South

Asia Region and Global, Institute of Governance Studies, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangalore

tionstotherealizationoftheMillenniumDevelop-mentGoals(MDGs).

• NewmodelsofsocialprotectionstrategieslikeCon-ditionalCashTransfers(CCTs)arereflectinganewthinkingontherationaleforsocialprotection,whichre-examinesthepresumedtrade-offbetweenequityandefficiencybyconsideringthelong-termsocialandeconomiccostsofuninsuredrisksandunmitigatedinequalities.

• Systemicchallengescontinuetoposeideologicalambiguitiesliketheseparationandcontradictionbetweensocialprotectionforthemostvulnerableandthegeneralprocessofuniversalization.

Emergenceofgrowingevidencesthatpointtoanurgentneedforsocialprotectionprogramstomovefromastatebasedapproach(focusingonpublicactors)toagovernanceandrightsbasedone.

Giventhisenablingandchallengingbackdrop,whatconstitutestheessentialcriteriaforawelltargetedandimplementedsocialprotectionpolicy?Sincesocialpro-tectionprogramswhenviewedas‘tangibles’translateintopublicservices,weplacethisprobeinthedomainofpublicservicedeliverytoexplorepotentialenablersanddrawparallelsforstrengtheningthedesignandimple-mentationofsocialprotectionpoliciesandprograms.

Whatconstitutesaneffectivepublicservicedelivery?Ingeneral,drawinguponsuccessfulinitiativesfromIndiaandelsewhere,effectivedeliveryofpublicservicesneedtoincorporatefivecriticalelements:

1Socialprotectionandinclusion:Experiencesandpolicyissues.InternationalLaborOrganization,2006.Geneva


1. Access:Theeasewithwhichcitizenscanavailthefacilities,entitlements,orrightsprovidedbygov-ernmentisthestartingpointforaneffectivepublicservicedeliverysystem.Itisonlywhenagovernmentmatchesitspronouncementsandofferswitheaseofaccesstothepeoplewhoareentitledtoservicesorotherbenefitsthatwecancalltheagency’sconductcitizencentric.

2. Information:Awellfunctioningservicedeliverysys-temprovidesadequateinformationandknowledgetothecitizensaboutthewayitfunctionsandhowtheycaninteractwithitsnumerousagencies.Accesstoinformationempowerscitizenstoinfluencepol-icy,allocationofpublicresources,andmonitoringofperformance,andtoaccesstheservicesandrightstowhichtheyareentitled.Itcallsforgreatertranspar-encyonthepartofgovernment,anattributethatisdilutedwhenanexecutivecentricapproachprevails.

3. Equity:Governmentsservelargeanddiversepopu-lations.Equityandfairnessthereforebecomekeyissuesintheiraccesstothebenefits,servicesandrightsofferedbygovernment.Whenthereisdis-criminationintermsoftheaccesstoordeliveryoftheseentitlements,principlesofgoodgovernancearecompromised.Theequitycriterionappliesequallytothepolicyarenatoo.Whenpolicymakingisinflu-encedundulybysomesectionsatthecostofothers,thereisaclearviolationofthiscriterion.Thusequityhasbothinter-personalandinter-groupdimensions.

4. Efficiency:Entitlementsandrightsofpeoplemustbedeliveredattheleastcostintermsofresources,consistentwithagreeduponstandardsofqualityandreliability.Thisappliesinparticulartothewiderangeofpublicservicesandbenefitsforwhichpeo-pledependongovernment.Theabsenceofstand-ardsandnormsforaccessanddeliveryareseriousbarrierstothepursuitofefficiency.Eveninrespectofpolicymaking,ifparticipationofcitizensismademorecumbersomeorcostly,itcannotberegardedasagoodpractice.

5. Responsiveness:Amajorproblemthatcitizensencounterintheirinteractionswithgovernmentagenciesisthelatter’srelativeinabilitytoresolvethedifficultiesthatarise,speciallywithrespecttoserviceprovisionandprotectionofrights.Oftenproblemsarisebecauseofalackofefficientmechanismsforgrievanceredress.Itmayalsoreflectanattitudinalproblemonthepartofofficialswhoconsiderthem-selvesasdispensersoffavourstothepeople.Themonopolypowerofgovernmentinmanyareasexac-

erbatesthismindset.Whenthishappens,mostpeo-pletendtoconcludethatgovernmentisunrespon-sivetotheirneeds.

Thefiveelementsdescribedabovecouldalsobecon-sideredascornerstonesindesigningandimplement-ingsocialprotectionprograms.However,itisusefultokeepatthebackofthemindthecaveatthatthemixandmatchofthesecriteriawillvarydependingonthenature,scope,contextandmandateoftheprogram.But,anattemptcanbemadetopullintheseelementsundertogetherunderaframeworkandgroupthemintothreefunctionallydistinctareas:

1. Designing the building blocks for a social protec-

tion program: Drawinguponemergenttrendsfromthepublicservicedeliverydomain,weproposethreekeythemesthatwebelievecapturesrealisticexpec-tationsregardingtheeffectsandeffectivenessofsocialprotectionpolicy:

1.1 Balancing protection and promotion: Althoughtheraisond’êtreofsocialprotectionbeganwiththeideaofprotectingvulnerablegroupsfromshocksandcrisesoftheirnormalexistence,itquicklyevolvedtoacknowledgingtheneedforpromotingmeasurestoprovidepathwaysoutofpoverty.GiventhemagnitudeofpovertyinSouthAsiancontextsandrisksassociatedwithliberalizationandglobali-zation,itisimperativeforsocialprotectionpoli-ciestomovebeyondsimpleex-postinitiatives,i.e.addressinginsecuritiesinincomeandconsumptiontoex-anteinitiatives,i.e.buildingassetsandliveli-hoodsanddevelopinginfrastructureandhumancapital.Theconceptofgraduation,ormovingpeo-plefromdependencytoanindependent,productivelivelihoodisthusoneofthecentralelementsinthesocialprotectionagenda.

1.2 Bringing ‘rights’ into social protection: Socialprotectionisauniversallyrecognizedhumanright.Effectivesocialprotectionpoliciesenshrineandoperationalizethisrightwithinthelegalandadministrativeframeworkthroughstatingspecificrightsexplicitlyandputtinginplaceeffectivegriev-anceandauditmechanisms,therebystrengtheningthesocialcontractbetweenthestateanditscitizens.Thisservesadualpurpose.Itopensupavenuesforsocialmobilizationbystrengtheningthecapacityofvulnerablegroupstonegotiatetheirinterestsandclaimtheirlegallyconstitutedentitlements.Italsoensurestheaccountabilityoftheinstitutionalsys-tembyforcingittotakeresponsibilityforitsdeci-sionsandactions.Thishasbecomeakeycomponent

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ofthediscourseonrethinkingsocialprotectionpolicies.Institutingrightshasthepotentialimpactofovercomingstructuralbarriersandpowerasym-metriesinasociety,therebyservingtheinterestsoflongertermsocio-economicimpact.

1.3 Contextualizing social protection: Asuccess-fulsocialprotectionpolicycannotonlybejudgedbyhowwellitsobjectiveshavebeenmetdur-ingimplementation.Rather,theinterventionsshouldbeembeddedwithinitspolitical,economic,social,culturalandgeographiccontexttomaxi-mizeimpact.Thedesignofprogrammesmustbeinformedbyathoroughassessmentofthedemandandsupplysituation.Ontheonehand,properidentificationandprioritizationofneedsofdif-ferentvulnerablegroupsneedtobetakenintoaccount.Ontheother,therolesandcapabilitiesofdifferentserviceprovidersandinstitutionalactorsinrespondingtothesedemands-throughavail-ableresourcesandincentives-mustalsodeterminethefeasibilityofaprogram.Socialprotectionpro-gramsthatareunabletoinnovateandadapttothelocalcontextwillmostlikelyfailtomakealastingimpact.

2. Building ownership & Framing incentives for

partnerships and innovations:Actionsonbothdemandandsupplysidesarerequiredtomakesocialprotectionpoliciesmorecitizencentric.Dis-seminationofinformationonservicesandtheirstandards,forexample,willempowerthepeopletoaccessservicesanddemandgreateraccountabilityfromserviceproviders.Reformofinternalsystemsusingnewtechnologiesmayimprovetherespon-sivenessofserviceprovidersfromthesupplyside.Partnershipswithnon-governmentalbodiescanalsoleadtogreaterresponsivenessofserviceprovid-ers,andimpactonbothdemandandsupplysides.Wepresentbelowsomeconcretepossibilitiesinthisregard:

2.1 Ownership of the intervention: Thenatureofini-tiationofasocialprotectionprogramcanhavefar-reachingimpactsonitsprogressandeventualimpact.Manysuccessfulprogramshavebeenseentoenjoybroad-basedsupportfrompoliticalleader-shiprightfromitsinception,therebyensuringthecommitmentofbureaucratstoseethroughproperimplementation.Thereisariskofsocialpoliciesbeingusedtosupporttheagendaofaparticularpoliticalregimebuttherearealsoincentivesinfur-theringalongtermeconomicagenda.Butowner-shipmustalsobesecuredthroughcivilsocietyandothernon-stateactors,whoplayakeyroleinmobi-

lizingandeducatingthebeneficiariesaboutthepro-ceduresandentitlementsoftheprogram.

2.2 Investing on the providers: ‘Anysocialprotectioninterventionislikelytobeonlyasgoodasthepeo-plewhodesignandimplementit’,quotesareportfromSocialProtectioninAsia.Involvingtherel-evantactorswhoareresponsibleforplanninglocal,needs-basedworksandalsoinvestinginthemintermsoftechnicalskills,incentive/rewardstructuresandworkfacilitiesassociatedwiththeprogramarecrucialtoensureproperimplementation.

2.3 Building partnerships: Indevelopingcountrycon-texts,issuessuchasaffordability,manpoweravail-ability,geographicaccessandculturaldiversitydeterminethefeasibilityofsocialprotectionpro-grams.GoodpracticesevenintheIndiancontextshowprogramsthathavebeenjointlymanagedorfinancedbythegovernmentandarangeofotherstakeholderssuchasNGO’s,tradeunions,privatesectorandbeneficiariesthemselves.Thesemeasuresnotonlyreducethefiscalandadministrativebur-denonthestate,butthroughincreasedspacesforparticipationofotherstakeholders,alsoencourageinnovationbyexperimentingwithalternativedeliv-erypatterns.However,caremustbetakenonselect-ingpartnersanddraftingthetermsofreferences.

3. Strengthening Oversight & Accountability:Proac-tive(suomoto)informationdisclosure,effectivegrievanceredressmechanismsandstrongoversightandaccountabilitysystemsarecriticalfortheeffec-tiveimplementationofasocialprotectionprogram.

3.1 Proactive information disclosure: Theessentialinformationthatcitizensneedtoaccessservicesandensurethattheyreceivethebenefitsorservicestheyareentitledtoisanaspecttowhichallgovernmentsneedtopayspecialattention.Theconditionsandtermsforgettingaccesstoservices,thestandardsofqualityandreliabilityoftheservicesandrem-ediesavailableifthedeliveryisdeficientconstitutethebasicinformationthatallcitizensneed.Itisthisinformationthattheycanusetoholdtheserviceprovideraccountableinthefinalanalysis.

3.2 Grievance redress mechanisms: Effectiveandtransparentcomplaintshandlingmechanismsneedtobeputinplacetoenablebeneficiariestoresolvetheirproblemswithbothaccessandserviceprovi-sion.Here,itisimportanttoemphasisethatnewtechnologiescanbeofgreatassistanceinboththedesignandimplementationofredressmechanisms.Greatersimplicity,transparencyandaccountabil-


itycanbeachievedthroughtheuseofthesetech-nologies.Evenoutsourcingofcomplaintshandlingthroughcallcentersorhavingtollfreetelephonelinesmaybeefficientwaystodealwiththisissue,especiallyforthedisadvantagedsegmentswhomaynothaveaccesstocuttingedgetechnologies.

3.3 Strengthening accountability mechanisms: Incor-poratingrightsintosocialprotectionpoliciesandprogramsisakeyinstrumentthroughwhichtoempowercitizensbygivingthemastatutoryandjusticiablerighttoaparticularservice,ofaparticu-larqualitywithinaparticularperiodoftime.CivilsocietyinIndiahasincreasinglybeguntobringthelanguageofrightsintothepublicdomainwhichinmanycaseshasculminatedintolegislationsliketheRighttoWork,RighttoFoodandRighttoEduca-tion.Cross-cuttingtheserightshasbeenanotherpowerfullegislation-theRighttoInformationwhichhasenabledpeopletogainaccesstogovern-mentrecordsandquestionthegovernment,whichhasgreatpotentialtocheckcorruptionandimprovetheefficiencyofsocialprotectionprograms.Anothermechanismistocreatewatchdogsofpublicservicessuchasofficesofthepublicombudspersontochannelandresolvegrievancesofthepublic.

3.4 Monitoring and Evaluation:Theimportanceofamonitoringandevaluationsystem,whetherinter-nalorexternaltothestate,cannotbeempha-sizedenoughinmeasuringprogressandbringingaccountabilityandtransparencyinsocialprotectionprograms.Thiscantakeseveralforms–establishingminimumacceptablestandardsofservicedeliveryorentitlements;assessingtherelevanceandimpactofspendingpriorities;trackingleakagesingovern-mentfundsorverifyingwhetherfundshavebeen

spentinappropriateways.Toolsandapproachestoassessserviceprovisionsuchaspublichearings,socialauditsandpublicexpendituretrackingsur-veysareincreasinglybeginningtobeusedbyciti-zensandinsomecasesthegovernment.AgoodcaseinpointistheAsianDevelopmentBank’sSocialProtectionIndex(SPI)isanewapproachtomeas-uringeffectsandoutcomesofsocialprotectionpro-gramsincountries.Thismethodologyassessessocialprotectionbyasetoffourindicators:expenditureonsocialprotectionasashareofgrossdomesticproduct(GDP),coverageintermsofreachingprior-itygroups,distributionaleffectsintermsofapov-erty-targetingindicator,andimpactintermsofpercapitasocialprotectionexpenditureonthepoorinrelationtothepovertyline.2Figure1showsacom-parisonoftheSPIinselectedsouthAsiancountries.Althoughthisanationallevelmeasurethatallowscross-countrycomparisons,similarapproachescanbeadaptedandappliedtosocialprotectionpro-gramswithinacountry.

Apartfromtheformalmonitoringandevaluationproc-esses,thirdpartyinterventionsbylocalcommunitygroupscanbringinaddedvalue.Thereareanumberofdemand-sidegeneratedtoolslikesocialaudits,citizenreportcards,communityscorecardsandpublicexpend-ituretrackingsurveysthatarenowwidelyrecognizedaspotentandcomplimentaryoversightandaccountabilityapproaches.Ingeneral,thepaperasitstandsgivethesolutionsthathavetobedevelopedintheworkinggreoups,thepaperisnotposingquestionsbutgivinganswers.Ifeelthisisthe“wrong”approach.Whatwewouldliketohaveasaninputforaworkinggroupiseitherthepresentationofanconcreteexampleofaschemeandhowitworkswithwhatresults/prob-lems,etc.Basedonitthegroupworklooksintoissuesandpatternsproducingtheseresultsanddiscusseshowtoimprove.orwehaveakindofgoodpracticeanddiscussbasedonthatissuestobeconsideredforotherschemesintermsofsuccessfactors.Thepapernowisanormativepaperswhichdoesnotstimulateadiscussion,butgivesatheoreticalframeworkwithouttestingthisframeworkwitharealexample.Inmypointofviewweneedtogo“theotherwayround.”

Guidingquestionsfortheworkinggroup• Whatlessonscanbedrawfromcurrentexperiences

ofprogramslikeNREGAintermsofdesignele-mentsanddeliverymechanisms?

2Formoreinformationseehttp://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Social-Protection/Volume2/Part4.pdf

Figure 1

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2Formoreinformationseehttp://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Social-Protection/Volume2/Part4.pdf

• Whatelementscontributetotransparency&accountabilityinexistingprograms?

• Howcantheseelementsbestrengthened?• Whatlessonscanwedrawfromtheattemptsto

institutionalizeinnovationslikesocialauditswithinprogramslikeNREGA?


Building Social security systems: A case for decentralisationT.R. Raghunandan, Former Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India

Twocriticalrequirementsforgoodsocialsecuritysystem• Scaleisimportant,thelargerthenumberscovered,

themorestablethesystem;• Dataiscriticalbothforriskappraisalandadminis-

tration

Thebackground• Karnatakaonapathofcarryingdecentralisation

forward;• CurrentfocusonfurtherdecentralisationtoGrama

Panchayats;• Landmarkreformhappeninginlegislation,fiscal,

administrativeandplanningdecentralisationinlasttwoyears.

• Strengtheningparticipatorydemocracybynotmerelytreatingcitizensascustomersofservices,butaseffectiveparticipantsindemocraticprocessestomakedemocracymoremeaningfulandrelevantforthemselves.

• StrengthenGramaSabhasandmakethemeffectiveinstrumentsoflocaldecision-making,

• Concentrationonimprovingthequalityofgovern-ance,determinationoflocalprioritiesandbettertargetingofsocialandgeneralservicesbeingpro-videdatGramaPanchayatlevel.

Keyreforms• SettingupofempoweredWardSabhasandGrama

Sabhas;• Uniquesatellitebasedcapacitybuildingprogramme

forGramaPanchayatmembersunderway;• BelurDeclarationaimedatfurtherstrengtheningof

GramaPanchayats

CurrentchallengesandconcernsCanGramaPanchayatshandleeffectivelytheirenhancedresponsibilities?Answer:devolutionofresponsibilitiesisbyitselfthebestcapacitybuildingprogramme

ImperativeforMPHSarisesfromrecentempoweringlegislation….• WardSabhatoidentifyandselectallbeneficiaries

inorderofpriorityinaccordancewithconcernedschemeguidelinesandsubmittotheGramaPan-chayat;

• GramaPanchayattoplacethebeneficiarylistssentbytheWardSabhasbeforetheGramaSabha;

• GramaSabhatomakethefinalselectionandpriori-tisation;

• SuchselectionandprioritisationtobemandatoryatalllevelsofGovernment

CurrentchallengesinempoweringGramaSabhas• TrustreposedintheWardSabhaandGramaSabha

isimmense;willtheseinstitutionsfunctionrespon-siblyandeffectively?

• Legalpositionapart,misgivingsexistontakingparticipatorydemocracytotheGramaSabhalevelbecausewefearthatpeoplemaynotalwaystakeinformeddecisions.

• GovernmenthasprimaryresponsibilitytoprovideWardSabhasandGramaSabhaswithreliabledataaboutthemselvestoenablethemtomakegooddeci-sionsinaccordancewiththelaw.

TheMulti-PurposeHouseholdSurveyofRuralCitizens• WillenableGramaSabhastotakebetterinformed

decisionsaboutthemselves;• Itwillbeanimportantsteptowardsmoreeffective

localtargeting;• Itssuccesswillencouragemoredepartmentsto

entrustresponsibilitiestoGramaPanchayatsandGramaSabhas.

Theprelude...• CurrentStatus

➞ Citizendataexistsinmostdepartments–butinhandwrittenform


➞ Departmentdatathatisavailableinelectronicformcannotbeeasilycorrelated

• BPLcardscomputerizationhasbeencompletedbyF&CSdepartment

• 10PilotdistrictswereselectedforMPHSpilot–IdentifiedBPLfamiliesonly➞ Sulya–98%,Karkala–90%andNRPura

75%coverage➞ HoskoteidentifiedforAPL+BPLsurvey

TheHoskoteExperiment• ThelargestFPSbycardswasselected• Voterslistwastakenasthebasisandadatabase

analysiswascarriedout:➞ NumberoffamilieswithAPLcards➞ NumberoffamilieswithBPLcards

• Astonishingresultsemerged➞ Closeto100%matchonBPLcards➞ Verylow(<20%)matchonAPLcards➞ Fakedataoffamilymembers

• Itwasdecidedtodoafieldsurveytovalidatethefindings

BPLCards–Hoskotefindings• AlmostallfamilieshavebeenissuedBPLcards• IftheBPLcriterionisappliedmanyfamiliesarenot

eligible➞ Visiblycomfortableliving➞ MosthaveTVs,sometwowheelers➞ Fewhavemorethan2Acresoflandasperthe

Bhoomidatabaseofthatvillage• Onlyveryvisiblyrichfamilieshavenotbeenissued

BPLcards

APLcard–Hoskotefindings• APLdatabaseisnotcomputerized• Veryfewdeletionshavebeendoneovertheyears• Theheadofthefamilyinthecardfindtheirplacein

thevoterslistandexist• Thefamilymembersaslistedintheregisterareficti-

tious• MostAPLcardswerenotwithbeneficiarybutwith

FPSowners

Interestingresultsfromthepilot• TheElectoralRollsseemstobereasonablyaccurate• ThenumberofRationCardsweremorethanthe

numberoffamiliesascomputedfromtheElectionDatabasebyover25%

• CitizensarewillingtopayuptoRs.20/-tounder-takethedigitalphotographyprocess.

Conclusionsfromthepilot:thedownside• Currentdatabasesarehighlyinaccurate• Peoplehavenostakeindata• Peoplefudgedataintheexpectationthat“ifweask

for100,wewillget10

Conclusionsfromthepilot:theglimmerofhope• ThisunderscorestheneedforustohaveanMPHS;• Thepilotshowsthattheprocessisreplicable.

DesigningaGPlevelcitizenssurvey• Discussionsconductedwithseveralstakehold-

ers,suchasGramaPanchayatmembers,trainingresourcepersons,NGOsandfieldlevelofficers;

NameoftheTaluk

APL GreenCard AAY Total HousesasperVoterlist

Variation

Karkala 22550 14273 36823 37517 694

NRPura 3026 9575 970 13171 14296 1125

Alur 4243 12867 17110 12505 -4605

Mandya 53832 44341 3479 101652 40819 -60833

Maddur 30550 39560 2704 75518 36455 -39063

Nanjangudu 19540 62303 - 81843 83848 2005

KRNagar 23470 33798 - 57268 38983 -18285

Shidlaghatta 4193 25059 - 29252 31313 2061

Hosakote 14204 35670 984 50858 49854 -1004

Sulya 14224 13149 - 27373 42784 15411

10PilotTaluks-Analysis

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• Surveysconductedby“ConcernedforWorkingChildren”,anNGO,studiedclosely,

• DiscussionsheldwithGramaPanchayatmembersonsatellitetoelicitresponsestotheidea.

Whattheconsultationsrevealed...• GramaPanchayatmemberswerelargelyenthusias-

ticaboutthesurvey;• SeveralinitiativesbyGramaPanchayatswere

alreadyunderway;(MaravanthePanchayat,Udipidistrict)

• Iftheformsweresensitivelydesigned,evenilliter-atesandneo-literatescouldundertakeacompetentsurvey

(Example:surveysconductedbyChildrenonchildlabour)

Thephilosophyunderlyingthenewidea...• Informationisbasictoolforstrategicplanning,but

relevantinformationisrarelyavailable;• Secondarydataisalmostalwaysoutofdateandis

merelyadescriptionofpasttrends;• Thefieldrealityisdynamicandconstantlychanging;• Whatweneedisspecificswithnamesandfaces,not

statistics;• Weneedithereandnow.

Whathappenswhenthesubjectsofresearchbecomeresearchers…• TheCWCexperience• Childrenfelttheneedtocollectinformationabout

theirownvillages;• Childrensoughthelpondesigningasurveythat

theycoulduse;• Childrencarriedoutthesurveys;• Childrenbegantoactontheirfindingsevenbefore

thedatawascorrelated;• Childrengenerateddata,usedittotransformtheir

livesandkeptupdatingit;• GramaPanchayatssawchildrenasasourceofvalu-

ableinformation.

Thebasicframeworkofthenewidea...• Thesurveymustbecost-effective;(withinRs.5.05

croresavailableforBPLsurvey)• Itshouldbeimmediatelyusefultothepeopleand

theGramaPanchayat,evenwithoutcomputerisa-tion;

• noneedforunnecessaryhightechnology;• GramaPanchayatmemberswillsuperviseandman-

agesurveyandcanevenconductitthemselves;• GramaPanchayatswillownthedata.• Datacollectionisaprocess,notanevent;• Chasing100percentaccuracyatonegoisfutile;

• Abasicframeworkshouldbedevelopedandlocalinitiativesandadd-onsshouldbeencouraged;

GramaPanchayatsshouldbeencouragedtounder-takeinterventionsevenasthesurveythrowsupresults.

Issueofownershipofdata• Fundamentalprinciple:GramaPanchayatwillown

dataforthefollowingreasons;• EverybodyultimatelyisamemberofsomeGrama

Sabha;• GramaPanchayatsplaycrucialroleinverification;• GramaPanchayatswilltakeonresponsibilityof

updation.• DecentralisationtoGramaPanchayatswillbe

strengthenedbecauseeverydepartmentwillhavetotransactandinteractwiththeGramaPanchayatregardingfunctionstransferredtothem.

TheKeralaKudumbashreeexperiment• Kudumbashreeisamultifacetedwomenbasedpar-

ticipatorypovertyeradicationProgrammejointlyinitiatedbyGovernmentofKeralaandNABARD.

• ItisimplementedbyCommunityBasedOrganizations(CBOs)ofPoorwomeninco-opera-tionwithPanchayatiRajInstitutions.

MissionofKudumbashree“ToeradicateabsolutepovertyintenyearsthroughconcertedcommunityactionundertheleadershipofLocalGovernments,byfacilitatingorganisationofpoorforcombiningselfhelpwithdemandledconvergenceofavailableservicesandresourcestotacklethemultipledimensionsandmanifestationofpovertyholistically”.

TheProcessSpottingthepoorfamilies–The9Point“RiskIndex”• Livinginasubstandardhouseorhut• Noaccesstosanitarylatrines• Noaccesstosafedrinkingwater(150Mts)• Gettingonly2mealsadayorless• Havingchildrenbelow5yearsofage• Havingnooronlyoneearningmember• Belongingtosociallydisadvantagedgroups• Havinganilliterateadultmember• HavingalcoholicsordrugaddictsAfamilyhavingatleastfouroftheabovefactorsisclas-sifiedasa‘FamilyatRisk’ora‘PoorFamily’

RevisedRiskParameters(UrbanAreas):• NoLand/Lessthan5centsofLand• Nohouse/DilapidatedHouse• NoSanitaryLatrine• Noaccesstosafedrinkingwaterwithin150meters


• Womenheadedhousehold/Presenceofawidow,divorcee/abandonedlady/unwedmother

• Noregularlyemployedpersoninthefamily• SociallyDisadvantagedGroups(SC/ST)• PresenceofMentallyorphysicallychallengedper-

son/Chronicallyillmemberinthefamily• FamilieswithoutcolourTVAfamilyhavingatleastfouroftheabovefactorsisclas-sifiedasa‘FamilyatRisk’ora‘PoorFamily’

Relevance&Significanceof9pointindex• Simplicity• Aninclusivedefinition• Donotdependmuchonincome• Easilyunderstoodparameters• Surveybycommunity• Variousmanifestationofdeprivationareincluded• LargepossiblecombinationsofPoverty–9c4Com-

binations–126possiblewaysoffindingapoorfamily

• Itfacilitatesrationalgradingofpoorfamilies• Itsuggestspossiblecorrectivesteps

CommunityBasedOrganisation(CBOs)• NeighbourhoodGroup(NHG)• AreaDevelopmentSociety(ADS)• CommunityDevelopmentSociety(CDS)

Thefocusison…• HumanResourceDevelopment• CommunityHealth• Education• ‘Balasabha’-Children’sNHG• BasicMinimumNeedInfrastructureDevelopment• MicroFinance• DestituteIdentificationRehabilitation&Monitor-

ing(DIRM)• LeaseLandFarming• MicroHousing• MicroEnterpriseDevelopment

‘BalaSabha’-Children’sNHG(UrbanArea)PreventingtheIntergenerationalTransmissionofPov-erty• Aninformalforumofchildrenforimprovingcrea-

tivityandtalents• 120,000studentsin6,000BalaSabhas(agegroup

of10-15)• 480volunteersfornurturingBalaSabha• ThriftcrossedINR1.2million(5months)• Weeklymeetingsatcommonplace

DestituteRehabilitation• Aspecialprogrammetoaddresstheproblemsof

poorestamongthepoor

• 1stPhase-101GPs• IIndPhase-68GPs• 13928Familiesidentified• RehabilitationPlanfor41.26crores• Onlinemonitoringsystem

WhoisaDestitute?• Theyarepoorestofthepoor.• Theyaretheoutliersofthedevelopmentscenarioin

thenegativeextreme.• Theyliveatthemarginsoftheeconomy,societyand

polity.• Theydonothavea“voice”orthepowerof“choice”.• Theyarenotaconstituencyorvotebank.• Theyfacetheworstformsofdeprivationandlackof

accesstothebasicminimumservices.• Theyareexposedtoallformsofvulnerabilityand

donothaveanysafetynetagainstrisks.• Theirincomeisbelowsubsistenceandtheyare

dependent.• Theyarefaceless,powerless&lackcapabilities• Notawareoftheirentitlements• Theycannotcompetenorbargain.• Severityofdestitutionisbyunfavourablephysical,

genderorcastestatus.

Disabilitybeingawomen,beingawidow,physicallyormentallychallenged,belongingtoaScheduledCasteorTribecansinglyorincombinationaggravatethesuf-fering.

FactorsthatcontributeDestitution• Breakdownofjointfamilysystem• ChangesintheValuesystemofthesociety• Illhealth• Illiteracy• Lackofincome• Socialisolation• Defectsofsocialsecuritysystem

Howtheycanbeidentified?1.KutchaHouse2.Noaccesstosafedrinkingwater3.Noaccesstosanitarylatrine4.Illiterateadultinthefamily5.Familyhavingnotmorethanoneearningmember6.Familygettingbarelytwomealsadayorless7. Presenceofchildrenbelow5yearsinthefamily8.Alcoholicordrugaddictinthefamily9.ScheduledCasteorScheduledTribefamily

Anyfamilywhichsatisfies7-9pointsmaybeworstaffectedRiskFamily.Iftheyhave…

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IftheyhaveanyofthefollowingfactorstheyareinDestitution• Nolandedpropertytocreatedwellingplace(living

inporombokeland,forestland,sidebundsofcanalandpaddyfieldsetc)

• Spendingthenighttimeinpublicplaces,streetsorintheverandasofshopsforsleeping.

• Familiesledbyunwedmothers,singleparentorthoseseparatedwomenlivingindistress

• Familiesledbyyoungwidowswhomareeconomi-callypoororhavingwomenwhohadpassedtheageofmarriageandremainsunmarried.

• Familieshavingmemberswhoaresubjectedtosevere,chronicandincurablediseasesorphysicallyandmentallychallenged.

• Familieshavingnohealthymembertowinbreadforthefamily

• Beggarswhoresortbeggaryasavocation.• WomensubjectedtoatrocitiesTheNeighborhoodGroupscanbeentrustedwiththetaskofidentification.

Packageofcareservices• Foodsecurity• Health• Oldage• Pension• Education• Lackofassetslikeshelter&land• Drinkingwater&sanitation• Lackofincome&employment• SocialisolationHolisticapproachisrequiredtosolvetheproblem

Socio-economicsecurity?• Topreventtheprocessofdestitution• Toprotect&nurturethedestitute(identifiedby

thelocalbodies)

HereisaDestitute…• Noland• NoShelter• NoJob• Illiterate• Paralyzed&Nonmobileson• Noincome• Awidow

Antipovertysubplan• Aimsattotaldevelopmentofpanchayat• Absolutepovertyreductionwithinatimeframe• Participatorypovertyassessmentbythepoor• Variousneedsofthepooridentified&addressed• AmassmovementintheLSGI• Enablesparticipationvariousagencies&deparet-

ments• Effectiveconvergenceofservicesandresources

CouldwebuildaGPmanagedsocialsecuritymodel?• WecouldfurtherfinetuneMPHSonKudum-

bashreelines,• WecouldbuildKudumbashreetypelinkages

betweenCBOsandGPs,• GPcouldbedelegatedthemandatetomaintain

essentialrecordssuchasbirthanddeath,• Thedefaultapproachcouldbethroughconverging

attheGPlevel• Wecouldadopttheanti-povertysubplanconcept

attheGPlevel,ofwhichsocialsecurityisanessen-tialpart

Mindsetchangerequired…• Trynottoworkeitherabove,orbelowtheGP,• TotreatGPsnotasagentsforimplementation,but

astheimplementers,• EncourageGPstoworkbelowthemratherthanwe

doingit,• Toourselvesmoveawayfrommicro-management,

tocapacitybuilding,facilitationandbuildingnet-works

“The success of democracy depends not only on the institutional forms that are adopted, but also on the vigour of practice. The political challenge for people around the world today is not just to replace authoritarian regimes with democratic ones. Beyond this, it is to make democracy work for ordinary people.”

Amartya Sen


Understanding Social Protection for the Unorgan-ised Workers in India

Socialprotectionisdesignedtoreducepoverty,inequal-ity,vulnerabilityandmulti-dimensionaldeprivationofspecificpopulationgroups.Socialprotectiontounor-ganisedworkersisabsolutelyimportantisanyschemeofthingsforpovertyalleviation(andachievingMDGs)astheyconstitute84percentofproducersinagriculturesectorand89percentofenterprisesinnon-farmsector3.Socialprotectionneedsfortheunorganisedworkersarefoodsecurity,nutritionalsecurity,healthsecurity,housingsecurity,employmentsecurity,incomesecurity,lifeandaccidentsecurity,andoldagesecurity.Numer-ousframeworksarebeingusedtounderstandthesocialprotectionneedsfortheunorganisedworkers.Instru-mentalistapproachemphasisesthatextremepoverty,inequalityandvulnerabilitywillmaketheachievementofdevelopmenttargetsdysfunctionalandthereforeputtinginplaceriskmanagementmechanismsisessen-tial.Thiswillcompensateforincompleteormissinginsurance(andother)markets,untilatimewhenpri-vateinsurancecanplayamoreprominentrole.Activistapproachviewsthepersistenceofextremepoverty,ine-qualityandvulnerability,assymptomsofsocialinjus-ticeandstructuralinequalityandseessocialprotectionasarightofcitizenship.Thispapersuggestsapragma-tistorempowermentbasedapproachwhichcanbeseenasseriesofstepsundertakentoreducevulnerabilityandimprovecapabilityofunorganisedworkers.Thefocusisonaprioritizedsetofinterventionsbasedonwhatresourcesareavailable.Thisapproachconcernswithbroadernotionsofcapabilitydevelopmentandthereforedoesnotfocusonthetimeframeforwhichsocialpro-



Shiv Kumar Narayanan, Director and Founder Member Catalyst Management Services Private

Limited, Bangalore, Karnataka – India


Ravinder Kumar, Director, Vrutti Livelihoods Resource Centre, Delhi, India

Awareness to Empowerment: Exploring Pragmatic Approaches for providing social protection to unorganised workersPerspective PaperN.Shiv Kumar and Ravinder Kumar, Catalysts Group

tectiontoaparticularsegmentistobeprovided(instru-mentalistwant‘forthetimebeing,tillmarketstakesover’,whileactivistswantsocialprotectionforever).Thisapproachtalksaboutthreesetsofinterventions:• ReduceVulnerability-Employmentgeneration,

efficientlabourmarkets,socialassistanceschemes• Protect-fromRiskexposure-Socialinsurance• EnhancecapacitytoProtectthemselves-microand

areabasedschemes,childprotection

UnorganisedWorkers’SocialSecurityActcameintoforceinMay2009,whichmakesitmandatoryforthestatetoprovidesocialsecuritybenefitsforunorganisedworkers.HoweverimplementationoftheActcontinuestoseegreatchallenges.Thehistoryofsocialprotectionisalsorepletewithexamplesoffailureofschemestoreachandbenefittheintendedtargetgroupse.g.Gov-ernmentlaunchedthe‘UnorganisedSectorWorkers’SocialSecurityScheme,2004’onpilotbasisin50dis-tricts.Theschemeprovidedthreebenefitssuchas,oldagepension,medicalinsuranceandaccidentalinsur-ance.However,theschemewasnotfoundviableasithadnostatutorybacking,itwasvoluntaryinnatureandthecontributionfromtheemployerswasnotforth-coming.Moreover,giventhesizeoftheunorganisedsector,themagnitudeoftheproblemishugeandtheresourcerequirementsarequitelarge.Similarly‘TheBuildingandotherConstructionWorkers(RegulationofEmploymentandconditionsofService)Act1996’wasintroducedinthemonthofAugust,1996.Four-teenyearshavepassedbyandtillnowmanystateshavenotconstitutedWelfareboardsandcollectedtheCess.Clearlyveryslowresponseofthestatecoupledwithalmostcompletelackofawarenessandaccessofunor-

3Socialprotectionandinclusion:Experiencesandpolicyissues.InternationalLaborOrganization,2006.Geneva2Formoreinformationseehttp://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Social-Protection/Volume2/Part4.pdf3Source:ChallengesofEmploymentinIndia-NATIONALCOMMIS-SIONFORENTERPRISESINTHEUNORGANISEDSECTOR

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ganisedworkerstotheprogrammesmeantforthemarebiggapsinrealisationofempowermentgoalsofsocialprotectionprogrammesinthecountry.Thesocialprotectionaimstoaddressbasic(food,shel-ter,health,educationetc.)andincome(employment,capital,demand,skill,legalprotection)relatedinsecu-rities.Thesourcesoftheseinsecuritiesarestructuralaswellasnatural,economicshocks.Thereforethesocialprotectionresponseneedtobemulti-dimensional,whichcanaddresstheseinsecuritiesandlongtermstructuralissues.Thisleadsustoexaminethefollow-ingquestion:

a) Isthecurrentresponsetotheproblemmulti-dimensional?AreGovernmentsandimplementersthinkingfartoolittleondemandandfocusingtoomuchonsupply?

LessonsfromWhatisWorkingandWhatisnot:Somelessonscanbelearntfromwhatisworkinginthecurrentcontext.MahatmaGandhiNationalRuralEmploymentGuaranteeScheme(MGNREGS)hasmandatedtoprovide100daysofemploymentperyearperfamilyinmostareasofthecountry.Therearesig-nificantbenefitsbeingreportedinNREGSaddressinglabourmarketconstraintsandinfluencinglabourratespositively.Theschemehasalsoledtofinancialinclusionofvastmajorityofunorganisedworkers(about5crorebankaccountswereopenedunderthescheme).Simi-larlyanagriculturedepartmentschemeofKisanCreditCardsisreducingcostofcreditforproductivepurposeforlargenumberoffarmers.Fairtradeandglobalsup-plychainlinkageswhereverhappeningisimprovingthelotofproducergroups.Inclusiveinstitutionalarrange-mentsofVillagePovertyReductionCommitteesinTamilNaduareleadingtoprioritisationandinclusionofmarginalisedforprovidingthebenefitofgovernmentschemes.Districtadministration(especiallybyDistrictCollectors)leddrivesareabletoinfluence/streamlin-ingschemeimplementation.Howsoeverlimited,socialpressuresareleadingtoimprovedprovisionsofservicedelivery.Howevervastswatheofthecountrycontinuestowit-nessfailureofsocialprotectionprogrammes.Largescaleleakageandinappropriatetargetingarereportedonadailybasis.Socialassistanceandsocialinsuranceschemesarenotreachingtheintendedbeneficiaries.Nosystematicmonitoringofaccesstosocialprotectionisbeingdone.Littleflexibilityinschemeimplementationisexcludingmanydeservingpeople.UndertheUnor-ganisedWorkersAct,StategovernmentsarerequiredtoframeStateRules,constituteaStateSocialSecurityBoardandregistertheworkers.Therehasbeennoiniti-ativeontheregistrationofunorganisedworkers.There

isnotmuchtoreportattheStatelevel.Similarlytherearemanyexamplesofschemeswhichdonotgetimple-mented.UnionFinanceMinisterinhisBudgetSpeech2004-05hadannouncedvariousmeasuresfortheupgradationof500ITIsinthecountry.Subsequently,thiswasreducedto100ITIs.Finally,theschemewasterminatedinMarch2009.TheStatesutilisedonly40percentofthemoneyallottedtothisscheme.Employ-mentexchangeshavenotchangedatallintermsofpro-vidingqualityguidanceontalentassessment,employ-mentcounselling,vocationalguidanceandtraining-relatedinformationtothejobseekers,orinimpartingtimelyandreliablelabourmarketinformation.Therearealargenumbersofvacanciesintheseemploymentexchangessinceyears.Theirinteractionandnetwork-ingwiththeindustryisdismal,andtheirsuccessrateingettingemploymentisstilllessthan10percent.Governanceremainsthemainchallenge.Panchay-atshaveawelldefinedrolebutnotfundsorfunction-ariestodeliveronthatrole.Planningatvariouslevelsremainsseriouslyflawed.Vestedinteresttendstogarnerawaythebenefits.Theenablingconditionsforunor-ganisedworkerstodemandtheirrightsareclearlynotthere.Inadditiontothis,wewitnessalltoooftenlim-itedcapacityofcivilsocietyindemandgeneration.Thisleadsustoexaminemanyissuesrelatedtoaccountabil-ityanddeliverysystems:

b) Empowermentissometimeslongandcomplexprocessrequiringtime,skillandpatience–Dover-ticaldeliverysystemsofthegovernmenthavethecapacitytodothat?

c) Withoutastrongdatabaseandcohort,howcantheGovernmentensurethatthereisfocusonthosewhohavenotaccessedandthosewhohavemultipleaccessorduplicateaccess?

Proven Models, strategies for Scale up

Progressiverealisationofhumanrightsandcapabilitiesaredependentoneffectivesocialprotection.Manypos-sibleoptionsandstrategiescanimproveimplementationofsocialprotectionmeasuresfortheunorganisedwork-ers.Socialprotectionnecessarilyneedssocialaccount-abilitytobeensured.Thiscanpartlybedonethroughbetterdemandgenerationandcollectivesocialpressureonthepublicinstitutionsforimprovingtheirdelivery.Thisledustoexaminethefollowing:

d) Theroleofsocialaccountabilitymechanisms,theirfunctioningandtheeffectonempowerment–grievanceredressalanddis-incentivisinglocalinef-ficienciesandcorruption.


e) Howaresystemsofgrievanceredressalandfacilita-tionworking?Inaddition,doweneedasystemoflocallevelombudsmanorothersystems?

Technologycanalsobeusedfortargetingandscalingup.UniqueIdentificationNumber(aadhar)initiativeoftheGovernmentofIndiaprovidessomerayofhope.Wethereforeneedtoexamine:

f) Formalworkers(India’s7%ofworkers)canbereachedthroughformalroutes;thediverseandspreadoutnatureofinformalworkerscallsforcom-prehensiveandinnovativesystemstoreachinformalworkersonasustainedbasis.Doweneedtechnol-ogysolutionsforachievingthedesiredlevelofreachandaccess?

RighttoInformation(RTI)canbeapotenttoolindeliveryofsocialprotectionforaddressingexclusion,powerstructuresetc.Weneedtoexamine:

g) Withthefocusandobsessionoftheimplementersonthetargets(readnumbers)howdoesthefocusonqualityofimplementation,exclusion,powerstruc-turesandotherissuesbeaddressedthroughRTIandothercivilsocietyledinitiatives?

Finallytheissueofdiverseschemes,differentdepart-ments,anddiverseproceduresmakesitdifficultfortheunorganisedworkerstogetinformationandaccesstoschemesmeantforthem.Thereforeweneedtoexamine:

h) DotheinformationcampaignsontheSPschemesandentitlementsforinformalworkersusetherightmedium?Doesittakeintoaccountthespecialrequirementssuchasilliteracy,mobility,migration,marginalization,etc?

i) Howcansinglewindowapproacheswork?

The9questionsraisedbythisperspectivepaperwillbediscussedintheSocialProtectionWorkshopatBanga-loreon18thNov.2010.Basedontheinsightssogained,thepaperwillbecompleted,providingsomeoptionstothepolicymakersandimplementerstoimprovetheirsocialprotectioneffortsthroughpragmaticapproachesofawarenesstoempowerment.

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Socialprotectionrequiresacomplexgovernancesystem.Reachingavarietyofservicesinapossiblyflexibleandcontextspecificmannertoaverylargenumberofpeo-plespreadacrosshugegeographiesandlargenumberofsocialgroups,whooftenneedtobe‘identified’throughcomplexandmultiplecriteria,hasitsobviouschal-lenges.Ontheotherside,peopleandcommunitiesneedtobeawareoftheseservicesandtheirentitlements,andengagewiththem.Theoretically,morecomplexaretherequirementsofasystem,morenetbenefitapplicationofICTscanbringtoit.Practically,however,itmaynotbeeasytofindthebestmannerandthebestdesignforemployingICTsincomplexsystemslikethatofsocialprotection.One,ICTsandtheiractualuseandimpactchangetoofasttobeeasilymasteredbythoseinvolvedindesigninggovernancesystems.Secondly,applica-tionofICTsveryoftenhaveveryunpredictableconse-quences,specifictothecontext,whichcouldbebothpositiveandnegative.

TheimpactsofICTs,asgeneralpurposeand‘consti-tutive’technologies,cancumulativelyberatherfar-reachingandinducemission-creeps.Insuchasociallyandpoliticallyimportantarealikesocialprotection,technologyinducedmissioncreeps,especiallywhentheybecomeevidentonlyoncetheyaresystemicallyentrenched,canbeveryproblematiciftakingplaceinsocio-politicallyundesirabledirections.TheparadoxwithuseofICTsis:itisdifficulttoplantoomuchtooearly,and,atthesametime,itisnotdesirabletoleaveholisticsystemdesignplanningtotoolate.However,thismuchshouldbeevidentthatoneneedstolookbeyondtheclearandobviousbenefitsofuseofICTslikereducedresponsetime,increasedtransparency,bet-terworkflowandmoreinformeddecisionmaking,oreventhelargergenericareaslikebetteridentificationandtransactionauthentication,shareddatabasesandworkflowtracking.Theoverallobjectivesofthesocialprotectionprogramandtherealon-the-groundimpactsbeingobtainedneedtobethemaindriversandmarkersofITinsocialprotectionprograms.



Parminder Singh, Director, IT for Change, Bangalore, Karnataka – India


Gurumurthy Kasinath, Director, IT for Change, Bangalore, Karnataka – India

ICTs in Social Protection Systems in India - Matching strategic choices against technical optionsNote by IT for Change

AdiscussiononuseofICTsinsocialprotectioncanbedoneatthreelevels;tactical,strategicandtransforma-tional.

Tactical use of ICTs in social protection

TheadvantageofusingICTstacticallyinsocialprotec-tionprogramsisthatonehasthingsundercontrol;onlysomepartsoftheprogramorthesystemareexposedtoICTuse,andheretoomostlythereissomeinbuiltredundancyandnon-ICTbackupsmayremaininplace.ItalsohelpsaccumulatevaluablelearningabouthowICTsworkandcontributeindifferentsituations.Inplanningsuchuses,thereisoftenatendencytothinkintechnicalcategorieslikesmartcards,mobiles,GIS,MISandshareddatabases,andnowperhapsalsoWeb2andcloudcomputing.WesuggestthatICTuseisseemintermssystemfunctionalitiesinvolved,whichcomesfromanunderstandingofgeneraltechno-socialpossi-bilitiesthatarepresented.Someofthesecategoriesarelistedbelow.

Identity and transaction authentication

ICTsbasedsolutionslikesmartcardsandnetworkedUIDs(UniqueIdentification)arebeingusedtoensurethatthepersonobtainingsocialprotectionserviceisthesameaswhoisentitledtoit.Suchtechnologiescannotonlyauthenticateidentitybutalsotransactions,attest-ingtotheproximityofthetwo.Thetransactionscanalsobedigitallystoredandbeviewedsynchronouslyorasynchronouslybyanyoneauthorisedtoso.

Thesesystemsareend-to-enddigital.However,othersystems,whicharenowveryprevalentinalmostallstates,likeusingsinglewindowtodelivercaste,incomeetccertificatesinstantlyorinverymuchreducedtimebyreferringtodigitaldataavailableatmultiplepoints


alsodosuchauthenticationservice.Thesamesinglewindowsystemsdigitallyrecordtransactionslikesub-missionofanapplication,whichcanhaveimportantaccountabilityenforcingimpact.

Process transparency and accountability enforcement

Digitalrecordingoftransactionsandmakingtheproc-essvisibletothehighermanagement,andpossiblytothebeneficiaryoreventothegeneralpublic,enforcesaccountabilityongovernmentworkers.Almostallgov-ernmentdepartmentshaveCitizenCharterswithserv-icedeliveryperformanceparametressincemorethanadecadenow.Thesecanbecomereallymeaningfulwithwidespreadavailabilityofsuchdigitaldata.

Mobilesareincreasinglybeingusedtoprovidesms-basedtransactionauthenticationandtheprogressonindividualcases.Apartfromtheaccountabilityfactor,thiscansavemuchtroubleofhavingtogoagainandagaintoinquireaboutthestageoftheprocessof,say,asocialprotectionschemeapplication.examples.

Web-andmobilebasedtechnologiesforend-to-endprocessviewarerathereasilyavailablealmostevery-wheretoday.TheonlylimitationisthereadinessoftheIndiangovernancesystemtotakeonsuchadegreeoftransparencyandaccountability.

Decision support systems

ComprehensivedigitalhouseholddataoveralargenumberofvariableshasenabledstategovernmentsofWestBengalandGujarattogobeyonddistrictwisequotabasedschemefundallocationtothatbasedonactualnumbers.Whileincreasingandbettertargetingcoverage,ithasalsohelpedremovetheinterferenceoflocalpoliticiansinbenefitallocation.InWestBengalthiscomprehensivedatahelpeddeviseanewschemecoveringdestitutesbyselectivelyusingfieldsofexist-ingdatabasewithouthavingtodospecificdatacollec-tionagain.Thisdigitaldatabasecanbedynamicallyaccessedandupdatedfrompanchayatlevels,allowingmorefrequentauditingbythecommunityandeffectingnecessarychanges.

Empowering the frontline workers

Inmanydevelopedcountries(forex,UKandDen-mark)ICTsinthepublicsectorhavebeenusedeffec-tivelyforempoweringthefrontlineworker,byincreas-ingdecisionmakingsupport,reducingreporting

requirementsthroughautomationandregularcapacitybuildingsystems.Anempoweredfrontlineworkercanbeoneofthebiggestassetsforeffectivedeliveryofsocialprotection.Unfortunately,inIndiatheaccentisoftenondis-intermediatingthefrontlineworkerratherthanempoweringher.HealthInformationSystemsProjectdidsomeveryusefulpilotsinAndhraPradeshandKarnatakafordigitallyempoweringhealthfieldwork-ersusingPDAs.Satellitebasedtwowaycommunica-tionprogramsarebeingusedinmaystatestodoregularcapacitybuildingofpanchayatfunctionaries.

Single window delivery

Singlewindowdeliveryofserviceshavebeenmen-tionedabovewithregardtocertificatesetcisnowdoneatmanycollectorateortalukoffices.CommunitylevelITenabledcentresforamorecomprehensiverangeofpublicserviceshavebeentriedinmanystates.Govern-mentofIndia’sCommonServiceCentres(CSC)schemeiswellonitswaytosetupaCSCineachpanchayatinIndia.Mostofthestategovernmentpilotsandschemeshaveusedvillagelevelentrepreneursbeingsupportedbyadistrictlevelgovernmentagency.However,theCSCmodelisbasedoncorporateentitysupportedvillagefranchisees.Theeffortistoprovidenotonlyatechnicalinfrastructure–statedatacentreandstatewideareanet-works–butalsoanorganisationalsystemthatcanneu-trallydeliverahostofgovernanceandbusinessservices.Suchcommonpoints-of-presenceformanygovernmentagenciesbothdecreasethecostofreachingcommunitiesandcanprofessionalisecitizen-stateinteractionwhilereducingtheburdenonthecitizento‘findtheservices’,apartfromaccountabilityenforcingaspectsmentionedearlier.

Community monitoring

Socialauditisincreasinglyamandatedpartofmostgov-ernmentschemes.Effectivesocialauditsrequireeasyandongoingavailabilityofallrequiredpublicdata.Experi-enceofuseofdigitaldatainsocialauditingofNREGAinAndhraPradeshhasshownthatitcancompletelytransformtherapidityandscaleofsocialauditing.

Buildingawarenessand‘rightsconsciousness’:Callcentresworktoproviderelativelystandardisedinformationondemand.ComputersatvillagekiosksmanagedbyvolunteersorNGOworkersareusedinnumerousplacestoprovideinformationongovern-mentschemesondemand,inacontextspecificway,aswellasbypro-activelygoingdoortodoor.Peopledo

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notrespondwelltopublicinformationpackagedinstandardformatsatstatecapitals.Theyrequirealin-guisticandculturallocalness,withinformationpro-videdincontextofthings,peopleandplacestheycanrelatetoandpossiblyrecognise.Further,thisinforma-tionneedstoentertheirlocalpublicdiscourseinwhichtheythemselvesparticipate,forthemtointernalisearichawarenessandbuildasenseofrightsvisavissocialprotectionschemes.Effectiveuseofcommunityradiosandcommunityvideoshasshowngreatpotentialinthisregard,andgovernmentdepartmentsmaybewell-advisedtospendtheirpublicitybudgetsthroughsuchdecentralisedstrategiesofawarenessgenerationanddemandbuilding.

Supportforcommunityselfhelpandco-production:ICTsarebeingusedtostrengthenself-helpgroups(theiraccountingsystems,peertopeernetworkingpos-sibilitiesetc)whichcannotonlyhelpdirectlyinservicedeliverybutalsoawarenessgeneration,seekingaccount-abilityandgeneralsocialmobilisation.InKerala,e-Krishiinitiativehasbeneabletoprovideasystem-aticagricultureproducesalesupportsystem,apartfromprovidingotheragro-services.FarmersclubshavebeenformedaroundeKrishicentres.Labournetprovidesadigitalplatformforunorganisedworkerstoaccessemploymentopportunities,andotherbenefits.DigitalcommunitydatadevelopedbyAbhiyancollectiveinGujaratwasusedbystateauthoritiestodistributebene-fitsunderanewschemeforwhichgovernmentdatawasnotavailable.

Strategic choices in ICTs use for social protection

MostoftheaboveusesofICTsintimetendtocreepbeyondtheirinitialobjectives.IfafrontlineworkerisusingaPDAfordecisionsupport,soontherecanbethetemptationtotrackhermovementsandinteractionsforenforcingaccountability.IT-enabledsinglewindowservicedeliveryoutsourcedtotheprivatesectormaysoontendtowardsamixofservicesandactivitiesthataremostprofitabletothebusinesspartnerratherthanthatmostrequiredbythemarginalisedgroups.UsingICTsinsocialprotectionprogramsoftenimplicatesmuchlargerstrategicchoicesthenmaybeimmedi-atelyevident.ItisbesttobecognisantofthesestrategicimplicationsofdifferentkindsofICTuse,makethemexplicittoallstakeholders,andfollowadeliberatepathofdesigningICTbasedsocialprotectionprogramsasperthearticulatedsocio-politicalimperatives.

TherecanbeatendencytoseeICTbaseddesignsas‘neutrally’efficiency-inducinginallsystemsonallfronts,andthusbestledbytechno-manegerialteams

focussingontechnologyexpertiseandprojectmanage-mentissues.ThefacthoweveristhatICTbasednewsystemscanhaveanumberofverydifferentpathsandoutcomes,whicharespecifictoboththecontextandthechosensystemdesigns.Appropriatesocial-politicalleadershipindesigningnewICTenabledsocialprotec-tionsystems,asperspecificoutcomesthataresought,isthereforeveryimportant.Whileactualstrategicalter-natives/choicesverymuchdependonspecificcontexts,wediscussbelowacoupleofpossiblebinariestomakeourpoint.

Individualised and remote managed versus collectivist and community based social protec-tion schemes

UsingHHdata,collectedandoperatedonatthecom-munityorlowergovernmentlevels,waswellsuitedbothtothemethodsandpurposeofmostsocialprotec-tioneffortstillnowIndia.Digitalmeansenableaccu-ratebiometricidentificationofindividualsandremoterecordingoftransactions.Doesthismeanthatweshouldmovetowardsmoreindividualisedandremotemanagedschemes?Thisisastrategicchoicetobemadespecificallyineachcontext,decidingonhowmuchtomovebetweenthetwopolesofthepresentedbinary.Whiledigitalauthenticationcanenforcetransparencyandaccountabilityandthusreduceleakage,theulti-mateguaranteeoftheseoutcomesisanconscious,activeandresponsiblecommunity.ICTscanaswellbeusedtostrengthencommunitylevelcollectiveengagementsinamannerthatdoesnotcompromisetransparency,whileitcangreatlyenhancebothaccountabilityandflexibility.However,techno-centricconceptionsofnewschemesarelikelytotendtowardsindividualisedandremotemanagedsocialprotectionoversuchalterna-tivepossibilities,whicharemorecomplextodesignandrealise.Suchnewprogramdesignsrequireasocio-polit-icalleadershipthatmakesthestrategicchoicesbeforetechnologybasedprocessesareplanned.Forinstance,the‘ICT-inducedefficiencypull’intheimplementationoftheSocialSecurityforUnorganisedWorkersSchemecanbeexpectedtoworktowardsgreatemphasisonUIDbasedsmartcardsystems,elaborateMISesetc,whicharenodoubtrequired.However,thisshouldnotbeatthecostofthereducingattentiononuseofICTsformorecomplexcommunitylevelactivitiesaroundworkerfacilitationcentres,theirco-locationwithothercommunityserviceprovisionfacilities,communitybasedstrategiesofawarenessgeneration,accountability,developingrightsconsciousnesswhichwhileincreasesdemandalsoincreasescommunityresponsibilitytoactagainstleakages,fraudetc.


Targeted versus universal coverage

Similarly,ICTsenableveryeffectivetargeting.How-ever,doesthatbyitselfmeangovernmentsshifttotar-getedsocialprotection?Maybeso,ifthemainjustifi-cationofthoseseekinguniversalcoveragehasbeenofineffectivetargeting(thoughremotemanagedICTssystemscandecreaseflexibilityandthusbecomelessadaptivetopeoplecominginandfallingoutofcri-teriaranges).However,iftheirmainreasonconcernwiderecologyofissues–likefoodprices,continua-tionofeffectivepublichealthsystemetc,theyneedtoaddresseddifferently,andcorrespondingstrate-gicchoicesmadeonhowandforwhatpurposedigitalmeansofidentificationwillbeemployed;andwhatotherusesofICTsarepossible.

Standardised versus flexible schemes

Manyseparateworkerswelfareboardsattendtotheneedsofdifferentkindsofunorganisedlabour,likebeediworkers,silkweavers,minersetc.However,theyhavehadlimitedeffectivenessinprovidingeffectivesocialprotection.ShouldlargestandardisedprogramslikenewSocialSecurityforUnorganisedWorkersSchemeentirelyorconsiderablysubsumethesesectorspecificinitiative?Moreeffectivetheimplementationofsuchlargerstandardschemebecomes,greaterwillbesuchadanger.CanICTsnotbeusedtomaketheseboardsmoreeffectivebysubsumingstandardsocialpro-tectioncoverslikehealthinsuranceandoldagepensionunderthelargerschemewhiletheyuseICTscreativelytodevelopsectorspecificworkers’supportandprotec-tionprograms.Keepingabalancebetweenthetwokindsofprotectionisimportant,butitcancomeunderstrainfrom‘ICT’sefficiencypull’.

Similarstandardisationversusflexibilityissuesarisevisavislocalcommunitybasedflexibilityasalsowithcashtransferbasedversusmorecomprehensive(butmoredifficulttoservice)socialprotectionschemes.Asmen-tionedearlier,ICTscanbeasusefulinmanagingflex-ibilitiesasitisforstandardisation,butsuchmorecom-plexandcontextuallysituatedsolutionrequiredifferentkindsofapproaches.

Public versus private production and delivery

ICTsenablebettermonitoringofprivatedeliverypart-ners,forinstancetherequirementsofrealtimetrans-actionrecordingintheprivatehospitalsintheRSBYscheme?Doesitmeanthatthestateshouldtakeapolicydecisiontogoforprivatedeliveryofserviceswheneverpossible?Asdiscussedearlier,ICTscanalsobeusedtoempowerfrontlinegovernmentworkers.Whatpartofserviceproductionanddeliveryhastobeoutsourcedtoprivateparties,wherethefrontlinegovernmentwork-ershastobeempoweredusingICTs,andwhatkindofcommunitybasedmodelswillbeemployedisagainacontextandobjectivesspecificstrategicdecision.

Nature of state-citizen relationship

Withtheemergenceofthedigitalstate,someverybasicquestionarebeingaskedaboutthenewsocialcom-pactthatunderpinsthestate.Ononehand,ICTscanextendcitizenshiptothehithertoexcluded–manyfor-estdwellingcommunitiesparticipatedenthusiasticallyintheBrazil’sdigitalcensus,because‘theywantedtobecountedsothattheyarenotleftbehind’.Atthesametimethereisthefearofanintrusivestate,whichhastoomuchdataaboutitscitizens.Howtomanagetheseissuesandhowfartogobetweendigitallyactiveandinclusivecitizenshipandprotectingprivacyisacon-sciousdecisioneverypoliticalcommunityhastotake.Itisbesttokeeptheseissuesopenanddebatethemandcomeupwithclearpoliticalpositions,insteadofhidingthemundertechnicallayers.Ifsodone,alotofpoliticaloppositiontouseofICTsinsocialprotectionschemescanbeaddressed.

Transformational use ICTs for social protection

Wehaveseeninthelastsectionhowatechnocratic‘solution’whichispresentedas‘neutrally’efficiencypro-motingcanbydefaultleadtosomekindsofstrategicchoicesoverothers.Promotionofsuchsolutionsoftenaccentuateideologicaldivides,which,quiteexpectedly,arerifeintheverypoliticisedareaofsocialprotection.ThismaybethereasonofconsiderablescepticismthatmanycivilsocietyactorsandotherswithingovernmentshaveexpressedaboutmanynewusesofICTsthatarebeingplannedintheareaofsocialprotection.Ontheotherhand,animaginativeandsocio-politicallydrivendesignofITuseinsocialprotectionarea,withstrate-gicobjectivesandexpectedoutcomesmadeclearand

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explicitratherthanallowdefaultorpurposivemissioncreeps,caninfacthelpbridgemanyideologicaldividesinthisarea.

AtransformativeuseofICTsforsocialprotectionschemeswillbuiltontheconsiderableknowledgethatwenowhaveonhowdifferentICTsoperateandcon-tributeindifferentcontexts.Thisknowledgeshouldinformcomprehensivedesignsofnewsocialprotec-tionschemestakingintoaccountallthemajorstrategicchoicesinvolvedinuseofICTs.Thiswillbalance,asrequired,issueslikeindividualbasedversuscollectiveapproachesandstandardisationaspectswithflexibil-ityrelatedones.ItislikelytomeshcommunitylevelsupplysidedynamicswithdemandsideonesthroughnewICTbasedcommunityinstitutionsandprocesses(commonICTbasedservicecentresthatalsoemploycommunitycomputing/radio/videopossibilities),seekcommunitylevelconvergenceswithothersocialserviceinitiatives,lookatshareddatabases,alsothoseco-pro-ducedalongwithcommunities,andchooseappropri-atelyamonggovernmentworker,CBOsandprivatesec-torbaseddeliverymechanisms.SuchacomprehensiveICTenableddesignofsocialprotectionprogramshavethepotentialtoconsiderablyraisetheiroveralleffective-ness,overallparametres.

ThemaininstitutionalrequirementforsuchanapproachisthatICTbaseddesignsofsocialprotec-tionschemesareledbysocio-politicalleadershipwhichaddressesissueswithforesight,especiallyvisavisthestrongphenomenonof‘ICTefficiencypull’.Evenifsomeoftheapproachesonthefacelooklessefficientandmeasurable,andmoredifficultintermsofproc-essdesigns,suchaleadershiplooksatthelargersocialcost-benefitequation.Aftertakingbasicstrategicdeci-sions,ithasthentobedecidedhowcommontechnicalinfrastructureslikeUID,commoncitizenportalbeingdevelopedbyMinistryofIT,GoI,andtheCSCinfra-structurehastobestrategicallyleveraged.However,suchinfrastructureshouldnot,byitself,beallowedtodictatethedirectionofnewprogramdesigns,asmayoftenhappen.

Technologydecisionsandprocessesshouldremainsub-ordinatetostrategicandsubstantiveones.ICTscanindeedbeemployedforverydifferentpurposes,forinstancetodrivestandardisationasmuchastheycanbeusedtopromoteflexibility.Therearenoautomaticchoicesthough,eachchoicecomeswithitsstrategicimplications.


Annex 2: List of Participants

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Dr. Piush AntonySocialPolicySpecialistUNICEF-HyderabadandChennaiFieldOfficeHyderabadFieldOffice,H.No.3-6-15/2,M.No865,StreetNo.19,HimatNagarHyderabad500029IndiaPhone+914023227226pantony@unicef.org

Shri Prabhat C. ChaturvediSecretaryMinistryofLabourandEmployment,GovernmentofIndiaShramShaktiBhawan,RafiMarg110011NewDelhiIndia

Mr. Nikhil DeyFounderMember,MKSS,RighttoInformationandNREGAactivistMKSSRajasthanIndiaPhone+9414004180nikhildey@gmail.com

Dr. Catherine Dusseau de IbarraRegionalHealthAdviserHelpAgeInternational,LARDCCalleVincentti576,[email protected]

Shri B.N. Bache GowdaMinisterofLabourGovernmentofKarnatakaBangaloreKarnataka-India

Speaker and input givers

Mr. Thomas HochgesangSocialPolicyAdvisorDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHKompetenzfeldSozialeSicherheitPostfach518065726EschbornGermanyPhone+496196791433Fax+49619679801433thomas.hochgesang@gtz.de

Prof. K.P. KannanFormerDirectorCentreforDevelopmentStudiesUlloor,Thrivandrum-695011ThiruvananthapuramIndiaPhone+914712448881kannankp123@gmail.com

Shri Mallikarjun KhargeUnionMinisterofLabourandEmploymentGovernmentofIndiaShramShaktiBhawan,RafiMargNewDelhi-110001India

Mr. Gurumurthy KasinathDirectorITforChange#393,17thMainRoad,35thCross,Jayanagar4th‘T’[email protected]

Mr. Ravinder KumarDirectorVruttiLivelihoodsResourceCentre34,2ndFloor,NRIComplex,[email protected]

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Mr. Quang Tuan LuuDirectorCentreforInformation,StrategicAnalysisandFore-casting/InstituteofLabourScienceandSocialAffairsNumber2,DinhLe,[email protected]

Mr. Shiv Kumar NarayananDirectorCatalystManagementServicesPrivateLimited#19,1stMain,1stCrossAswathnagar,RMV2ndStageBangalore-560094IndiaPhone+919342468300/[email protected]

Mr. T.R. RaghunandanConsultant,formerIndianAdministrativeService(IAS),JointSecretaryoftheMinistryofPanchayatiRajBangaloreIndiatrraghu@yahoo.com

Shri S.V. RanganathChiefSecretaryGovernmentofKarnatakaBangaloreKarnataka-India

Dr. N.C. SaxenaRetd.IAS,MemberNationalAdvisoryCouncilDelhiIndiaPhone+9811486773naresh.saxena@gmail.com

Mr. Michael SchmidtM.A.AdministrativeSciencesFederalMinistryofLabourandSocialAffairs(BMAS)Rochusstraße153123BonnGermanyPhone+49228527-1076,[email protected]

Mr. Parminder SinghDirectorITforChange#393,17thMainRoad,35thCross,Jayanagar4th‘T’BlockBangaloreIndiaPhone+918026654134/[email protected]

Dr. Gopakumar ThampiChiefOperatingOfficer,AffiliatedNetworkforSocialAccountability–SouthAsiaRegion&Global,InstituteofGovernanceStudies,BRACUniversity,Dhaka66MohakhaliDhaka1212BangladeshPhone+88028824051-4gopakumar@bracu.ac.bd,[email protected]

Shri Ramesh B. ZalkiIndianAdministrativeService(IAS)Secretary,Depart-mentofLabour,GovernmentofKarnatakaBangalore560085Karnataka-India

Speaker and input givers

Dr. M.A. BalasubramanyaCEOSwamiVivekanandaYouthMouvementSaragur,H.D.KoteTalukKarnatakaStateIndia

Mr. Amit ChakravarthyNationalInstituteofSmartGovernanceYSRBhavan,FinancialDistrict,Nanakramguda,RajendraNagarHyderabad-500032IndiaPhone+914066545352Fax+914066545300amit.chakravarty@nisg.org

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Mr. George CheriyanDirectorConsumerUnity&TrustSociety(CUTSInternational)D-217,BhaskarMargJaipur,[email protected]

Ms. Mangala DaithankarSecretarySocialActionforAssociationandDevelopment(SAAD)A-4ShantiGarden,AnandNagar,SinhagadRoadPune411051IndiaPhone+9822024349vasudeosaad@dataone.in

Dr. N. DevadasanDirectorInstituteofPublicHealth250,2ndCMain,Girinagar1stPhaseBangalore-560085IndiaPhone+9448491355deva@iphindia.org,[email protected]

Ms. Munyema HasanCoordinator-KnowledgeManagementandLearningAffiliatedNetworkOnSocialAccountability(ANSA)40/6NorthAvenue,[email protected]

Dr. Mahaveer JainSeniorFellowV.V.GiriNationalLabourInstitute(MinistryofLabourandEmployment,GovernmentofIndia)Sector-24,Noida-201301,[email protected]

Ms. M. S. JayalakshmiGrameenaMahilaOkkuta(GMO)No.202,RamaiahMansion,2ndMain,PaiLayout,BenniganahalliPost,[email protected],[email protected]

Ms. Ute JugertProgrammeManager/AdviserDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHSocialSecurityBenefitsforUnorganisedWorkers74/1/4/2,2ndMain,8thBlockJayanagarBangalore-560082IndiaPhone+918026647272to75Fax+918026647276Ute.Jugert@gtz.de

Ms. Johanna KnoessPolicyAdvisorDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHWismaBakrie2,6thFloor,Jl.H.R.RasunaSaidKav.B2Jakarta12920IndonesiaPhone+622123587111Fax:[email protected],[email protected]

Ms. Brigitte Koller-KellerChiefTechnicalAdvisorfortheSupporttoPovertyReductionProjectDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHc/oGTZOfficeHanoi,6thFloor,HanoiTowers,49,HaiBaTrungStreetHanoiVietnamPhone+84439344951Fax+84439344950brigitte.koller@gtz.de,[email protected]

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Mr. Abdul LatifManagerofInstitutionalRelationsPTJamsotek(Persero)Jl.GatotSubrotoKav.7912930JakartaSelatanIndiaisnavodiar.jatmiko@jamsostek.co.id

Dr. F.X. LeslieDirector-Program,AcademicandResearchVivekanandInstituteforLeadershipDevelopmentCA-2,KIADBHousingLayout,RingRoad,HebbalMysore-570016IndiaPhone+918212415412,[email protected]

Mr. Mohan Madhizhagan M.InclusiveDevelopmentOfficerCBMSouthAsiaRegionalOffice140,“CommerceCube”,2ndFloor,5thMain,PuttannachettyRoad,ChamarajpetBangalore560018IndiaPhone+918026673566Fax+918026673611madhi@cbmsaros.org

Dr. Antonis MalagardisProgrammeManagerDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHMicroinsuranceInnovationsProgramforSocialSecurityGTZ-MIPSSOffice,InsuranceCommissionComplex,1071UnitedNationsAvenue,ErmitaManila1000PhilippinesPhone+6323531044-45Fax+6323531043antonis.malagardis@gtz.de

Ms. R. ManjulaCDDInstituteofSocialandEconomicChangeDrVVKRVRaoRoad,Nagarabhavi,[email protected]

Mr. Rajendra MeherSecretarycumCEOYouthCouncilforDevelopmentAlternatives-YCDABaunsuniOrissaIndiaPhone+919437194954ycdaboudh@yahoo.co.in

Dr. Matthias MeissnerCIM-ExpertinSocialProtectionInstitueofLabourScienceandSocialAffairs(ILSSA),Hanoi,VietnamNo.2DinhLe,[email protected]

Ms. Geeta MenonExecutiveSecretaryStreeJagrutiSamitiDomesticWorkersRightsUnion1863,SouthEndCCross,Jayanagar9thBlockBangalore560069IndiaPhone+9845445408Mahila_21@yahoo.co.in,[email protected]

Mr. Claude MeyerSocialHealthInsuranceComponentLeaderGTZ-MicroinsuranceInnovationsProgramforSocialSecurity(MIPSS)19/F,RM.1907CitystateCentreBlog-ShawBuildingPasigCityPhilippinesPhone+6326361387shyne0511@yahoo.com,[email protected]

Ms. Aarti MohanDirectorSattvaMediaandConsultingPvt.Ltd444,13thCross,5thMain,Indiranagar2ndStageBangalore560038Phone+919845498045aarti.mohan@thealternative.in

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Mr. Bibhu Kalyan MohantyExecutiveDirectorSambandh2926/5198,JayadevNagar,LewisRoad,Bhubaneswar-751002OrissaIndiaPhone+91674Fax+67424355502436660sambandhindia@gmail.com

Mr. Pakkiri Samy NagaiahGeneralSecretaryNationalCentreforLabour(NCL)No.1115,1ststage,BTMLayoutBangalore-560029IndiaPhone+9126681244Fax+9126789216npsamy@[email protected],[email protected]

Ms. Nga Nguyen ThiSocialProtectionCoordinatorDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbH2DinhlestreetHanoiVietnamPhone+84439365360-362(#16)[email protected]

Ms. Preeti OzaSeniorProjectManagerPrayasCentreforLaborResearchandActionPCLRA)285,ShankarColony(aboveVinayakServices)PuranaFatehpura,[email protected]

Mr. Sridhar PabbisettyProgrammLead-SocialEnterprisesCHFInternational#11,CormwellRoad,LangfordGardensBangalore-560025Phone+919379060666spabbisetty@india.chfinternational.org

Ms. Shilpa PandyaChiefOperatingOfficer(COO)NationalInsuranceVimoSEWACooperativeLtd.ChandaNiwas,Opp.KarnavatiHospital,Nr.TownHall,EllisbridgeAhmedabad380006IndiaPhone+917926580530Fax+917926580508vimo@sewass.org

Ms. V. PrameelaSecretarySAMPARKNo.80,ShreeNilaya,2ndMainRoad,1stBlockKoramangala,Bangalore560034IndiaPhone+918025530196Fax+9844153203prameela@sampark.org

Mr. Vikram RaiCEOSattvaMediaandConsultingPvt.Limited444,13thCross,5thMain,Indiranagar2ndStageBangalore560038IndiaPhone+9198455901929vikram@sattva.co.in

Mr. Ambarish RaiSeniorLeaderofSocialSecurityCentreofEducationandCommunication173-A,KhirkiVillage,MalviyaNagarNewDehli110017IndiaPhone+911129541858amb1857@yahoo.com

Mr. Rolf SaligmannConsulConsulateGeneraloftheRepublicofGermanyP.O.Box5126Bangalore560001Indial-vz1@banga.auswaertiges-amt.de

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Mr. Haritha SarmaExecutiveDirectorHumanandInstitutionDevelopmentForum26,JayasreeNilaya,KanakapuraRoadBangalore560004IndiaPhone+9980532410haritha@hidforum.org

Dr. Felix SchmidtResidentRepresentativeFriedrichEbertStiftung(FES)IndiaOfficeK-70BHauzKhasEnclaveNewDelhiIndiaPhone+911126561361/62/[email protected]

Ms. Bettina SchmidtCIMIntegratedExpertCBMSouthAsiaRegionalOfficeSouth140,“CommerceCube”,2ndFloor,5thMain,Puttan-nachettyRoad,ChamarajpetBangalore560018IndiaPhone+080-26673566bettina@cbmsaros.org

Mr. Joshua Adam Seidman-ZagerLabourPolicyAnalyst,ConsultantDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHSocialProtectionProgrammeWismaBakire2,6thFloor,Jl.H.R.RasunaSaidKav.B2Jakarta12920Indonesiajseidmanzager@gmail.com

Ms. Namerta SharmaNationalProgrammeCoordinatorDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHSocialSecurityBenefitsforUnorganisedWorkers74/1/4/2,2ndMain,8thBlockJayanagarBangalore-560082IndiaPhone+918026647272to75Fax+918026647276Namerta.Sharma@gtz.de

Ms. Rashmi SinghMissionDirectorSamajikSuvidhaSangam,MissionConvergence,GNCTDRoomNo.403&404,B-Wing,4thLevel,DelhiSecretariat,[email protected]

Ms. Vandana SinghFinanceAdvisorSamajikSuvidhaSangam,MissionConvergenceRoomNo.403&404,B-Wing,4thLevel,DelhiSecretariat,[email protected]

Mr. D.M. SridharGoverningBoardMemberGraminaAbhivruddhiMatthuAdhyayaanaKendraTrust(GRAMA)2ndCross,VPExtension,Chitradurga577501ChitradurgaKarnataka,[email protected]

Mr. Johann Peter SteinmannPrincipalAdviser/SectorCoordinatorHealthDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHHealthSectorSupportPakistanF6/2,Street27,[email protected]


Mr. Rajen VaradaCEOMAYALabourNet25/1-4,9thCross,J.P.Nagar-2ndPhaseBangalore560076IndiaPhone+9180-45504550rvarada@labournet.in

Dr. Gayathri VasudevanAdvisorMAYALabourNetNo25/1-4,9thCross,JPNagar2ndPhaseBangalore560076IndiaPhone+918044504450Fax+9448395256gayathri@labournet.in

Mr. Dharendra WardhanaPlanerNationalDevelopmentPlanningAgencyJalanTamanSuropatiNo.2Jakarta10310Indonesia

Mr. Alfredas ZabietaSocialProtectionAdviserforCentralAsiaDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHGTZHealthSystemDevelopmentProject220,[email protected]

Project Coordination

InWEnt- Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung gmbH, Capacity International, India

Dr. Jagabandhu AcharyaHeadInWEnt-InternationaleWeiterbildungundEntwick-lunggmbH,CapacityInternational,GermanyRegionalOfficeNewDelhi21JorBaghNeuDelhi110003IndiaPhone+911124603832-209Fax+911124645675j.acharya@inwent.org.in

Ms. C.K. JalajakshiProgrammeCoordinatorInWEntInWEnt-InternationaleWeiterbildungundEntwick-lunggmbH,CapacityInternational,Germany74/1and74/2,2ndMainRoad,8thBlockJayanagar560082BangaloreIndiaPhone+918026647272Fax+918026647276jalajakshi.ck@inwent.org.in

InWEnt- Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung gmbH, Capacity International, Germany

Dr. Barbara Kloss-QuirogaSeniorProjectManagerInWEnt-InternationaleWeiterbildungundEntwick-lunggmbH,CapacityInternational,GermanyDivision2.01“EconomicPolicy/GoodGovernance”Stresemannstraße9210963BerlinGermanyPhone+493043996-256Fax+493043996-336barbara.kloss-quiroga@inwent.org

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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, India

Mr. Jean-Olivier SchmidtProgrammeDirectorDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)GmbHSocialSecurityBenefitsforUnorganisedWorkers74/1/4/2,2ndMain,8thBlockJayanagarBangalore-560082IndiaPhone+918026647272to75Fax+918026647276jean-olivier.schmidt@gtz.de

Ms. Revathi JayaramSeniorProjectOfficerDeutscheGesellschaftfürTechnischeZusammenarbeit(GTZ)[email protected]

Dr. Birgit NiebuhrConsultantforOrganisationalDevelopmentandPublicHealthRottweilerStr.8-1014612FalkenseeGermanyPhone+493322213890Fax+493322213921niebuhr.berlin@gmx.de

Ms. Nicole FritschDocumenterAugustBebelStr.614275LeipzigGermanyPhone+493413919531nicole.fritsch@gmx.de

Ms. Ulrike Wirth PhotographerKönigsbrückerStrasse5801099DresdenGermanyPhone+49163.3709913Fax+49351.89960553u.wirth@gmx.net

Ms. Annette Hornung-Pickertg+hcommunicationLeibnizstr.2810625BerlinGermanyPhone+493023624603Fax+493023624604ahornung@gundh.com

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Imprint

Regional Conference on Delivering Social Protection to

Unorganized Workers

In the framework of an inter-country Dialogue on Social

Policy in Karnataka, Department of Labour, Government

of Karnataka (GoK)

held in Bangalore, India, 18 to 20 November, 2010

Documentation

Published by:

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

(GIZ) GmbH

Dept. Economic Policy/Good Governance

Stresemannstr. 92, 10963 Berlin, Germany

Text: Nicole Fritsch, Birgit Niebuhr

Layout: Nicole Fritsch

Photography: Ulrike Wirth

Germany, January 2011

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Dag-Hammarskjöld - Weg 1 – 565760 Eschborn / GermanyT + 49 61 96 79 - 0F + 49 61 96 79 - 11 15E [email protected] www.giz.de