India is a global outlier on social protection
The government’s recent launch of three social security schemes has once again turned the spotlight on the lack of state protection for most Indian citizens. The three schemes—the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana—seek to provide accidental death risk cover, contributory pension and natural and accidental death risk cover. These are, perhaps, the first steps towards what finance minister Arun Jaitley described in his budget speech as a system of universal social security for all Indians.
Since the schemes require subscription, the amount of government spending will be known only much later. However, the programmes seem to underline a growing recognition that India needs to do a lot more to provide a safety net to its citizens.
These are overdue moves. India is almost a global outlier when it comes to spending on social protection.
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