Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, September 10
Even as the return of hundreds and thousands of migrant labourers from the tinsel towns to their native villages after losing their ‘jobs’ during Covid-19 lock downs had created a somewhat negative impression about Bihar administration, the state has, of late, received a pat on its back for launching a plethora of effective social protection schemes.
In her recently published book “Social protection: Lands of Blossoming Hope”, author Usha Mishra Hayes, an official with the United Nations (UN), has highlighted the importance of an effective social protection in mitigating the sufferings of the poor people in African and Asian countries.
At a time when millions of workers engaged in the informal sector (like construction, odd day labour jobs, rickshaw pulling), seemed to have lost all means of survival with the loss of their (contractual) jobs, various social protection schemes launched by the state government have provided much relief to the poor and marginalized people of the state, claims the author.
Hayes, who has served several countries of Africa and Asia and who is currently posted as chief of social policy at UNICEF in Nepal, says that amid the chaos arising due to unscheduled return of migrant workers the state seems to be well prepared to deliver cash in the hands or in the banks for a larger section of the society, including the elderly, widows and the persons with disabilities (PWDs).
As part of its system strengthening agenda, she says, the state has put in place a comprehensive social security pension delivery and management system. Known as Social Security Pension MIS (SSPMIS), this system provides an end-to-end solution to the state social welfare department in handling the social security pensions targeted to elderly, disabled and widows across the state.
The SSPMIS is a robust system with capabilities of handling data duplication, enrolment, sanctioning, electronic payments and grievance redressal. Linked to a state-level call center, the SSPMIS is currently handling cash transfers to over 8.5 million beneficiaries on a monthly / quarterly basis.
This scheme has been recognized as a successful model for streamlining electronic payments to the bank accounts of beneficiaries both by the union ministry of rural development and the state finance department. During the COVID – 19 pandemic, the SSPMIS system has been instrumental in transferring three-month’s advance benefit payments to 8.5 million pension beneficiaries across the state.
Along with this, the book says, Bihar has been implementing a slew of other measures, including One-stop Social Care Service Centers for elderly, disabled and widows ( known as Buniyad Centers), Mobile Outreach and Therapy Services (known as “Sanjivani Buniyad Seva”) under which a Mobile Outreach and Therapy Van (MTV) delivers social care services to the people in remote rural locations. During the COVID pandemic these MTVs have been operating as mobile hospitals in collaboration with the state health department.
All these programmes serve as the foundation of a modern social protection system in Bihar and in India. But this needs alignment of politics and economy, of evidence and advocacy. It needs a battery of champions across the civil society, international development organizations, and the local government, adds the author.
