27 May 2024

GS 3 Indian Economy :  Growth and Development

Balance of Payment

• BOP is the oldest and the most important statistical statement for any country.
• In a nutshell BOP of a country is “a systematic record of all economic transactions between the residents of one country with the residents of the other country in a financial year”.
• Economic Transactions include all the foreign receipts and payments made by a country during a given financial year.
• Foreign receipts include all the earnings and borrowings by a country from the other countries.

BOP on Current Account Vs BOP on Capital Account

Balance of Payment versus Balance of Trade

GS 2 : [Social Justice – Vulnerable sections – Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections]

The PM JANMAN presents a new opportunity to transform the lives of India’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.

PVTGs

Govt. Initiatives

• Recognizing their backwardness, the Government of India announced the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission in 2023-24 to improve socio-economic conditions.
• In November 2023, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) with a budget of ₹24,000 crore.

Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN):

• Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) is a tribal welfare initiative approved by the Union Cabinet with a budget of Rs 24,104 crore.
• It aims to uplift Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), comprising over 40 lakh individuals across 75 tribal communities in 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• PVTGs are a sub-classification of Scheduled Tribes considered more vulnerable, previously known as Primitive Tribal Groups.
• Odisha has the highest population of PVTGs based on Ministry of Tribal Affairs data and the 2011 Census.
• PM-JANMAN focuses on housing, education, healthcare, connectivity, and livelihood opportunities to improve the socio-economic conditions of PVTGs.

PM JANMAN Objectives:

• The PM JANMAN aims to provide essential services to PVTGs, including safe housing, clean drinking water, and sanitation through 11 critical interventions.
• The housing scheme under PM JANMAN, the largest Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, targets 4.90 lakh PVTG households by 2026.
• Each household under the scheme is entitled to receive ₹2.39 lakh in three instalments to ensure secure and habitable housing.

Technical Challenges in the PM JANMAN Housing Scheme 

• Data collection and registration in DBT schemes are crucial for delivering entitlements, but mismatches can lead to issues as seen in other schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN).
• Interviews with community members and officials in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha revealed inclusivity and accessibility challenges in PM JANMAN Housing.

Issues with Mobile App Registration

• The Government of India provided an ‘Awaas+’ mobile app for block/panchayat-level officials to register PVTG households.
• The app records geographical location, household profiles, and bank account details for cash transfers.

Jobcard Issues

• Having a job-card is mandatory for PM JANMAN Housing registration. However, widespread deletion of over eight crore MGNREGA workers, including some from PVTGs, has led to ineligibility for the scheme.
• Instances of incorrect registration with someone else’s jobcards further complicate the issue.

Discrepancies and Confusion

• The mobile app’s pre-populated list of villages shows discrepancies compared to MGNREGA job-cards, leading to confusion. For example, the app lists 22 villages while the MGNREGA system lists 31 for a panchayat in Andhra Pradesh.
• The app requires names as per Aadhaar but lacks guidance if Aadhaar is unavailable, leading to non-PVTG registrations due to the default ‘Scheduled Tribe’ option.
• Some local officials demand certification from sarpanches/mukhiyas, leading to conflicts where non-PVTG sarpanches/mukhiyas act against PVTGs.
• The geo-tagging feature causes chaos due to network issues, complicating the registration process.

Bank Selection Complexity

• The app requires selecting from Cooperative Bank, Commercial Bank, or Regional Rural Bank, followed by choosing from numerous options, which introduces unnecessary complexity.
• Despite the establishment of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) for better banking services, the app does not include IPPB in the list of banks, a puzzling omission given the government’s emphasis on IPPB’s role in financial inclusion.

Recommendations for Improvement

• Streamline the registration process and update the mobile app to make it more user-friendly.
• Include the India Post Payments Bank in the list of banks to facilitate better participation.
• Take proactive measures to reinstate deleted jobcards and engage communities through gram sabhas to improve the scheme’s effectiveness.

Historical Context and Broader Implications

• Despite numerous initiatives, the plight of PVTGs remains a significant issue, echoing historical grievances described by Adivasi rights activists.
• The PM JANMAN presents an opportunity to transform the lives of PVTGs, enabling them to benefit from India’s growth story if implemented effectively.