Social Security and Pension Schemes in India – Overview

With a view to providing social security to unorganised workers, including landless agricultural labourers, the Government enacted the “Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008”.  The Act provides for constitution of National Social Security Board to recommend social security schemes, namely, life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection and any other benefit as may be determined by the Government for unorganised workers.

The following are the recent initiatives undertaken by the Government for the unorganised sector, including landless agricultural labourers:

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was launched on 01.04.2008, to provide smart card based cashless health insurance cover of Rs. 30,000/- per annum on family floater basis to BPL families (a unit of five) in the unorganised sector.

The Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY) was launched on 02.10.2007 with a view to providing insurance cover to the head of the family or one earning member of rural landless households between the age of 18 years and 59 years.

PENSION SCHEMES IN INDIA

The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) has been expanded by revising the criteria of eligibility.  All citizens above the age of 60 years and living below the poverty line are eligible for benefits under the scheme.

As per Census, 2001, there were more than 10.67 crore landless agricultural workers. Out of which about 5.73 crores were men and about 4.94 crore women.  The female and male landless agricultural labourers are in the ratio of 54:46. Moreover, As per the Economic Survey, 2011-12, the agriculture sector accounts for 12.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010-11.

State-wise Number of landless agricultural workers (men and women) is as follows:

* NOTE: India and Manipur figures exclude MaoMaram, Paomata andPurul sub-divisions of Senapati District in Manipur State as census results were cancelled due to administrative and technical reasons.