The ambitious pension plans for workers, independent contractors, and farmers launched by the government with considerable zeal are now lagging. In addition to fewer people signing up, the budgetary allotment has either reduced or stayed the same. Subhash Chandra Garg, a former finance secretary, makes this point in his most recent book on the budget. The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana was introduced by the government. In the interim budget for 2019–20 in recognition of the 42 crore individuals who labour in the unorganised sector and contribute to the economy. One of the main government welfare programmes is the Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana, a pension plan for employees.
Pension plan
“Our government proposes to start a big pension scheme for workers in the unorganised sector with a monthly income of up to Rs 15,000,” the finance minister had stated at the time in his budget speech. By making a little contribution to this pension plan, they would be guaranteed a monthly annuity of Rs 3,000 starting at the age of 60. According to the budget proposal, a worker who is 29 years old will receive Rs 100 per month up till the age of 60 under this pension plan. will need to pitch in. On the other hand, an employee aged 18 will need to pay Rs 55 per month to join the programme. Every month, the government will put the same amount into the employee’s pension account.
In a book titled “Explanation and Commentary on Budget 2023–24,”
Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana Garg asserts, “In the first year of Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana (2019–20), a good number of labourers and workers were attracted. 43,64,744 workers were registered under the programme as of March 31, 2020. But over time, the scheme lost the unorganised sector workers’ interest. In the fiscal year 2020–21, only 1,30,213 workers were registered, bringing the total number of registered workers and workers to 44,94,864.
Registration is suspended
In the financial year 2021–2022, 1,61,837 workers enlisted under the programme, he stated. As a result, by March 31, 2022, there would be 46,56,701 registered workers. After that, it appears that employees began cancelling registrations in January 2023. The number of registered workers dropped from 56,27,235 in January 2023 to 44,00,535 in March 2023, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s dashboard.
Pension plan
In the interim budget for the fiscal year 2019–20. It was projected that in five years, this pension programme would add roughly 10 crore workers from the unorganised sector. The number of workers and workers who have registered thus far is quite small in comparison to that. In addition to this, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Karma Yogi Maandhan Yojana. It is a pension programme for three crore retail traders, small shopkeepers, and individuals with less than 1.5 crores in annual revenue, during its second term. Additionally, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana for small and marginal farmers was launched.
Kisan Maandhan Yojana of the PM
The Karmayogi Maandhan Yojana included 52,472 small business owners and shopkeepers as of April 30, 2023, according to the Ministry of Labor’s website. Only 2.5% of the farmers receiving benefits from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi were connected under the PM Kisan Maandhan Yojana at the same time (19,44,335). In this book, it is said that “These three pension schemes have somewhat become inactive” in reference to the outcomes of the declarations made in the budget for the fiscal years 2021–2022 and 2022–2023. It appears that the administration has given up on these plans as well. The government is not making any significant efforts to spread awareness of the initiatives.
Budget
“The budgetary allocation of the government regarding all three schemes is also stable or it is declining,” he wrote in the book. The financial allotment for Shram Yogi Maandhan remains constant at between Rs 325 crore and Rs 350 crore. And in the case of the Kisan Maandhan Yojana, it ranges from 50 to 100 crore rupees. It appears that the Karma Yogi Maandhan Yojana has been neglected by the administration. Whereas the revised estimate for 2022–23 allocated 10 crores for this, the actual allocation for 2023–24 was only three crores.
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