Content

1. Redraw Welfare Architecture: Place a UBI at the Centre
2. Justice in food

Redraw Welfare Architecture: Place a UBI at the Centre

Why in News?

• Growing wealth inequality in India and precarious job structures (automation, gig economy, climate stress) have reignited debate on Universal Basic Income (UBI).
• The article argues for a restructuring of India’s welfare model around UBI as a cushion against future socio-economic shocks.

Relevance

• GS II – Governance, Welfare Schemes, Social Justice
  • Relevance to welfare delivery, leakages, inclusion, and rights-based governance.
  • Examines redesign of India’s welfare architecture to make it universal, efficient, and dignity-based.
• GS III – Economy (Inclusive Growth & Employment)
  • Role of UBI in stabilising demand, cushioning automation shocks, and addressing inequality.
• GS IV – Ethics (Justice, Equity, and Human Dignity)
  • Philosophical rationale: dignity, agency, and fairness as pillars of a modern welfare state.

Practice Question  

• “In an age of automation and inequality, Universal Basic Income is not a populist giveaway but a structural necessity.”Critically examine this statement in light of India’s fragmented welfare system.(Answer in 250 words)

Background: The Concept of UBI

• Definition: A periodic, unconditional cash transfer to every citizen irrespective of income, employment, or social status.
• Core Principles:
  • Universality – available to all citizens.
  • Unconditionality – no strings attached (no eligibility filters).
  • Agency & Dignity – recipients decide how to use the funds.
• Global Experiments:
  • Finland (2017–19): Improved well-being, reduced stress, and maintained work motivation.
  • Kenya: Enhanced nutrition, mental health, and school enrolment.
  • Iran: Maintained labour participation while reducing poverty.

India’s Socio-Economic Context

• Wealth Inequality:
  • Top 1% own 42% of wealth (World Inequality Database, 2025).
  • Wealth Gini: 75, among the world’s highest.
• GDP vs Well-being Disconnect:
  • India ranks 118/147 in World Happiness Report 2025 — below Nepal .
  • High GDP (8.4% in 2023–24) not translating into equitable prosperity.
• Automation Threat:
  • McKinsey Global Institute (2023): Up to 800 million jobs globally could be displaced by 2030.
  • India’s semi-skilled and informal workers are most vulnerable.
• Labour & Mental Health Stress: Rising gig economy, job insecurity, and unacknowledged unpaid care work (mostly by women).

Current Welfare Architecture: Fragmented and Targeted

• Existing System: Over 1,000+ central and state welfare schemes (DBT, PDS, MGNREGA, PM-KISAN).
• Challenges:
  • Leakages, duplication, exclusion errors.
  • Complex eligibility filters and bureaucratic hurdles.
  • Political populism — “vote-for-freebie” culture undermines systemic reform.
• Digital Platforms: Aadhaar + Jan Dhan + DBT infrastructure enable large-scale cash transfers, but digital divides persist (tribal, remote areas).

Why UBI Now?

• Economic Rationale:
  • Boosts consumption demand in low-income groups.
  • Stabilises economy during automation and job shocks.
  • Simplifies subsidies, improving fiscal efficiency.
• Social Rationale:
  • Provides economic floor and income security for all.
  • Recognises unpaid care work (especially by women).
  • Reduces dependence on ad hoc welfare politics.
• Moral-Philosophical Rationale:
  • Transforms citizen–state relationship from charity to rights.
  • Shifts democracy from “consumer-voter” to “citizen-holder of rights.”

Evidence from India

• SEWA Pilot (Madhya Pradesh, 2011–13):
  • Conducted with UNICEF support.
  • Results:
    • Better nutrition and child health.
    • Increased school attendance.
    • Growth in small business income.
    • No evidence of reduced work participation.

Economic Feasibility

• Estimated Fiscal Cost:
  • Minimum UBI (₹7,620 per person/year = poverty line): ≈ 5% of GDP.
  • Equivalent to major subsidies (food, fertilizer, fuel combined).
• Possible Financing Options:
  • Rationalisation of overlapping subsidies.
  • Wealth tax or inheritance tax on top 1%.
  • Carbon tax or digital transaction levy.
  • Diverting inefficient expenditure from multiple welfare heads.
• Phased Implementation:
  • Begin with women, elderly, persons with disabilities, and informal workers.
  • Expand progressively as fiscal space and tech systems improve.

Addressing Criticisms

Global Context & Lessons

• Finland (2017–19): Improved mental health; 0.5% GDP cost.
• Kenya: 37% rise in local business income.
• Iran: Replaced energy subsidies with UBI-style payments; no inflation surge.
• Canada (Manitoba, 1970s): Hospitalisation fell 8.5%.

UBI vs Targeted Welfare

Way Forward

• Integrate UBI with DBT infrastructure and Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile (JAM) trinity.
• Combine with public goods provisioning (health, education) — not replacement.
• Conduct pilot projects at national scale for cost-benefit calibration.
• Pair UBI with skill-upgradation and green employment programmes.

Conclusion

• India’s current welfare model is fragmented, exclusion-prone, and reactive.
• A Universal Basic Income, if responsibly designed and fiscally balanced, can rebuild the social contract — restoring dignity, reducing inequality, and future-proofing citizens against economic shocks.
• The question is no longer affordability, but necessity — Can India afford not to guarantee a minimum income floor in an age of automation and inequality?

Justice in food

Why in News?

• The new EAT–Lancet Commission (2024) report highlights that global food systems drive 5 of the 6 breached planetary boundaries and contribute to nearly 30% of global GHG emissions.
• It calls for a “just transition” toward healthy, affordable, and sustainable diets — especially crucial for countries like India, facing high food insecurity and ecological stress.

Relevance

• GS II – Governance, Welfare, Health and Nutrition
  • Food policy as a tool for social justice and equitable access to nutrition.
• GS III – Environment, Agriculture & Climate Change
  • Food systems’ role in planetary boundary breaches and sustainable farming transitions.

Practice Question

• “Justice in food systems demands not only sustainable production but also equitable consumption.”
  Discuss in the context of India’s cereal-heavy diet and environmental stress.
  (Answer in 250 words)

The Core Idea

• Food systems encompass agriculture, processing, transportation, and consumption.
• They are central to climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and inequality.
• “Justice in food systems” implies ensuring:
  • Healthy diets for all (nutrition security).
  • Affordability and accessibility (economic justice).
  • Sustainability of production (ecological justice).
  • Fair livelihoods for farmers and workers (social justice).

Environmental Dimensions

• Food-related emissions: ~30% of global GHGs.
• Animal-based foods: Dominant share of emissions (methane, land use).
• Cereal crops: Major contributors to nitrogen, phosphorus, and water stress.
• Biogeochemical imbalance:
  • Global nitrogen surplus >2× safe limit.
  • Agricultural nutrient use surpasses planetary boundaries.
• Water crisis: Agriculture consumes ~70% of freshwater withdrawals globally.

The “Five of Six” Planetary Boundaries Affected by Food

The Commission’s Key Insights

• Even combined action (dietary change + emission cuts + productivity gains) will barely restore food systems’ safety by 2050.
• Assumes 127% global GDP growth by 2050 — likely overestimation given worsening climate shocks.
• Warns against efficiency traps: productivity gains often spur higher total output, eroding environmental savings.

India-Specific Concerns

• Dietary Structure:
  • India’s diet remains cereal-heavy (especially rice and wheat).
  • Meeting 2050 health benchmarks needs ↑ fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes.
• Challenges:
  • Price inflation for perishable, nutrient-dense foods.
  • Affordability crisis in import-dependent regions.
  • Cultural and caste-linked dietary preferences.
  • Public schemes (PDS, Midday Meals) reinforce cereal-based consumption.
• Environmental Stressors:
  • Groundwater depletion (Punjab–Haryana belt).
  • Soil degradation and nutrient imbalance.
  • Fossil fuel dependence in cold chains and food processing.

Pathways for a Just Transition

Demand-Side Interventions

• Promote diverse diets through nutrition education and school meals.
• Fiscal incentives (GST cuts, subsidies) for minimally processed, plant-based foods.
• Redesign public procurement to include local, nutritious staples (millets, pulses, leafy greens).
• Introduce “healthy food standards” to curb harmful additives and ultra-processing.

Supply-Side Reforms

• Invest in soil restoration, water-efficient crops, and organic/natural farming.
• Remove implicit incentives for groundwater overuse (e.g., free power).
• Support climate-resilient agriculture and regional diversification.
• Develop sustainable cold chains powered by renewable energy.

Governance & Equity

• Break corporate concentration in agri-processing and retail.
• Enforce labour and environmental safeguards in supply chains.
• Strengthen collective bargaining rights for farmers and agri-workers.
• Ensure consumer representation in food regulation and policy.

Justice Dimension

Policy Implications for India

• Shift from “calorie sufficiency” to “nutrition sufficiency.”
• Integrate EAT–Lancet diet targets with India’s National Nutrition Mission (Poshan 2.0) and FAO’s “One Health” framework.
• Align MSP and procurement toward millets, pulses, and oilseeds.
• Strengthen price stabilisation mechanisms for perishable foods.
• Promote urban food policies (local markets, rooftop gardens) to shorten supply chains.

Key Data Points

Conclusion

• Food systems are at the heart of both the climate and inequality crises.
• Justice in these systems demands environmentally safe, nutritionally adequate, and economically fair diets.
• For India, this means:
  • Diversifying diets beyond cereals.
  • Reforming subsidies and procurement.
  • Empowering farmers and consumers equally.
• The next phase of food policy must thus be nutrition- and justice-centric, not merely production-driven.