ARTICLE Dalits, Employment and Budgets
Ananth S Panth is Fellow & Academic Coordinator, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi. Email: director@vild.edu.in
. (Ananth S Panth)Indian society has been segmented from time immemorial on the basis of caste and class through the
The population of dalits in the country has increased from 10.47 crores in 1981 to 16.67 crores in 2001, accounting for about 16 per cent of the total population. About 80 per cent of the dalits live in rural areas. Poverty, as measured by the head count ratio, shows that in 2004-05, 37.4 per cent of the persons belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 27.6 per cent of the aggregate population were officially considered poor. With regard to landholdings, the landless and near landless households account for over 70 per cent of the total rural SC households. These are mainly agricultural labourers and casual labourers. Thus, only about 27 per cent of the rural households and rural main workers (those having worked for a period of 183 days or more) are landowners. Due to low skills, lack of capacity and poor creditworthiness, only 10 to 12 per cent of rural workers are engaged in self-employment in non-agricultural activities. These factors contribute to the high percentage of dalits being rural wage labourers. Similarly, due to low literacy levels (only 54 per cent of dalits are literate), their representation in government sector employment is negligible, especially in the A category.
The government’s perspective and strategy to the development of dalits is influenced by two main considerations: one, to overcome the multiple deprivations of the SCs, brought about by their social and economic exclusion in the past, and to bring them on par with the others to the extent possible; and, two, to provide protection against exclusion and discrimination in the present, by encouraging their effective participation in general economic, social and political processes in the country.
In the post-Independence period, efforts were made by central and state governments, through policies, programmes and budgetary provisions, with a goal of alleviating the poverty of the SC/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) population, both socially and economically. Though poverty levels, including both income and social poverty, have decreased over the last six decades, disparity between the SC/ST and non-SC/ST populations continues to be significant. Realising the vision of social inclusion entails removing this disparity completely.
An order passed by the Planning Commission on the Central and Centrally Sponsored Schemes for Tribal Sub-Plans and the Scheduled Caste Special Component Plan (SCP) (D.O. No.PC/SW/11-2(5)/77, dated 5 May 1979), states in paragraph no. 4: “ …For the Scheduled Castes, it has been now decided to prepare separate Special Component Plans. It is necessary to identify schemes under each sector which have direct relevance to their development and to earmark funds for them out of the divisible pool of the Ministries` Plans in proportion to the population of the individual target groups…”
The then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, had also written to all the state governments to implement the two plans in their budgets. However, roughly three decades later, we find the situation to be pathetic. Of the total outlay of Rs 2,05,100 crores in the 2007-08 Union Budget, only Rs 12,535.75 crores (6.11 per cent of total budget) was allocated for the SCP. Similarly, in the year 200607, an amount of Rs 8,344.27 crores, accounting for 4.83 per cent of the total budget, was allocated for the SCP.
The social services component of state and central budgets includes expenditure on health, education, and labour and employment. The expenditure under these heads would benefit the SC population with direct implications on the human development indicators, through the achievement of better literacy levels, improved nutritional levels, etc. Improved human development indicates better human capital, which has a direct impact on employment levels and human productivity.
Analyses of the budgets and expenditure across the states show that, over the years, state governments have not spent sufficient money on the implementation of the SCP, initiated for the advancement of SC persons in various sectors. For instance, none of the major Indian states have spent more than five per cent of the total outlay for the SCP in the social sector. Similarly, with respect to labour and employment, the budget allocation does not exceed 10 per cent of the total budget.
Government interventions in rural development include direct employment programmes, that is, both self-employment and wage employment programmes, one example being the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP). Several studies carried out across the country show that the SC/ST population is being excluded from the NREGP. Self-employment is also not a helpful option for the dalits despite the existence of schemes and programmes for their assistance. The dalits face social discrimination in terms of obtaining credit for business purposes, as well as in selling their products. According to the fourth economic census, only 10.2 per cent of the SC population is engaged in non-farm businesses. This is mainly due to lack of access to credit, arising as a result of low credit worthiness.
| Percentage Share of | |||||||
| States | 1981–82 | 1985–86 | 1990–91 | 1995–96 | 1999–00 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
| AP | 0.00 | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.76 | 0.52 | 0.22 | 0.90 |
| ASM | 0.00 | 0.54 | 0.69 | 0.91 | 0.75 | 0.72 | 1.23 |
| BIH | 0.00 | 1.97 | 0.94 | 0.52 | 1.33 | 3.28 | 0.35 |
| HAR | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| KAR | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.23 | 0.20 | 0.23 |
| MAH | 0.00 | 1.68 | 0.57 | 0.91 | 0.87 | 0.63 | 0.52 |
| MP | 0.19 | 2.18 | 0.85 | 1.46 | 2.99 | 3.67 | 4.13 |
| | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 1.34 | 0.39 | 0.59 | 0.40 |
| TN | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.66 | 0.36 | 1.44 | 2.18 | 2.25 |
| RAJ | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.29 | 0.24 | 0.35 |
| UP | 0.00 | 0.34 |
Author Name: Ananth S Panth
Title of the Article: Dalits, Employment and Budgets Name of the Journal: Labour File Volume & Issue: 6 , 3 Year of Publication: 2008 Month of Publication: March - June Page numbers in Printed version: Labour File, Vol.6-No.2&3, Labour and the Union Budget (Article - Dalits, Employment and Budgets - pp 24 - 27) Weblink : https://labourfile.com:443/section-detail.php?aid=613 KeywordsCurrent Labour NewsRecent Issues
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