We support cash transfers such as old age pensions,
widow pensions, maternity entitlements and scholarships. However, we oppose the
government’s plan for accelerated mass conversion of welfare schemes to UID-driven
cash transfers. This plan could cause havoc and massive social exclusion. We
demand the following:
1. No replacement of food with cash under the Public
Distribution System.
The PDS
is a vital source of economic security and nutrition support for millions of
people. It should be expanded and consolidated, not dismantled.
2. Immediate enactment of a comprehensive National Food
Security Act, including universal PDS.
Instead
of diverting the public’s attention with promises of mass cash transfers before
the 2014 elections, the government should redeem its promise to enact a National
Food Security Act (NFSA).
3. Cash transfers should not substitute for
public services.
While
some cash transfer schemes are useful, they should complement, not substitute for the provision of
public services such as health care, school education, water supply, basic
amenities, and the PDS. These services remain grossly under-funded.
4. Expand and improve
appropriate cash transfers without waiting for UID.
There is
no need to wait for UID to expand and improve positive cash transfer schemes
such as pensions, scholarships and maternity entitlements. For instance, social
security pensions should be increased and universalized.
5. No UID enrolment without a legal framework.
Millions
of people are being enrolled for UID without any legal safeguards. The UIDAI’s
draft bill has been rejected by a parliamentary standing committee. UID enrolment
should be halted until a sound legal framework is in place.
6. All UID applications should be voluntary, not compulsory.
UID
should never be a condition for anyone to access any entitlements or public
services. A convenient alternative should always be available.
7. UID should be kept out of the PDS, NREGA and
other essential entitlement programmes for the time being.
Essential
services are not a suitable field of experimentation for a highly centralised
and uncertain technology. Other applications (e.g. to tax evasion) should be
tried first.
Explanatory Note:
Why we Oppose the Rush to Cash
Transfers and UID
We support cash
transfers such as old age pensions, widow pensions, maternity entitlements and
scholarships. In fact, many of us have been part of struggles to expand social
security pensions and improve their delivery. We also support appropriate,
people-friendly uses of modern technology for this purpose.
However, we have
serious reservations about the government's rush to link these cash transfers
to “Aadhaar”, the unique identity (UID) number. This is because the linking of
these schemes can cause huge disruption – think of an old man who is currently
getting his pension from the local post office, but will now have to run around
getting his “UID-enabled” bank account activated and then may find his pension
held up by fingerprints problems, connectivity issues, power failures, truant
“business correspondents”, and what not.
We are also firmly
opposed to the introduction of cash transfers in lieu of food and other
commodities supplied through the Public Distribution System, for many reasons.
One, subsidized food from the PDS is a source of food and economic security for
millions of poor families. In 2009-10, implicit transfers from the PDS wiped
out about one fifth of the “poverty gap” at the national level, and close to
one half of it in states like Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh. Recent experience
also shows that it is possible to further revamp and reform the PDS without
delay.
Two, the banking
system in rural areas is not ready to handle large volumes of small transfers.
Banks are often far and overcrowded. The alleged solution, banking
correspondents, is fraught with problems. Post offices could possibly be
converted into useful payment agencies, but this will take time.
Three, rural
markets are often poorly developed. Dismantling the PDS would disrupt the flow
of food across the country and put many people at the mercy of local traders
and middlemen.
Four, there are
concerns of special groups such as single women, disabled persons and the
elderly who cannot easily move around to withdraw their cash and buy food from
distant markets.
Last but not
least, inflation could easily erode the purchasing power of cash transfers.
When the government refuses to index pensions or NREGA wages, how can it be
trusted to index cash transfers to the price level? Even if some indexation
does happen, small delays or gaps in price information could cause significant
hardship for poor people.
The Kotkasim
fiasco is a telling example of the potentially disruptive effects of
inappropriate cash transfer schemes. The experiment was launched with much
fanfare and immediately projected as a “stunning success” based on the fact
that kerosene subsidy expenditure had declined by 80%, but in fact, the main
reason for this decline was the collapse of the entire kerosene distribution system.
An impression
has been created that the government is all set to launch UID-enabled cash
transfers on a mass scale before the 2014 elections. This is very misleading,
and looks like an attempt to make people rush to UID enrolment centres. This announcement
also diverts attention from the government’s failure to enact a National Food
Security Act. The food security bill, very weak in the first place, has been
languishing with a Standing Committee for a whole year. Meanwhile, food stocks
are accumulating on an unprecedented scale. The need of the hour is a
comprehensive National Food Security Act, not a potentially disruptive rush for
UID-driven cash transfers.
List of Signatories
1.
Sunil Abraham, Centre for
Internet and Society
2.
Pushpa Achanta, Writer
3.
Bina Agarwal, Professor,
Institute of Economic Growth
4.
Samantha Agarwal, Activist,
Raipur
5.
Ankita Aggarwal, Researcher,
New Delhi
6.
Ashutosh Agrawal, Student
7.
Anivar Aravind, Entrepreneur,
Technology Manager
8.
Chirashree Das Gupta, Ambedkar
University
9.
Indu Agnihotri, Director,
Centre for Women’s Development Studies
10.
Sohail Akbar, Associate
Professor, Jamia Milia Islamia
11.
Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar,
United Theological College Bangalore
12.
Janki Andharia, Tata Institute
of Social Sciences
13.
Sadhna Arya, University of Delhi
and Saheli Women's Resource Centre
14. K.V. Nagesh Babu, Assistant
Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
15.
Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Vice
Chancellor, Tripura University
16.
Megha Bahl Student, Faculty of
Law, University of Delhi
17.
Arindam Banerjee, Jawaharlal Nehru
University
18.
Arindam Banerjee, Assistant
Professor, Ambedkar University
19.
Sreshtha Banerjee, Social
Activist
20.
Sanjay (Xonzoi) Barbora, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences (Guwahati)
21.
Kripa Basnyat, PWESCR,
Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
22.
Moushumi Basu, Associate
Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
23.
Akansha Batra, Junior Research
Fellow, Indian Statistical Institute
24.
Anjali Bhardwaj, Satark Nagrik
Sangathan
25.
Bharat Bhatti, Student,
Ambedkar University
26.
Kiran Bhatty, Senior Fellow,
Centre for Policy Research
27.
Praful Bidwai, Journalist
28.
Ramila Bisht, Associate
Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
29.
Arudra Burra
30.
Kathyayini Chamaraj, Journalist
31.
C.P. Chandrashekhar, Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
32.
Sarika Chaturvedi, Ph D
scholar, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
33.
Aheli Chowdhury, JOSH, Delhi
34.
Arati Choksi, People’s Union
for Civil Liberties, Bangalore
35.
Gowru Chinnapa,
Bangalore
36.
Priti Darooka, PWESCR,
Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
37.
Jitu Das, Alghanim Industries
38.
Asit Das
39.
Anirban Dasgupta, South Asia
University
40. Jashodhara Dasgupta, National
Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights
41.
Saurav Datta
42.
Ashwini Deshpande, Professor,
Delhi School of Economics
43.
Ritu Dewan, Mumbai University
44.
Nikhil Dey, Mazdoor Kisan
Shakti Sangathan
45.
Harish Dhawan, Associate
Professor in Economics, University of Delhi
46.
Arundhati Dhuru, National
Alliance of People’s Movements
47.
Gabriele Dietrich, National
Alliance of People's Movements
48.
Sarah Dobinson, PWESCR
Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
49.
Jean Drèze, Visiting Professor,
Allahabad University
50.
Ajit Eapen
51.
Warisha Farasat, Lawyer
52.
Jayati Ghosh, Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
53.
Kaveri Gill, Independent
researcher
54.
S. S. Gill, Director
General, CRRID, Chandigarh
55.
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Journalist
56.
Aashish Gupta, Research
Assistant, Allahabad University
57.
Ruchi Gupta, National Campaign
for People's Right to Information
58.
Zoya Hasan, Professor, Centre
for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
59.
Neeraj Hatekar, Professor,
Department of Economics, University of Mumbai
60.
Rohini Hensman, Independent
scholar and author
61.
Himanshu, Assistant Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
62.
Danish Husain, Actor
63.
Indira C, Researcher Public
Health, Delhi
64.
Kaveri Rajaraman Indira,
Concern, Indian Institute of Science
65.
Jaya Iyer, Khadya Nyaya
Abhiyan
66.
Devaki Jain
67.
K.P. Jayasankar, Professor,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
68.
Praveen Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru
University
69.
Sadan Jha, Assistant Professor,
Centre for Social Studies, Surat
70.
Ravinder Jha, Miranda House,
University of Delhi
71.
Rajiv Jha, Shri Ram College of
Commerce, University of Delhi
72.
Amrita Johri, Satark Nagrik
Sangathan
73.
Sunny Jose, Associate
Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
74.
Aleesha Mary Joseph, Student,
St. Stephen's College
75.
Deep Joshi
76.
Vijay
Lakshmi Joshi, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
77.
K. P. Kannan, Chairman, Lawry
Baker Institute of Habitat Studies, Thiruvantanthapuram
78.
Anirban Kar, Associate
Professor, Delhi School of Economics
79.
Ashok
Khandelwal, Economist
80.
Madhulika Khanna, Researcher,
New Delhi
81.
Sushil Khanna, Indian Institute
of Management Calcutta
82.
Reetika Khera, Assistant
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
83.
Asha Kilaru, Public Health
Researcher, Bangalore
84.
Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh
85.
Subasri Krishnan, Filmmaker
86.
Kavita Krishnan, CPI(ML)
Liberation
87.
Abhay Kumar, Karnataka
88.
Richa Kumar, Assistant
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
89.
Awanish Kumar, Ph.D. Scholar, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences
90.
Madhuresh Kumar, National
Alliance of People’s Movements
91.
A.K. Shiva Kumar, Economist
92.
Lawrence Liang, Alternative Law
Forum
93.
Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Advocate
94.
Neeraj Malik, University of
Delhi
95.
Anubhuti Maurya, Bharati
College, University of Delhi
96.
Surajit Mazumdar
97.
Indrani Mazumdar, Centre for
Women's Development Studies
98.
Bhanwar Meghvanshi, Dalit
Adivasi Aur Ghumantu Adhikar Abhiyan, Rajasthan
99.
Subhash
Mendhapurkar, SUTRA, Himachal Pradesh
100.
Aggie Menezes, Associate
Professor, St Xavier's College
101.
Mira Mehta, Department of
Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland
102.
Kalpana Mehta, Manasi Swasthya
Sansthan, Indore
103.
Ritambhara Mehta, Independent
Researcher
104.
Nivedita Menon, Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
105.
Rajkishore Mishra, Orissa
106.
Srijith Mishra, Associate
Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
107.
Gautam Mody, Secretary, New
Trade Union Initiative
108.
Mritiunjoy Mohanty, Professor,
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
109.
Sanat Mohanty, Associate
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
110.
Anjali Monteiro, Professor,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
111.
Vipul Mudgal, Inclusive Media
for Change, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
112.
Prakriti Mukerjee, Yoda Press
113.
Poonam Muttreja, Population
Foundation of India
114.
Tithi Nandy, Healthwatch Forum
Uttar Pradesh
115.
R. Nagaraj, Professor, Indira
Gandhi Institute of Development Research
116.
Farah Naqvi, Writer and
Activist
117.
Sudha Narayanan, Assistant
Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
118.
Rajendran Narayanan, Visiting
Scientist, Indian Statistical Institute
119.
Arvind Narrain, Alternative Law
Forum
120.
Saboohi Nasim, Assistant
Professor, Aligarh Muslim University
121.
Balaji Narsimhan
122.
Nandini Nayak, School of
African and Oriental Studies, University of London
123.
P. Niranjana, Assistant
Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
124.
V.P. Niranjanaradhya, National
Law School of India University
125.
Claire Noronha, Collaborative
Research and Dissemination
126.
Madhurima Nundy, Institute of
Chinese Studies
127.
Gangaram Paikra, Right to Food Campaign,
Chhattisgarh
128.
Parthapratim Pal, Associate
Professor, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
129.
Sandeep Pandey, National
Alliance of People’s Movements
130.
Soma Kishore Parthasarathy, PhD
scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
131.
Medha Patkar, National Alliance
of People’s Movements
132.
Prabhat Patnaik, Retired
Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
133.
Utsa Patnaik, Retired
Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
134.
Boban V. Paul, NGO
professional
135.
Pamela Philipose, Director,
Women’s Features Services
136.
Neetha Pillai, Senior Fellow,
Centre for Women's Development Studies
137.
Dr Prabir, Independent
Consultant, West Bengal
138.
Pranesh Prakash, Law and Policy
Researcher
139.
Mythri Prasad, Researcher,
French Institute of Pondicherry
140.
T. V. H. Prathamesh, Research
Scholar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
141.
Raghav Puri, Independent
Researcher
142.
Pushpendra, Director, Centre
for Social Studies, Surat
143.
Kalyani Raghunathan, Ph.D.
Scholar, Cornell University
144.
Annie Raja, National Federation
of Indian Women
145.
Jawahar Raja, Advocate, Delhi
146.
Suvrat Raju, Reader,
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Mumbai
147.
R. Ramakumar, Associate Professor,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
148.
Kannama Raman, Associate
Professor, University of Mumbai
149.
Usha Ramanathan, Legal Researcher
150.
Ashish Ranjan, Birla Institute
of Technology, Patna
151.
Bharat Rastogi, Graduate
student, University of California Santa Barbara
152.
Savitri Ray, FORCES Network, Centre
for Women’s Development Studies
153.
Mohan Rao, Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
154.
E. Rati Rao, People’s Union for
Civil Liberties Karnataka
155.
Vidya Rao, Jain Vishva Bharati
Institute, Rajasthan
156.
D. Narsimha Reddy, Chair
Professor, NIRD, Hyderabad
157.
Rammanohar Reddy, Editor,
Economic and Political Weekly
158.
Dr. K. Srinath Reddy
159.
Ira Regmi, Student, Lady Shri
Ram College for Women
160.
Rohit, Assistant Professor,
South Asia University
161.
Aruna Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan
162.
Saheli Women's Resource Centre
Sahyogi, Patna
163.
Preeti Sampat, Independent
Researcher
164.
Meera Samson, Collaborative
Research and Dissemination
165.
Sunil D. Santha, Assistant
Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
166.
Radha
Kant Saxena, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
167.
Sukla Sen, EKTA (Committee for
Communal Amity), Mumbai
168.
S. Seshan
169.
Sudeshna Sengupta, Mobile Crèches
170.
Mitu Sengupta, Centre for Human
Development and Human Rights, New Delhi
171.
Prem
Krishan Sharma, President, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan
172.
Saurabh Sharma, JOSH, Delhi
173.
Veena Shatrugna, Former Deputy
Director, National Institute of Nutrition
174.
Jeevika Shiv
175.
Dr. Mira Shiva, Initiative for Health & Equity in Society
176.
Rama Shyam, Tata Institute of
Social Sciences
177.
Aditya Shrivastava, Advocate
178.
Shankar Singh, Mazdoor Kisan
Shakti Sangathan
179.
Bhanwar
Singh, Astha
180.
Mahipal
Singh, National Secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
181.
Paramjeet
Singh, People’s Union for Democratic Rights
182.
Surjit Singh, Director, Institute
of Development Studies, Jaipur
183.
Dipa Sinha, Ph.D. Scholar,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
184.
Shantha Sinha, National
Commission for the Protection of Child Rights
185.
Ahmed Sohaib, Jamia Teachers’
Solidarity Association
186.
Gautam Sonti
187.
Vivek Srinivasan, Stanford
University
188.
Nisha Srivastava, University
of Allahabad
189.
Ravi Srivastava, Professor,
Jawaharlal Nehru University
190.
Shambhavi Srivastava, Graduate
student, University of British Columbia
191.
Kavita
Srivastava, National Secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
192.
Sulakshana, Right to Food Campaign,
Chhattisgarh
193.
Nandini Sundar, University of
Delhi
194.
Mayur Suresh, Ph.D. Scholar,
University of London
195.
V.
Suresh, General Secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
196.
Kamayani Swami, Jan Jagran
Shakti Sangathan
197.
Padmini Swaminathan, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad
198.
M.S. Swaminathan, Member of
Parliament, Rajya Sabha
199.
Sharmila Tagore
200.
Krishan
Takhar, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
201.
Vamsi Vakulabharanam, Reader,
University of Hyderabad
202.
Padma Velaskar, Professor, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences
203.
G. Vijay, Assistant Professor,
School of Economics, University of Hyderabad
204.
M. Vijayabaskar, Madras
Institute of Development Studies, Chennai
205.
Vimochana, Forum for Women’s
Rights
206.
Achin Vanaik, Retired
Professor, University of Delhi
207.
Sujata Visaria, Hong Kong
University of Science & Technology
208.
Bezwada Wilson, Safai
Karamchari Andolan
