The pandemic tested the readiness of state machineries to deal with the crisis, and provide policy-backed solutions to the people who had lost livelihoods and were scarred by raging disease. The central government came out with Atmanirbhar Bharat programme with an aim to find opportunity in the crisis. The state governments tailored their own solutions.
In an interview with THE WEEK, Manoj Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh, talks about the work done to reach out to the affected people.
Uttar Pradesh received a major chunk of migrants who returned home. What steps were taken by the state government to deal with reverse migration?
An estimated 3.7 million migrant workers returned to Uttar Pradesh from other states which is quite a significant number. To help these migrant workers in various capacities, two schemes were launched:
At a national level, Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan (GKRA), a 125-day drive was launched by the Prime Minister on June 20, 2020 to provide the returned migrant workers means of livelihood. The aim of the mission is to aid the returnee migrant workers and similarly affected rural population by providing immediate employment and livelihood opportunities to the distressed population. The success of the initiative is evident in the numbers. Since the launch, over 7 crores of person-days have been generated by the state, with utilisation of about Rs. 1816 crores.
In addition, Atmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh is also being launched to create more jobs and enterprises. Under this initiative, 37 Schemes of 15 concerned Departments of Uttar Pradesh have been identified and included under Aatmanirbhar UP. A total of 38,085.51 crore financial target has been fixed for the program. Under this program, MGNREGS itself has 35 crore person-days generation target with a financial budget of Rs. 12,707.95 crore.
The aim of the state is to create a support system to enable migrant workers and vulnerable families through various efforts. To that effect, the state has been active in collection and analysis of data of returnee migrants; their skill mapping to help them find opportunities at industrial and local level.
How is the state responding to Atmanirbhar Bharat programme of the Centre?
The skill mapping of all the returned workers has helped the government to understand how they can contribute in the development of the state. For more insights, the state government also constituted a commission on this subject.
MSMEs are being assisted through the Self-Reliant India Package, with an additional 20% percent of funds being given by banks as loans to industrial units. A campaign is being run in association with banks in the state. Loans worth approximately Rs. 5,900 crore are being disbursed to about 2.40 lakh units from the Prime Minister's Taxes, in which about 2 lakh workers will get employment.
Under Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan and Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, about 10,000 people are employed across various fields to promote and create entrepreneurs for self-employment and generation of employment opportunities for others. Loans of Rs. 10,000 crores are being disbursed. The government is eyeing the development of all sections of people. Consequently, toolkits are also being distributed to 5,000 artisans under Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana and One District One Product Scheme.
How was MNREGA used to provide employment?
The state government has put concerted efforts to boost livelihood opportunities in a bid to reduce poverty across the state. With support from the state level initiatives, there was a great increase in the number of people employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Program. To give you an example, around 62.5 lakh labourers were employed in a single day on the launch of the self-reliant Uttar Pradesh Employment campaign. Within four months, the state disbursed Rs 4,500 crores as wages to these workers, an amount that is equal to the entire wage disbursed in the last financial year.
What were the short-term and long-term strategies used by the government to help the people?
About 30 lakh returnee migrant workers were mapped to understand their skills, so that they could be further rehabilitated and upskilled.
Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) boost growth and development, both regionally and nationally, and thus help to sustain livelihood. So, post the announcement of economic stimulus by the Government of India, the state government ensured that MSMEs had unhindered access to credit through timely disbursement. Large scale loan fairs were organised that were very successful in taking this initiative ahead.
The state government also decided to launch One District One Product (ODOP) program, an initiative wherein the local artisans were encouraged to revive the art and craft unique to UP. About 4,268 artisans were recognised and reached out to for this initiative.
Furthermore, Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Srijan Karyakram has generated employment for 3,429 beneficiaries. Under the Mukhya Mantri Yuva Swarozgar Yojna, the state government successfully reached out to 5,000 beneficiaries.
How were self-help groups used during the pandemic?
Presently we have 3.71 lakh SHGs in the state. The recent lockdown was a huge challenge and impediment for most of us but our SHG members turned the challenge into an opportunity by adapting to the situation and starting the production of masks and hand sanitizers which was a great support for COVID warriors.
The government has rolled out the scheme of Business Correspondent (BC) Sakhis. How will it generate livelihood and promote financial inclusion?
Financial inclusion is the key to boost economic growth and helps raise income levels across various strata of society. Business correspondent (BC) model aims to fulfil this objective with a multi-pronged strategy by addressing the limitations of the banking infrastructure. With a BC correspondent as the medium, this model provides an alternate banking channel to strengthen and increase the reach of banking services to rural populace. A business correspondent is appointed at gram panchayat/branch level and provides the following banking services- Account Opening, Deposits, Withdrawal, Remittance, Fixed Deposit and Recurring Deposits.
At present, there are 58,000 positions of BC Sakhis across the state which are being filled up through selection of women from the self-help groups (SHGs). The reason for this is that by incorporating SHG members as BC Sakhis, the government will be able to ensure financial inclusion at the grass-roots level which will help in overall development of the community. This activity will also strengthen the core objective of UPSRLM by kindling entrepreneurial abilities in women as the BC sakhi will be a member of SHG or from household of SHG member.
The pandemic tested government capabilities, and their effectiveness in reaching people. What have been key learnings, if any, so far? Any innovation being carried out by your departments?
Rigorous tracking and testing helped the state to flatten the COVID-19 infection graph.
The spread of COVID-19 is far from over. After urban areas, it is spreading to rural areas. Any measures being taken on this front?
State government is vigilant and tracking rigorously and prepared hospitals to manage the emergencies, as well as isolation and treatment facilities.
