10 crore unorganised labour 'still left out' of ration card purview: Census 2021 deferment

By Rajiv Shah
Even as welcoming the Supreme Court order to provide ration cards to eight crore migrant/ unorganised workers, the civil rights organisation Right to Food Campaign (RFC) has expressed the apprehension that an estimated about 10 crore of them would still be left out.
In a statement, RFC indicated, the Apex Court order only pertains to eight crore migrant/ unorganised sector workers who are registered on the eShram portal "but do not possess a ration card."
It said, "Due to not possessing ration cards, a large number of migrant/ unorganized labourers and their families have been deprived of access to subsidized food grains and other schemes under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)."
The civil rights group regretted, "The coverage under NFSA was to be updated as per the latest published census figures. However, as the census of 2021 has been postponed indefinitely and no date has been notified regarding the publication of the same, more than 10 crore people who should have been issued ration cards have been left out of the purview of the food security net."
The Supreme Court in its order dated April 20, 2023, in MA 94/2022 in ‘Re Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers’, gave directions to ensure food security for migrant workers/ unorganised sector workers.
The order said, 28.60 crore migrants/ unorganized workers are registered on the eShram portal, of which 20.63 crore are registered on the ration card data, directing all State/Union territory governments to issue ration cards under NFSA to the eight crore persons who are registered on the eShram portal but do not possess ration cards.
RFC demanded, all States and Union territories must immediately undertake the exercise, as directed by the Apex Court to issue ration cards to eight crore migrant/unorganised sector workers who are registered on eShram but do not possess a ration card.
At the same, it said, governments must universalise access to PDS for all migrant/unorganised sector workers and provide ration cards without putting in place multi-fold and complex inclusion/exclusion criteria including any income criteria.
According to RFC, "Adoption of complicated criteria ends up excluding people as they are often unable to furnish the necessary documentation including residence proof, aadhaar card, electricity bills, etc. These persons are among the most economically vulnerable sections of society and must be included under the ambit of the NFSA."

The 'Dr' debate masks a larger crisis in allied-health education

By Dr P K Gupta* India’s allied-health professions have long operated in a fragmented landscape of universities, hospitals, State authorities and private institutions, each with its own nomenclature, curriculum and standards. The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021 was meant to correct this by creating a unified national framework for education, professional regulation and institutional recognition. Few dispute the need for such oversight. The real question is whether standardisation is quietly becoming synonymous with longer courses, additional internships and new professional titles—changes that risk masking deeper gaps in clinical training, institutional capacity and affordability.

Arrival of USS Lincoln: A ‘leisure trip’ to Thailand or a neo-colonial move to commodify women?

By Benyasiri Eimviriyapong The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) for a ‘leisure trip’ in Thailand before returning to its campaign of destruction against the people of West Asia demands immediate interrogation and opposition. For us Thai people, and those in sites of American plunder across the globe, this a rattling of the US’ cold war colonial chains on its most loyal lap dog, while conducting a war of aggression in Iran and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. In allowing the USS Lincoln to dock, the Thai ruling elites are once again facilitating a system of imperial violence that extends far beyond Southeast Asian borders, a system which in our case, is predicated on sexual violence and femicide.

Pilgrimage or pollution? The waste crisis of Indian faith

By Raj Kumar Sinha* In today's times, there are certain issues that are constantly talked about and discussed, yet no visible impact seems to be made. Beyond water, soil, and pollution, one crisis that continues to be overlooked is waste. Like other life-threatening problems, waste too is gradually moving toward burying and obliterating us. After the Kanwar Yatra in Haridwar, approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste were left behind on the riverbanks, including bottles filled with urine.

Counterview

Search This Blog