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DEFENCE &
DEVELOPMENT
FOR the UPA, running a government that anchors its philosophy on the Aam Aadmi, launch of the Aadhar-based subsidy disbursal will undoubtedly stand out as the prime initiative of 2012 in social welfare, even as most of its other flagship schemes came under intense criticism or required deep review. To begin with, the Aadhar scheme, based on giving a unique identity (UID) number to each citizen after their biometric identification, is being launched in 50 districts. The government must have its fingers crossed over the massive exercise, under which more than 20 crore people have already been delivered their UIDs, because just as much as it is likely to stop the pilferage of subsidy meant for the poor, it may backfire, if a large number of people are not able to get the money in time because of logistic reasons. And there are expected to be teething troubles at every link in the chain, given the large numbers involved. Learning curve This was the third year for what can arguably be called the government's most important programme — implementation of the Right to Education Act. The year was important as the Act was meant to achieve its goals in three years, but that remains a distant dream yet. As for the infrastructure, targets such as toilets, classrooms and boundary walls in schools, only 4.8 per cent of the 13 lakh elementary schools in the country had acquired those. What was particularly disturbing was reports emerging on the quality of education being imparted. More than half of the students of Class V could not read what Class II children should be able to. While funding remains the major challenge for the programme, the debate got hijacked by the controversy over 25 per cent reservation for poor students in private schools, which is only a small part of the Act. Jobs must The job guarantee scheme - credited with giving the UPA the second term -remained in focus this year for its social audit. After serious complaints, which many say is merely anecdotal, regarding which way the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was taking the country, the government has been busy with introspection, including asking the CAG to assess what was the impact of the scheme. The parameters for assessment — poverty alleviation, skill development (or suppression), asset generation — remained the biggest debate. The government on July 14 brought out a compilation of credible assessment reports by multifarious agencies titled 'Sameeksha', which took into account the shortcomings — corruption being a leading issue — but did underline the social consolidation in rural areas. The fact remained that 2011-12 registered rural consumer consumption overshooting urban. In poor health A man may have food, but he needs health as much, which means access to affordable medical facilities. That is something the government miserably failed to deliver. The National Rural Health Mission was proposed to be turned into a 'National Health Mission' to serve all in the country. But all that happened was that the NRHM was extended to 'towns' also. The cities remained high and dry. Even in its given mandate, the NRHM remained more in news for reasons other than health — corruption and CBI inquiries, particularly in UP, were what the government had to tackle on priority. States have failed to do their bit, thereby rendering the Central expenditure meaningless too. Around 75 per cent of the expenditure on health care, even in rural areas, is out of the private pocket.
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