On 5th April, Congress released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024. In its manifesto, it promised to launch the “Nari Nyay Mahalakshmi” scheme which is the “Congress Nari Nyay scheme” that the party talked about a few weeks back as part of “Nyay Manifesto”. The scheme promises unconditional cash transfers of Rs 1 lakh per year to every woman of poor Indian families.
A responsible government uplifts the citizens of the country. However, it is essential to ensure the schemes brought for the upliftment of the marginalised members of the society do not jeopardise the economic stability of the nation. Congress’s Mahalakshmi Scheme may sound good on paper, but it spells nothing but economic disaster for India.
First of all, let’s discuss the fundamental flaw in the scheme that Congress has promised to the people of India. They say that if Congress comes to power, it will enact the scheme of unconditional cash transfer of Rs 1 lakh per year to the women of the country. The idea in itself is flawed as there is no plan discussed in the manifesto on how the party would execute it. Where is this colossal sum of money going to magically appear from? Congress did not answer that. The party conveniently threw the critical question under the rug leaving a gaping hole in making the scheme feasible.
How Congress describes Nari Nyay scheme
The scheme in the manifesto reads, “Mahalakshmi: Inequality of income and opportunity remains India’s ugliest truth. It is the moral and political responsibility of any government to ensure that every Indian family is assured of a basic income every month. Congress resolves to launch a Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer. The poor will be identified among the families in the bottom of the income pyramid. The amount will be directly transferred to the bank account of the oldest woman of the household. Absent a woman, it will be transferred to the account of the oldest member of the family. The scheme will be rolled out in stages and reviewed every year to assess the number of beneficiary families and its impact on alleviating poverty.
If we compare the Mahalakhsmi Scheme with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Lakhpati Didi Scheme, it is evident that the latter focuses on empowering rural women through skill development and entrepreneurship. BJP’s sustainable approach towards creating self-reliant individuals is capable of contributing meaningfully to the Indian economy. Lakhpati Didi Scheme talks about building capabilities and fostering entrepreneurship. It paves the way for long-term economic growth of the women belonging to the marginalised section of society.
What is Lakhpati Didi Scheme and how it empowers women
Lakhpati Didi is an ambitious project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was announced on Independence Day in 2023 from the Red Fort. The scheme aims to empower rural women and help them earn a sustainable income of at least 1 lakh per annum by providing them with the necessary training.
Under the scheme, crores of poor women associated with Self Help Groups (SHGs) are expected to benefit. The scheme is essentially a skill development program for these women. These women will be provided with the necessary skill training to make them capable enough to earn on their own and improve their lives. During the training, these women will also be taught how to start their own small-scale businesses.
The Lakhpati Didi initiative has been initiated by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). DAY-NRLM is the flagship program of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) for promoting poverty reduction through building strong institutions for the poor, particularly women.
Under the Lakhpati Didi scheme of DAY-NRLM, each SHG household is encouraged to take up multiple livelihood activities coupled with value chain interventions, helping the women get a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh.
Since most of the poor women in rural areas are only reliant on agriculture for their livelihood, a need was felt to provide them with skill training so that they can start their own small businesses and earn their living. The scheme aims to improve the quality of life among the poor in rural areas with the help of SHGs, and improve the socio-economic condition of women there.
Lack of clarity on funding and about sustainable economic growth in Nari Nyay scheme
The promise of Rs 1 lakh per year per family by Congress lacks clarity on funding. Furthermore, it also undermines the dignity of labour and entrepreneurship. The grand old party has planned to hand out cash without any productive activity attached. Their promise risks fostering a culture of dependency rather than women empowerment. We can compare it to putting a band-aid on a wound that requires surgery.
Moreover, injecting such massive among of cash into the economy will cause inflationary pressure. In rural areas, where the cost of living is comparatively lower, the sudden inflow of cash without increasing productivity will eventually result in price hikes that will erode the purchasing power of the poor.
In addition to the future disasters linked to the scheme, Congress has not planned to create new wealth. In short, it will only add to the inflation without addressing the root cause of poverty. Congress has called for eradicating poverty. For decades, the party leaders including first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former PM Indira Gandhi and former PM Rajiv Gandhi, all talked about eradicating poverty during elections but never succeeded. The lack of vision always pushed Congress on the back foot.
India eliminated extreme poverty, thanks to Modi govt schemes
On the contrary, the latest reports revealed India has officially eliminated ‘extreme poverty’, which can be seen through the sharp decline in the headcount poverty ratio and stark increase in household consumption, thanks to the schemes introduced by the Modi government over the past 10 years. According to the data, real per capita consumption growth has been recorded at 2.9 per cent per year since 2011-12. Under this, rural growth at 3.1 per cent was significantly higher than urban growth at 2.6 per cent. The Headcount Poverty Ratio (HCR) for the 2011 PPP USD 1.9 poverty line has declined from 12.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 2 per cent in 2022-23, equivalent to 0.93 percentage points (ppt) per year. Rural poverty stood at 2.5 per cent while urban poverty was down to 1 per cent.
Let’s remember that the practicality of the implementation of any scheme has to be thought out beforehand. Identifying marginalised families, ensuring the money reaches the right hands, preventing leakages and controlling corruption are not easy tasks. Congress, whose leader former PM Rajiv Gandhi once said that if the Central Government released Re 1, only 15 paisa would reach the public, showcased no plan to address the issues attached to the backend of the “visionary scheme”.
The promises are made by the political parties to lure the voters. However, before casting a vote, it is the right of the voter to look beyond rhetoric and evaluate the long-term implications. A responsible government has to prioritise sustainable solutions that support economic growth and empower individual solutions to help them come out of the shackles of poverty. Contrary to the practice, Congress’s scheme lacks clarity, feasibility and vision. In turn, it is a recipe for economic disaster.
In the upcoming General Elections, voters must choose wisely and opt for political parties that promise real progress and not populist pandering that threatens to make the nation bankrupt.
