Rajasthan’s Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill
This topic of “Rajasthan’s Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill” is important from the perspective of the UPSC IAS Examination, which falls under General Studies Portion.
News
- The Rajasthan state assembly has passed the Rajasthan’s Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill.
What is the Bill?
- It is a state legislation aimed at guaranteeing wages or pensions to the adult population of Rajasthan.
Highlights of the Bill
- Three Categories of Guaranteed Income:
- Right to minimum guaranteed income
- Right to guaranteed employment
- Right to guaranteed social security pension
- Guaranteed Employment Provision:
- All state families are entitled to guaranteed employment for 125 days per year.
- In urban areas, it is implemented through the “Indira Gandhi Shahri Rozgar Guarantee Yojana.”
- In rural areas, it is implemented through the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” (MGNREGA).
- The MGNREGA initially provides guaranteed employment for 100 days, but the Rajasthan government has increased this to 125 days by supplementing an additional 25 days.
- Program Officer Implementation:
- In rural areas, the implementation is overseen by a Program Officer not below the rank of Block Development Officer.
- In urban areas, the Executive Officer of the local body is responsible for implementation.
- The employment provided should be within 5 km of the job card registration.
- If employment is not provided within 15 days of registration, the individual is entitled to receive unemployment allowance on a weekly basis.
- Minimum Pension Provision:
- A minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month is provided to the aged, disabled, widows, and single women.
- The pension amount is subject to an annual increase of 15%.
Significance of the Bill
- The implementation of the Rajasthan’s Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill will result in additional government expenditure amounting to Rs 2,500 crore per year.