NCEUS outlines Rs 45,000 cr package for working poor

New Delhi, Aug 9 (UNI) Outlining nearly Rs 45,000 crore new programmes for ameliorating the condition of the working poor, the Third Report of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) today brought out that 77 per cent of India's population lives on Rs 20 a day which co-exists with shining India.

It paints a sordid picture of the condition of the common man and catalogues that 86 per cent of India's working population is from the unorganised sector--nearly 394.9 million-- who live in utterly deplorable conditions with few livelihood options.

The Report advocates a 13-point action programme, which includes five seperate packages for unorgansied sector workers and enterprises. The programmes include National Social Security for all workers (Rs 19,400 crore for agricultural workers and Rs 12,900 crore for non-agricultural workers), creating a new Rs 5,000 crore National Fund for the unorgansed sector, 'Growth Pole' model for cluster development (Rs 5,000 crore), a package of measures for small and marginal farmers (Rs 2,000 crore) and a skill development programme (Rs 500 crore).

Chairman of the Commission Dr Arjun Sengupta told a Press Conference here that an average of eight per cent growth per annum along with appaling poverty was reflective of the divide in Indian society and manifestation of the fact that the trickle down effect has not worked. ''While the number of those who are below the official poverty line have come down in recent decades, the number of those in the broader segment of poor and vulnerable have steadily gone up,'' he said.

He said the need of the hour was a paradigm shift in the development model with focus on the 836 million people who live on an income of Rs 20 a day, described in the Report as 'marginally poor and vulnerable.' Dr Sengupta admitted that the many poverty programmes have not delivered as was apparent from the findings of the Report.

The Report entitled 'Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the unorgansied sector'. was presented yesterday to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Report brings out that 88 per cent of poor and vulnerable are scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and muslims.

''This is what 92 per cent of workers live by no social security, pitiable working conditions, extreme poverty, no education, acute gender discrimination and abscence or poorly implemented laws. The Comission's Report and recommendations could well be the window of opportunity to create a lasting and historic impact,'' Dr Sengupta said.

UNI