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The Hindu
05-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
The technocratic calculus of India's welfare state
With a billion Aadhaar enrollments, 1,206 schemes integrated into the Direct Benefit Transfer system, and 36 grievance portals across States/Union Territories, India's welfare orientation is transitioning into a technocratic calculus. The promise to deliver social welfare at scale, bypassing leaky pipelines and eliminating ghost beneficiaries, might have led to a 're-casting' that delivers 'efficiency' and 'coverage' at the cost of 'democratic norms' and 'political accountability'. An offloading Are we witnessing the emergence of a post-rights based welfare regime? Is the Indian digital welfare state headed towards a systemic impasse? What is the technocratic calculus behind all this? Recent game-theoretic work shows that technocratic rule thrives where parties are polarised. Evidently, our questions have changed. We have shifted from 'who deserves support and why?' to 'how do we minimise leakage and maximise coverage?' Our politicians across party lines have rationally offloaded hard-choices onto data-driven algorithms without questioning the complexities of constitutional values. Contextualising Habermas's 'technocratic consciousness' and Foucault's 'governmentality', India's welfare architecture is increasingly shaped by measurable, auditable, and depoliticised rationality. Schemes such as E-SHRAM and PM KISAN embody a uni-directional, innovation-led logic that is streamlined, measurable, and intolerant of ambiguity or error. Conversely, we have deliberative calls for participatory planning and local feedback embodying the long forgotten core of democratic thinking resonating Giorgio Agamben's notion of homo sacer — a life stripped of political agency. Seemingly, welfare, in the contemporary context, has ceased to exist as a site of democratic deliberations. On a microscopic level, a rights-bearing citizen has been replaced by the auditable beneficiary. Thus, it calls for an urgent need for the state to revisit (in a Rancierean sense) whether it is curating who is visible, who can complain, and whose suffering is computable. Despite claims of a 'socialistic state', we observe a decade-low decline in India's social sector spending that has dwindled to 17% in 2024-25 from the 2014-24 average of 21%. Further, there are some interesting observations beyond plain statistics. Key social sector schemes have borne the brunt of such decline where minorities, labour, employment, nutrition and social security welfare saw a significant decline from 11% (in the pre-COVID-19 phase) to 3% (in post-COVID-19 phase). Parallely, social commentators often comment the Right to Information (RTI) regime to be in 'existential crisis' and further uncovering the cloak on RTI exposes a critical issue within the institution of dysfunctional information commissions. As of June 30, 2024, the number of pending cases crossed the four lakh tally across 29 Information Commission's (ICs), and eight CIC posts were vacant (annual report of CIC, 2023-24). The Indian welfare regime must recover its capacity for reflexivity and situated knowledge, elements that are very peculiar to gram sabhas and frontline bureaucratic discretions. To draw Rancière's critique on democracy, we highlight one major impending concern, that 'democracy depends on whose suffering is rendered visible and contestable, not merely computable'. This concern is further highlighted in Justice D.Y Chandrachud's Aadhaar dissent (2018), that warned precisely against such decontextualisation of identity which served as a caution against reducing citizens to disembedded, machinic data who are devoid of care, context, or even constitutional assurance in some cases. Another instance of algorithmic insulation Another worrisome trend is the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System's flattening of the federal hierarchies into ticket-tracking systems. Although it is a novel initiative resolving tickets and routing complaints across state agencies, empirical data show that lakhs of grievances were disposed of between 2022-24. But on a closer examination it might just be centralising the visibility but not the responsibility — a form of algorithmic insulation that renders political accountability increasingly elusive. These observations are not to dismiss the value of such initiatives. Rather, they invite a deeper conversation on how welfare governance can evolve for a more resilient and responsive state. The government should now think along the lines of 'democratic antifragility' so that our systems built on perfect data and flawless infrastructure do not fail catastrophically under stress (consider Taleb's 'hyper-integrated systems'). We need to empower States to design context-sensitive regimes where federalism and welfare push for pluralism as a feature. Institutionalising community-driven impact audits (as reiterated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty), by looping in the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and Gram Panchayat Development Plans should be the core target. All States must be made capable to build platform cooperatives where self-help groups act as intermediaries; functionally, lessons can be learnt from Kerala's Kudumbashree. Civil society must be incentivised to invest in grass-roots political education and legal aid clinics in order to strengthen the community accountability mechanisms. Lastly, it is time we strengthen and codify our offline fall-back mechanisms, human feedback safeguards, and statutory bias audits by embedding the 'right to explanation and appeal' — as proposed by the UN Human Rights for digital governance systems. Focus on the citizen We, as citizens of India, must realise that a welfare state stripped of democratic deliberations is a machine that works efficiently for everyone except those it is meant to help. For a Viksit Bharat we will have to reorient digitisation with democratic and anti-fragile principles so that citizens become partners in governance, and not mere entries in a ledger. Anmol Rattan Singh is the Co-founder of the PANJ Foundation, a Punjab-based policy research think tank. Agastya Shukla is a Programme Associate at the PANJ Foundation, a Punjab-based policy research think tank
CNA
01-08-2025
- CNA
New self-collection kiosks for passports, ICs at ICA's new Service Centre
Scroll up for the next video X New self-collection kiosks for passports, ICs at ICA's new Service Centre
The Star
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Stakeholders await details on RON95 targeted subsidy
Uncertain: Stakeholders are now awaiting information on how the RON95 targeted subsidy will be implemented. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star PETALING JAYA: Stakeholders are awaiting further details from the Finance Ministry on the implementation of the RON95 petrol targeted subsidy, which is set to benefit some 18 million Malaysians. As a detailed announcement is expected by the end of September, they say the mechanism must not be burdensome and prolong queues at petrol pumps. The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) said it will engage with the Finance Ministry before making further announcements. 'PDAM welcomes the Prime Minister's announcement to reduce the RON95 pump price to RM1.99 per litre, and we fully support the government's commitment to easing the rakyat's financial burden,' the association said when contacted. 'However, numerous grey areas remain concerning the implementation mechanism, as well as the operational and financial implications for petrol station dealers. 'These uncertainties require further clarification. 'We will be seeking direct engagement with the Finance Ministry to obtain detailed information.' The Star has also learnt that the National Registration Department (NRD) is also awaiting for the Finance Ministry's direction on how the MyKad will be used in the implementation. However, drawing on the experience of Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah, a spokesman for the department said the chip on the MyKad must be in working condition. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday that the price of RON95 petrol will soon be reduced to RM1.99 per litre under a targeted subsidy scheme with further details to be announced by the end of September. Meanwhile, content executive Tan Ah Wah, 36, said the government should come up with a refuelling system that is time efficient if the MyKad is to be used as a verification tool for fuel subsidies. 'Whenever I refuel my car, I just do it right away at the credit card terminal at the petrol pump and a full tank usually takes about three minutes. With IC verification, it may take up to 20 minutes to refuel. 'An efficient time system is essential so that we do not waste time refuelling our cars,' he added. Accountant Shakira Wong, 33, believed that using MyKad may be efficient when it comes to filtering eligible subsidy recipients but it may also prolong time at the petrol pump. 'One option would be for petrol companies to link ICs to their apps for face verification when registering. 'If still required to line-up and be verified, that's okay too but perhaps the busier stations can set-up self-order kiosks where people can just key in their IC number. 'Most foolproof way is still going to the counter as the cashier can see if the person filling is the same as the person in the IC,' she added. E-hailing driver Zamzuri Ali, 25, said there must be a digital system in place to avoid queues at the counter. 'It will be tedious if one needs to verify at the counter. It could result in long queues,' he said.
Daily Express
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
Admit Project IC wrongdoing and move on
Published on: Sunday, July 13, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jul 13, 2025 Text Size: Why don't we all acknowledge the wrongs of the past, move forward, put politics aside, address these issues for the sake of our future generations? I refer to a recent report in Daily Express headlined 'Pakistanis obtaining ICs: NRD says action taken'. NRD had taken action on one Mohd Izaz Abit who was found to have used another person's birth certificate to obtain the identity card. NRD said 'The identity card was seized after a confession was obtained from the individual and the application sponsor'. What action, if any, was taken against the individual? May NRD please clarify? Was there any criminal action against the application sponsor? NRD had checked the IC numbers of the three individuals mentioned in the Daily Express report and found that they were Malaysian citizens by operation of law. 'Project IC' for unqualified foreigners during the eighties and nineties utilised:- (1). Sijil Akuan therein was stated the person was born in such and such kampong in Sabah verified by Ketua Kampong and District Officer, and (2). Birth certificate from late registration of birth, without endorsement by the Magistrate Court which is mandatory as provided in the Sabah Birth and Death Ordinance Cap. 123. Because they were 'born' in Sabah, they were considered citizens by operation of law, Article 14 of the Federal Constitution. One example of such foreigner who is a Project IC citizen is the current Sabah Indian Congress (MIC) Chief, who was also appointed a Director of Sawit Kinabalu Plantation, a Sabah Government Linked Company. Police report on this Project IC citizen had been lodged. In January 2022, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) wanted the documents on this MIC Chief probed, and the Chief Minister had promised to investigate it. But nothing has come out of it to date. It seems that there is no political will. Did NRD check if these three individuals mentioned above were Project IC citizens? Six of the twenty-four Sabah ex-NRD officers arrested under ISA in 1995-96 for their involvement in issuing Malaysian ICs to unqualified foreigners were witnesses in the proceedings of the RCI on Immigrants in Sabah in 2013. The six NRD witnesses, which included two ex-Directors, provided consistent account of their actions, corroborating one another. How many Project ICs were issued to unqualified foreigners? The Sabah RCI proceedings disclosed that around 120,000 old blue ICs with designated serial numbers were issued to them, mostly using the Sijil Akuan. And, the number of blue ICs issued from 1963 to 2012 using birth certificates from late registrations of their birth was also disclosed: 139,010 issued by virtue of being citizens by operation of law, and 7,810 issued to persons who had to apply for their citizenship. The current electoral roll does not have these three individuals registered in it. Automatic registration as voter was implemented few years ago and the absence of their names in the roll means something is wrong. During State or general election, to get elected, politicians use rhetoric on undocumented immigrants (PTI), statelessness, holders of IMM13, Burung Burung, Sijil Banci and other Papers. Why don't we all acknowledge the wrongs of the past, move forward, put politics aside, address these issues for the sake of our future generations? Dr Chong Eng Leong The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
The Star
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
JPN says action has been taken after claims of Pakistanis obtaining ICs resurface
PUTRAJAYA: The National Registration Department (JPN) has confirmed that the allegation involving Pakistani nationals obtaining blue identity cards in Sabah is an issue that has resurfaced after first going viral in 2019. In a statement Wednesday (June 25), the department said action had been taken against one Mohd Izaz Abit after he was found to have used another person's birth certificate to obtain the identity card. "The identity card was also seized after a confession was obtained from the individual and the application sponsor," said JPN. Allegations that several Pakistani nationals had obtained blue identity cards had gone viral, with posts stating, "The Sabah JPN office is always filled with Pakistanis applying for ICs," and featuring images of the identity cards in question. According to the department, a check was also conducted on the identity card numbers and it was found that the individuals concerned were Malaysian citizens by operation of law under Article 14 of the Federal Constitution. JPN said that Abd Rauf Hamzah was a Malaysian citizen by operation of law under Article 14(1)(b), while Mohd Abzah Ulamai Dar held citizenship under Article 14(1)(a). The department said that Said Bashar Shah Zadar was a citizen by operation of law under Article 14(1)(b), with confirmation that his father had been a Malaysian citizen since March 6, 1958. It added that each applicant was responsible for proving their eligibility when applying for Malaysian citizenship. "The consideration process is subject to the conditions under Part III of the Federal Constitution, the Citizenship Rules 1964 [L.N.82/1964], as well as relevant laws on matters such as marriage registration, adoption, legitimacy of children, and immigration regulations," it said. JPN said that although the conditions allowed for submission of a citizenship application, approval was not guaranteed, as Malaysia, as a sovereign nation, does not grant citizenship arbitrarily or confer any special privileges. - Bernama
