Latest news with #PradhanMantriKisanSamman
Mint
05-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Indira Rajaraman: Reduce uncertainty at the base of India's pyramid
The air in early May was thick with threats from across the border of drones and debris. Do these threats affect people differently depending on where they are situated on the socio-economic ladder? For people at the base of the pyramid, cross- border threats just add to everyday uncertainties. These are plain ordinary uncertainties, unconnected to job threats from artificial intelligence or tariff threats to export sector jobs. In urban India, dwellers in informal settlements live under the perennial threat of eviction. As gross domestic product (GDP) goes up, and with that urban real estate values, eviction possibilities increase. Service shacks in upscale localities supplying tea and other essentials operate under the threat of demolition, a threat directly proportional to their success. Also Read: Indian gig workers who offer mobility services deserve GST relief After six decades of research on poverty, to which I was an early contributor, we really know very little about coping strategies at the base of the pyramid. There are those who are poor with stagnant incomes but stable. There are those whose fortunes fluctuate, accompanied most usually by locational uncertainty. I have researched the mutual insurance function of groups which put together a uniform monthly sum and allocate these pots sequentially to all members according to need (the highest bid). But these require locational stability among group members. The spread of education and smartphones offers roving gig-work possibilities (given its ease of entry and exit) in urban centres. The common gig options are food delivery, guarding residences and personal health care. A 2023 paper by Bornali Bhandari and co-authors (confined to food delivery) shows that gig workers have more years of schooling than the average urban worker in the same age cohort; earn higher wages (uncorrected for the difference in education); but work longer hours. What happens to those higher gig earnings? Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | Insta Maids: Keep this gig idea under watch The explosive growth of digital payments has meant easier transfers of money than previously possible. Paradoxically, this very ease may have lowered control over earnings for gig workers. A median monthly gig earning of ₹20,000 is 40 times the annual income support of ₹6,000 received by a farming family under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman scheme. Enlarged earnings should normally be saved, as theory suggests. Gross household financial savings as a percentage of GDP should have risen, but are actually lower, by the latest data for three post-covid years from 2021-22 to 2023-24 (average of 11%), as compared to the three pre-covid years from 2017-18 to 2019-20 (average of 12%). Of course, the aggregate percentage is substantially shaped by the upper income deciles. The deployment of the gig earning spike is typically decided by a family patriarch. It can go towards coaching fees for a brother for entrance examinations to professional schools (a gamble, as the success percentage of coaching centres is dismally low). It can go towards health expenditures for family, extending to remote kin, where such assistance can dissolve later into fractious disputes. Weddings are another sink into which earning spikes disappear irretrievably. Even engagement events in urban informal settlements, to which rural relations of the groom demand to be transported at the expense of the bride's family, can be a financial wipe-out. Also Read: Social security for gig workers must aim for a balance of flexibility A respondent to a Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) would report these as 'essential,' because that is how they are perceived. That is congruent with tabulated findings of the unit-level data from the January 2025 CCS by Roshan Kishore. The monthly earning class of ₹10,000-25,000 (the gig earning range) has the largest percentage reporting an increase in 'essential spending,' despite a higher proportion reporting an income decrease relative to those reporting an increase, over the previous year. These claims periodically erode the gig worker's financial certainty and deny an overall sense of advancement. The 'JAM trinity' (Jan Dhan bank account-Aadhaar-mobile) that activated the base of the pyramid also enables family obligations. Also Read: Worker scarcity: Low-wage labour in India is crying out for a quantum leap in pay Several initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat have relieved to some degree the pressure from exogenous health shocks. But one type of health shock is totally preventable: the kind arising from traffic accidents, particularly from the failure to enforce helmets among two-wheeler riders. A 2024 report on road safety from the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre at IIT Delhi shows that on urban roads, helmet usage among two-wheeler drivers was below 50% in five states, and among pillion riders below 50% in all but two states. In rural stretches including highways, helmets are largely non-existent. Popular movies like Three Idiots popularized helmet defiance. Enforcing helmet usage is doable. It will reduce the crush of patients in trauma centres and raise household financial savings by protecting new labour-force entrants from essential expenditures on family health claims. Enforcement will work only if, like vehicle insurance, helmet protection is made a requirement for vehicle use. Nothing prevents us from doing the best we can within our borders to reduce uncertainty by eliminating preventable accidents and injury. A helmet on a pole is a poignant symbol of a fallen soldier. A helmet on a head can equivalently be a symbol of a state that protects its people. The author is an economist.
News18
25-05-2025
- Business
- News18
PM Kisan Enrollment: New Farmers Can Join Scheme Before May 31 Deadline; What You Need To Do
Last Updated: PM Kisan: The 20th installment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is expected to be released around next month in June 2025. Check how to enroll under PM-Kisan and do eKYC. PM Kisan Enrollment Drive: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has initiated a saturation drive from May 1 to May 31, 2025. The goal is to ensure that all eligible farmers receive benefits under the PM-KISAN scheme. This drive aims not only to verify current beneficiaries but also to enroll new eligible farmers who have not yet registered. State authorities and local administrations have been directed to support and facilitate the drive at the village level. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM Kisan) is a key initiative designed to offer financial assistance to small and marginal farmers in India. What You Need To Do: To become an eligible farmers under PM Kisan, the beneficiary must complete three things: eKYC, link Bank account with Aadhaar card, and verify the land records. These tasks must be completed before May 31, 2025 if a farmer wants to become eligible under PM-Kisan. पीएम किसान सैचुरेशन ड्राइव: 1 मई से 31 मई 2025 तक सुनिश्चित करें कि कोई भी पात्र किसान लाभ से वंचित न रहे।आज ही eKYC कराएं, आधार से बैंक खाता लिंक करें और भूमि रिकॉर्ड सत्यापित करवाएं।निकटतम जन सेवा केंद्र जाएं और योजना का लाभ पाएं। #Agriculture #PMKisan #20thinstalment — PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (@pmkisanofficial) May 20, 2025 eKYC can be done by the beneficiary farmer by himself/herself without any requirement of third-party. Use the Face Authentication feature and follow the given instructions to complete your eKYC. When Will 20th Installment To Be Released? The 20th installment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi is expected to be released around next month in June 2025. The Rs 2000 amount is credited in the gap of three months. So, the 19th installment of PM Kisan, totaling Rs 22,000 crore, was disbursed in February via the DBT (Direct Beneficiary Transfer) scheme. This means the next installment will be disbursed in June 2025. PM Kisan: How To Check Beneficiary Status? 1) Visit the official website — 2) Now, click on the tab 'Know Your Status' on the right side of the page. 3) Enter your registration number and fill in the Captcha Code, and select the 'Get Data' option. Your beneficiary status will appear on the screen. Step 1: Visit the PM Kisan official website Step 2: Click on the 'Beneficiary list' tab. Step 3: Select details from the drop-down menu, such as state, district, sub-district, block, and village. Step 4: Click on the 'Get report' tab. After this, the beneficiary list will be displayed. You can call on the helpline numbers — 155261 and 011-24300606. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN News18. Stay updated with all the latest business news, including market trends, stock updates, tax, IPO, banking finance, real estate, savings and investments. Get in-depth analysis, expert opinions, and real-time updates—only on News18. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 25, 2025, 11:46 IST
