Capacity Development Workshop on Measuring Social Protection, BPS-Statistics Indonesia, Jakarta, May 14-16, 2013

Monitoring Social Protection: The Experience of India

Dr. Praveen Shukla, Central Statistics Office, India (www.mospi.nic.in)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper/presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Socio-Economic Profile of India

As per Census 2011
Total Population 1211 Millions Child Population (0-6 years) -164.5 Millions Work Participation Rate 39.8%

Poverty Estimate (2009-10) 29.8%

(Rural33.8%, Urban20.9%)

Self Employed Workers- 51.0% (NSS 2009-10) Casual Labour 33.5% (NSS 2009-10) Per Capita Income (2012-13) Rs. 5729 per month
(Approx US$100 )

A Few Major Social Protection Schemes in India

Scheme Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Purpose To improve the nutritional and health status of children below the age of 6 years and that of pregnant and lactating mothers and adolescent girls School feeding program for children in Grade I-VIII Stipends for school enrollment to target groups like SC, ST etc.

Midday Meals Schools Stipends

Public Distribution System (PDS) Supply of subsidized food and non-food items to the poor

A Few Major Social Protection Schemes in India

Scheme Purpose

Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

To provide houses to the poor in the rural areas

Mahatma Gandhi National Guarantees 100 days of Rural Employment Guarantee wage-employment per rural Scheme (MGNREGS) household per year whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) Subsidized health insurance scheme for unorganised sector workers from BPL category and their family

Monitoring Social Protection Schemes

Processes
By setting up of committees to monitor the processes Social audit by independent agencies

Output
Monitoring progressive expenditure Outreach of schemes in terms of total number of beneficiaries

Outcome indicators
Outcomes like reduction in poverty, mortality, improvement in nutrition level etc.

Measuring Output and Outcome

Based on administrative data Estimates thrown by sample surveys Numbers thrown by population censuses

Population Census & Socio-Economic Caste Census

Population Census is done every 10th year. Last Census was in 2011. Population Census 2011 has been followed by a SocioEconomic Caste Census where apart from other information following information has been collected.
Household member-wise information about
Educational level, Main Source of income, Wages earned (daily, weekly, monthly, irregular etc.,) Disability, Chronic Illness

Household level information

About dwelling unit, Amenities like drinking water, light etc. Whether household possesses Refrigerator, Telephone Computer etc.

Household Surveys in India

Nation-wide large scale household sample surveys are undertaken by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. Some major subjects on which NSSO conducts household surveys are
Consumer Expenditure Employment and Unemployment Debts and Investment Health, Hygiene and Sanitation Social Consumption Housing Condition etc.

Besides, there are other Ministries also which conduct household surveys e.g.
National Family Health Survey (NFHS) by Ministry of Health & Family welfare, Employment Unemployment Survey by Ministry of Labour & Employment etc.

NSSO Surveys During the Last 5 Years

Roun d No. 65 66 67 Period of Survey Jul 2008 - June 2009 Jul 2009 - June 2010 Jul 2010 - June 2011 Subject of Enquiry Domestic tourism, housing condition, particulars of slums Consumer expenditure & employmentunemployment Un-incorporated non-agricultural enterprises ( excluding construction )

68
69 70

Jul 2011 - June 2012

Jul 2012 - Dec. 2012 Jan 2013 Dec 2013

Consumer expenditure & employment unemployment

Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, housing conditions and urban slums Land and livestock holdings, debt & investment, situation assessment survey of agricultural households

Major Objectives of Household Consumer Expenditure Surveys of NSSO

Level of living, Distribution of population by monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), Inequality and poverty,

Level of nutrition, in terms of intake of protein, fat etc., of different regions and disparities thereof,
Weighting diagram for Consumer Price Indices (CPI), Analysis of demand and supply of commodities and services

Major Objectives of Household Employment and Unemployment Surveys of NSSO

Indicators of employment and unemployment at national and state level e.g. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR) etc. Activity status, industry, occupation of persons along with education particulars,

Employment in informal sector, wages of employees etc.

For developing employment strategy, For estimating GDP using sector-wise workforce participation, Analysing the condition of labour market

Information captured in household consumer expenditure survey and employment-unemployment survey of NSSO pertaining to social protection
Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE) - used for working out poverty estimates for different social groups

Member-wise information on number of meals taken from school, balwadi etc.

Consumption of goods at household level from PDS shops Member-wise information is collected on work in MGNREG scheme

Availability of social security benefits to the members who are working

Monitoring of Programmes
Monitoring of different programmes is done by the nodal Ministries as per the mechanisms devised by them,
Besides,
Monitoring and Evaluation is done by Planning Commission,

Delivery Monitoring Unit (DMU) in the Prime Ministers Office

Monitoring of some of the programmes is done by Programme Implementation Wing of MOS&PI also.

National Level Monitoring by Ministry of Rural Development

National Level Monitoring of Rural Development Programmes 2012-13

Monitoring done by third party independent individual/institutional National Level Monitors (NLMs),
NLMs reports contain
Analysing the situation of the programme, Determining whether the inputs in the programme are well utilised, Identifying problems facing the community and finding the solutions, Ensuring all activities carried out properly by the right people and in time, Determining the appropriateness of programme planning for achieving its objectives.

National Level Monitoring of Rural Development Programmes 2012-13

3177 villages in 945 blocks from 318 districts of 27 states were covered, The blocks/villages were randomly selected, Information was collected on structured formats for each programme, Data was entered online on a customised web based application which was in turn collated and analysed for preparing all India report

Challenges in Monitoring Social Protection

For monitoring schemes effectively, the same needs to be done at more micro level resulting in requirement of statistics at local level i.e. block or village level, Due to its large size and diversity, huge resources are required for fulfilling the data needs for proper monitoring of schemes in India,
Greater emphasis on financial/ physical progress reporting than on outcome or impact.

A Few Suggestions Regarding Monitoring of Social Protection Schemes

Due consideration to the monitoring aspect of the scheme, along with the cost involved therein, needs to be given at the time of designing it,
Monitoring needs to be done not only at macro level but also at micro level for which capacity should be developed, Statistical system at all level, from macro to micro level, should be involved to cater the data needs for the said purpose, Suitable survey techniques need to be developed to meet the data requirements,

Help of civil society organisations may be taken in monitoring the delivery mechanisms of such schemes.