Social Welfare ‘Schemes’ to an Economic Security ‘System’

This chapter synthesizes our arguments with a discussion on how to re-organize the ideas and praxis of social welfare policy in India with a perspective into the future. We argue that fostering development resilience—as the scope of social welfare programs—requires a stronger citizen-state social contract, a pact which recognizes human deprivation not only as material poverty but also along multiple dimensions of well-being. Social welfare programs, therefore, must be thought of as multiple forms of support—with a focus on deprivations along the life-cycle—which together comprise a risk absorbing social welfare ‘system.’ The ability to foster a resilient development process in the future would require this system to be complemented with strong public systems—infrastructure and citizen empowerment—which enable citizens to attain their human capabilities once the risks are taken care of. Building such a welfare system would not only require greater fiscal space—through tax revenues, resources, and rationalization of subsidies—and strengthened state capacity to improve last-mile delivery, but also a prescient understanding of the newer risks and vulnerabilities in the context of rapid economic and social change.