Introduction:
Enhancing employment
opportunities for people with disabilities is one of the main concerns of the disability
sector in India. When one looks at the micro level, it may seem like there has
been progress. There is increased awareness amongst Corporates and people with
disabilities. There has been pressure on the Government to implement The
Disability Act, 1995. Even though there was no law mandating the private sector
to employ disabled people, some companies have taken proactive measures to
employ disabled people. The picture seems positive!
However, the following finding of
the World Bank Report ‘People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to
Outcomes’ released in 2007, tells a different story!
The employment rate of disabled
people has actually fallen from 42.7% in 1991 down to 37.6 % in 2002. According
to the employment projection given in the Eleventh Plan, in the Chapter
‘Employment Perspective and Labour Policy’, “58 million job opportunities will
be created in the Eleventh Plan period leading to a reduction in the
unemployment rate to below 5%. Over the longer period up to 2016–17, spanning
the Eleventh and Twelfth Plan periods, the additional employment opportunities created
are estimated at 116 million. The unemployment rate at the end of the Twelfth
Plan period is projected to fall to a little over 1%.”
There is a wide gap between the
employment rate of people with and without disabilities in the country.
Therefore, the above target for bringing down the unemployment rate cannot be achieved
without addressing the employment issues of people with disabilities, who
constitute about 5-6% of the population. It would require proactive initiative
on the part of all concerned to ensure that disability is included in the employment
programmes of the Government and the private sector.
The Ministries responsible for Employment at the
Central level are:
(1) Ministry of Labour & Employment,
(2) Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions,
(3) Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation,
(4) Ministry of Commerce & Industry,
(5) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises;
(6) Ministry of Rural Development.
(7) Ministry of Human Resource Development,
(8) Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment,
which is the nodal Ministry for disability.
1.
Ministry of Labour & Employment (ML&E)
The responsibility of the
Ministry of Labour & Employment is to protect and safeguard the interests
of workers in general and those who are disabled, poor, deprived and disadvantaged sections of
the society in particular, with due regard to creating a healthy work
environment for higher production and productivity and to develop and
coordinate vocational skill training and employment services.
2.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MPPP)
The Ministry of Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions is a coordinating agency of the Central Government in
personnel matters, especially in respect of issues concerning recruitment,
training, career development, staff welfare and post retirement dispensation.
The Ministry also works towards promotion of responsive, people-oriented and
modern administration.
3.
The Ministry of Urban Employment & Poverty Alleviation
The Ministry is the apex
authority at the national level to formulate policies, sponsor and support programmes,
coordinate the activities of various Central Ministries, State Governments and
other nodal authorities and monitor the programmes concerning all the issues of
urban employment, poverty and housing in the country.
4.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MC&I)
The Ministry formulates and
implements the Foreign Trade Policy, responsible for matters relating to multilateral
and bilateral commercial relations, state trading, export promotion measures
and development and regulation of certain export oriented industries and
commodities.
5.
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)
The Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises constitute over 90% of total enterprises and are credited with
generating the highest rates of employment growth and account for a major share
of industrial production and exports. This sector employs an estimated 31
million persons spread over 12.8 million enterprises and the labour intensity
in the MSE sector is estimated to be almost 4 times higher than the large enterprises.
6.
Ministry of Rural Development
The Ministry of Rural Development
implements schemes for generation of self employment and wage employment,
provision of housing and minor irrigation assets to rural poor, social
assistance to the destitute and Rural Roads.
7.
Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD)
Main objectives of the Department
of Higher Education of the Government of India can be stated to be the
following:
(1) Laying down of National Policy on Education,
and overseeing its implementation;
(2) Planned development (including expansion of
access and qualitative improvement) of University & Higher Education, and
Technical Education with special attention to disadvantaged groups, e.g. Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Girls, Minorities and Disabled;
(3) Development of Indian Languages;
(4) Scholarships to deserving students;
(5) Promotion of Books and (6) International Cooperation
with UNESECO.
8.
The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
It is entrusted with the welfare,
social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised section of the
society viz, Scheduled Caste, Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities, Aged
Persons, and Victims of Drug Abuse etc. Basic objective of the policies,
programmes, law and institution of the Indian welfare system is to bring the
target groups into the mainstream of development by making them self-reliant.
Self-Employment
and Poverty Alleviation Schemes
Self-Employment was considered as
the most “suitable” or as the “only option” available for disabled people in
India for a very long time and the focus of most NGOs was to prepare people for
self- employment. In the NGO Research Study conducted by NCPEDP in 1998, of the
disabled people who have been placed in jobs, 51.85% were actually
self-employed. 47.5% of disabled people placed in employment were earning less
than Rs. 1000/- a month and 88% were getting an income of less than Rs. 2000/-
a month.
Self-Employment is certainly an
important option for people in general across socio-economic levels, including
people with disabilities. The Ministries responsible for promoting
self-employment are Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Housing &
Poverty Alleviation and Ministry of Rural Development. There are also Financial
Institutions/Banks, like SIDBI, RRB, etc. which promote self-employment.
The Disability Act, 1995 mandates 3% reservation
for disabled people in all poverty alleviation schemes.
Sheltered
and Supported Employment
Some disability NGOs have
Production Centres, where people with disabilities produce items for sale. They
make craft items, candles, stationary items, greeting cards, etc. These are
generally seasonal. Studies have shown that most of these initiatives are not
successful in terms of generating income for people with disabilities who are
working there. They are more like vocational training centres and people with
disability get a meagre stipend.
These organisations have the
potential to work like enterprises. However, they lack the necessary skills to
develop them as profit making ventures.
Conclusion:
The Persons with Disabilities Act
has made very bold provisions for promoting competitive employments for the
persons with disabilities. The outcome of these provisions would, however, depend
upon its effective implementation. Similarly a number of State Governments have
enacted legislation on job reservation.
All these techniques on promoting
employment are not mutually exclusive. A combination of various approaches may
be very effective in expediting employment. Whatsoever approach is selected,
the focus should always be the individual. The client centred approach is most
essential. The economic rehabilitation should definitely be the ultimate
objective of any rehabilitation programme.
References
·
https://www.dnis.org/Employment.pdf
·
Planning Commission; Eleventh
Five Year Plan (2007-2012)
·
Volume 1; Chapter 4 Employment
Perspective and Labour Policy
·
Volume 1; Chapter 5 Skill Development
& Training
·
Volume 1; Chapter 6: ‘Empowering
Persons with Disabilities’: Social Justice: Scheduled Caste, Schedule Tribe,
Other Backward Classes, Minorities and other Vulnerable Groups
·
Volume 2: Chapter 1.2. Secondary
Education and Vocational Education (VE)
·
Volume 2: Chapter 1.3. Higher
& Technical Education
·
Volume 3: Chapter 5 Ensuring
Rural & Urban Livelihoods
·
Volume 3; Chapter 7.1 Industry
including Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
·
Volume 3; Chapter 11 Urban
Infrastructure Housing, Basic Services and Poverty Alleviation
No comments:
Post a Comment