Prithivi Man Shrestha

The government’s national directorate committee on social security has proposed ensuring minimum social security coverage to the entire Nepali population in the next 10 years.

The committee headed by National Planning Commission secretary Yubaraj Bhusal has prepared a draft of the national framework on social security that also seeks to ensure access to basis services for people irrespective of class, ethnicity, sex, age, disability and geographical location.

The proposed framework calls for introducing social insurance programmes and their expansion and reducing the risk of poverty and deprivation by providing necessary resources and inclusion measures.

As per the proposed framework, social security for people would be provided in two ways — ground floor approach and first floor approach. The first approach seeks to provide access to minimum social security to all the people irrespective of class, ethnicity, area and religion.

Minimum social security covers a basic package of ensuring rights and handing over of cash and goods as well as basic services. “The government should ensure basic social security through the use of the taxes it collects from the people,” suggests the proposed framework.

The second approach seeks to provide social security through the contribution of government agencies, the private sector, cooperatives and non-governmental organisation whose nature would be contributory and voluntary.

“The role of the state remains as a regulator and facilitator in this approach,” states the draft. A member of the directorate committee said that the ground floor approach was for universal access to basic social security, and the first floor for ensuring support from other sectors except the government which will reduce the burden on the state to provide social security to all. “The second approach is for those who can contribute to receive social security coverage,” said the committee member.

The proposed framework suggests starting providing social security to vulnerable groups and expanding the programme to higher income groups.

Other strategies included in the proposed framework are making basic services accessible to all by making a special mechanism for targeted communities, preparing a sectoral work plan to implement the national framework and revising the current social security programmes.

Currently, there are several social security programmes including senior citizen pension, allowance for widows, child protection subsidy, child delivery benefits, school tiffin programme, programmes for Dalits and the disabled, endangered communities, aid for martyrs’ families, various scholarship programmes and provision of free treatment for targeted communities.

There is a social care programme for children and senior citizens and programmes like food for work, youth selfemployment programme, and there are programmes offered by the Employees Provident Fund and the Citizens Investment Trust for employees of the organised sector.

Since fiscal 2009-10, the government has also started collecting a 1 percent social security tax on the first slab of taxable income from all government and private sector employees.

As the new three-year interim plan also mentions ensuring minimum social security for all and talks about expanding the coverage by preparing a national guideline, the government formed the directorate committee to prepare a framework of short- and long-term result-based programmes on social security.

After preparing a draft of the framework, the committee has been holding discussions with government officials, civil society, employee unions and Constituent Assembly members.

Published on: 27 January 2012 | The Kathmandu Post