Policy Reforms and Social Welfare Initiatives of UPA Government 2004-2014: RTI, MGNREGA, NFSA, and More

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) central government, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2014, marked a decade of significant policy reforms and social welfare initiatives. Building on the economic liberalization of the 1990s, the government focused on inclusive growth, rights-based legislation, and strengthening India’s position on the global stage.

1. Right to Information (RTI) Act

• Decision: Enactment of a landmark law to empower citizens by providing them access to information held by public authorities.
• Date: June 15, 2005. It came into full effect on October 12, 2005.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, combating corruption and ensuring greater public participation in governance.
  • Mechanism: Allows citizens to request information from government bodies, with a stipulated timeframe for response.
  • Impact: Revolutionized citizen-government interaction, making governance more open and accessible. It became a powerful tool for activists and ordinary citizens to question government decisions and seek accountability.

2. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

• Decision: A social security measure that guarantees 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do unskilled manual work.
• Date: Passed in September 2005, implemented in phases from February 2, 2006.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It also aimed at creating durable assets (e.g., roads, water harvesting structures).
  • Impact: A transformative anti-poverty program, it significantly boosted rural incomes, reduced distress migration, and contributed to asset creation in villages. It became a global benchmark for employment guarantee schemes.

3. National Food Security Act (NFSA)

• Decision: A law that aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s population.
• Date: Signed into law on September 12, 2013, retroactive to July 5, 2013.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To provide for food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices.
  • Provisions: Entitles priority households to 5 kg of food grains per person per month at highly subsidized prices (Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains respectively). Antyodaya Anna Yojana households receive 35 kg per household per month.
  • Impact: A major step towards realizing the right to food, aimed at addressing chronic hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable sections of society.

4. Bharat Nirman Yojana

• Decision: A large-scale government program to build and upgrade rural infrastructure across six key areas.
• Launch Date: 2005.
• Key Facts:
  • Objectives: To create infrastructure for rural India in a time-bound manner across six components:
    1. Rural Roads: Connecting all habitations with a population of 1000 (500 in hilly/tribal areas) with all-weather roads.
    2. Rural Housing: Constructing 60 lakh (6 million) additional houses for the rural poor under Indira Awaas Yojana.
    3. Rural Water Supply: Providing safe drinking water to all villages.
    4. Rural Electrification: Providing electricity to all villages and connections to all rural households.
    5. Irrigation: Creating additional irrigation potential of 10 million hectares.
    6. Rural Telecommunication Connectivity: Connecting all villages with a telephone.
  • Impact: Significant progress was made across these sectors, particularly in rural road connectivity, housing, and electrification, contributing to improved quality of life and economic activity in rural areas.

5. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

• Decision: A massive city-modernization scheme to drive planned development in Indian cities.
• Launch Date: December 2005 (for a seven-year period, 2005-2012).
• Key Facts:
  • Objectives: To encourage reforms and investments in urban infrastructure and services, aiming to create economically productive, efficient, equitable, and responsive cities. Focused on urban infrastructure, housing for the urban poor, and urban reforms.
  • Coverage: Initially covered 63 mission cities, including all million-plus cities and state capitals.
  • Components: Had two sub-missions: Urban Infrastructure and Governance (UIG) under the Ministry of Urban Development, and Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
  • Impact: Significant investments were made in urban infrastructure, public transport, water supply, sanitation, and housing for the urban poor. It marked a major shift towards focused urban development, though outcomes varied across cities.

6. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Aadhaar

• Decision: Establishment of an authority to issue a unique identification number (Aadhaar) to all residents of India.
• UIDAI Established: January 2009.
• First Aadhaar Card Issued: September 29, 2010.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To create a robust, verifiable, and de-duplicated identity for every resident, aiming to streamline the delivery of public services and subsidies, reduce fraud, and promote financial inclusion.
  • Mechanism: Based on biometric data (fingerprints, iris scans) and demographic information.
  • Impact: Aadhaar became the world’s largest biometric ID system, laying the foundation for digital public infrastructure and enabling direct benefit transfers (DBT) for various government schemes, significantly reducing leakages and corruption.

7. National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

• Decision: A flagship program to provide accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to the rural population, especially vulnerable groups.
• Launch Date: April 12, 2005.
• Key Facts:
  • Objectives: To strengthen primary healthcare, improve access to healthcare for the poor, reduce infant and maternal mortality, and ensure a functional, community-owned, decentralized health delivery system.
  • Key Interventions: Mobilized community health workers (ASHA – Accredited Social Health Activists), strengthened public health infrastructure (Sub-centres, PHCs, CHCs), and focused on maternal and child health.
  • Impact: Led to significant improvements in health indicators, particularly in reducing infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR), and improved access to institutional deliveries in rural areas.

8. Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008

• Decision: A one-time waiver of agricultural loans for small and marginal farmers and debt relief for other farmers.
• Announcement: Presented in the Union Budget 2008-09.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To provide relief to indebted farmers facing distress due to successive droughts and other crises, and to enable them to access fresh credit.
  • Coverage: Covered direct agricultural loans from commercial banks, regional rural banks, and cooperative credit institutions.
  • Provisions: Waived the entire eligible amount for small and marginal farmers, and provided a 25% one-time settlement (OTS) rebate for other farmers on repayment of 75% of the eligible amount.
  • Impact: Provided significant immediate relief to millions of farmers, though its long-term impact on agrarian distress and credit discipline was debated.

9. Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010

• Decision: Enactment of a law to provide for civil liability for nuclear damage and prompt compensation to victims of a nuclear incident.
• Date: Passed in August 2010.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To create a legal framework for compensation in case of a nuclear incident and to enable India to join international nuclear liability regimes.
  • Key Provisions: Established a no-fault liability regime for the operator, capped the operator’s liability, and included a controversial “right to recourse” allowing the operator to sue the supplier in certain cases.
  • Impact: A crucial step towards engaging in international civil nuclear trade, particularly with the US, as it addressed a key concern of foreign nuclear suppliers regarding liability.

10. India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Agreement

• Decision: A landmark bilateral agreement that allowed India to resume full civil nuclear cooperation with other countries, ending its nuclear isolation.
• Initial Agreement Signed: July 18, 2005 (Joint Statement).
• Final Agreement Signed: October 10, 2008.
• Key Facts:
  • Objective: To enable India to gain access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel from the international market while maintaining its nuclear weapons program outside international safeguards.
  • Significance: Reversed decades of sanctions against India’s nuclear program, recognizing India as a responsible nuclear power with advanced nuclear technology.
  • Impact: A major foreign policy achievement, it opened avenues for India’s energy security and significantly strengthened India-U.S. strategic ties. It also led to similar agreements with other countries like France and Russia.

11. Expansion of Higher Education and Research

• Decision: Significant expansion of institutions and initiatives in higher education.
• Key Facts:
  • New IITs, IIMs, Central Universities: Established 8 new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 7 new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and several new Central Universities across the country to expand access to quality higher education.
  • Right to Education (RTE) Act (2009): Made education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14, mandating free and compulsory education and setting norms for schools.
  • National Knowledge Commission (2005): Set up to advise the Prime Minister on policies related to education, research, and innovation.
  • Impact: Addressed the growing demand for higher education and skilled manpower, promoting inclusive access and aiming to improve the quality of education at all levels.

12. Economic Growth and Global Integration

• Trend/Focus: Continuation of economic reforms and integration with the global economy.
• Key Facts:
  • High GDP Growth: India experienced robust economic growth during much of this period, often achieving 8-9% annual GDP growth rates, prior to the global financial crisis.
  • FDI Liberalization: Continued liberalization of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in various sectors like retail, aviation, and insurance.
  • Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act (2005): Enacted to attract investment, promote exports, and create employment by establishing special industrial hubs with tax incentives.
  • Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Increased emphasis on PPPs for infrastructure development, particularly in highways, airports, and power projects.
  • Trade Liberalization: Continued reduction of tariffs and promotion of trade agreements to boost exports and integrate India into global supply chains.
  • Global Financial Crisis Response (2008): The government’s and RBI’s swift and coordinated fiscal and monetary responses helped India weather the global economic downturn better than many developed economies.
  • Impact: Maintained India’s trajectory as a rapidly growing economy, attracting significant foreign investment and enhancing its role in global economic forums like the G20, where Manmohan Singh played a key role.

13. Enhanced “Look East” Policy

• Decision: Continued and enhanced focus on India’s engagement with Southeast Asian and East Asian countries.
• Key Facts:
  • Deepened Engagement: Intensified political, economic, and strategic ties with ASEAN nations, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
  • Strategic Partnerships: Forged and deepened strategic partnerships with countries like Japan (e.g., Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement).
  • Multilateral Forums: Active participation in regional forums like the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
  • Impact: Diversified India’s foreign policy and economic linkages, promoting trade, investment, and strategic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Other Significant Initiatives and Events:

• National Urban Health Mission (NUHM – 2013): Launched as a sub-mission of the overarching National Health Mission (NHM) to address healthcare needs in urban areas.
• Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS – 2009): A centrally sponsored scheme aimed at building a protective environment for children in difficult circumstances.
• Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT – 2013): Introduced to reform government delivery system by re-engineering the existing process in welfare schemes for simpler, faster, and transparent flow of information and funds directly to the beneficiaries.
• GST Bill Introduction (2011): While not implemented during his tenure, the constitutional amendment bill for Goods and Services Tax (GST) was first introduced in Parliament in 2011 by the UPA government, laying the groundwork for a major tax reform.
• Commonwealth Games 2010 (Delhi): Hosted a major international sporting event, showcasing India’s capabilities, though it also faced significant controversy regarding corruption and delays.

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This overview captures many of the critical decisions and policy directions of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. His tenure was characterized by a push for inclusive growth, rights-based governance, and a proactive engagement with the world.

Please note that compiling an exhaustive list of all decisions by a government over a decade is incredibly challenging. While this article covers many of the major and widely discussed initiatives, it is not an entirely comprehensive list, and some decisions or specific aspects may have been omitted for brevity.