Editorial 1:Catalyst for change
Context: The Hema Committee report should help reform the film industry.
Introduction
At different points of time, come events that have the potential to shape the future. Whether these catalysts fulfil that potential to the fullest extent or not is in the hands of the people in their vortex. The Justice K. Hema Committee report that studied the issues faced by women in cinema, could well be one such catalyst.
About the Justice K. Hema Committee Report
- Committee composition: The three-member committee was constituted in 2017, based on a petition submitted by the Kerala-based Women in Cinema Collective, and submitted its report two years later.
- Facts discovered by committee: several paragraphs redacted, and contains unsurprising and yet disturbing revelations about the state of affairs in the film industry — discrimination, exploitation and sexual harassment of women.
- Casting couch: It has become a repugnantly accepted as a euphemism for sexual favours in exchange for a role in films.
- Unjust favours: Justice Hema points out that making the exchange of sexual favours the passkey for entry into the field itself, and normalising it and conflating it with consensual sexual activity, makes the industry inherently exploitative.
- Inequality faced by women artists: The report deals also with other inequities that disadvantage women in the industry.
- Violation of Right to Privacy: Including the lack of essential facilities such as toilets, changing rooms, safe transportation, and accommodation at the shooting spot which are violative of the right to privacy;
- Adverse discrimination: In remuneration, and a lack of binding contractual agreements.
- Stakeholder impacted: These affect the range of women across the industry — actors, technicians, make-up artists, dancers, support staff, and particularly so, women lower in the pecking order.
Way forward
The government has decided to constitute a special investigation team to go into the accusations of harassment. While the government would do well to ignore the committee’s recommendation on doing away with internal complaints committees for each film project, it must act on suggestions that call for provision of essential facilities and for structural reforms within the film industry, including professionalising it.
Conclusion
Nothing will change unless the state gets involved meaningfully in creating an equitable work space for men and women, in an industry dominated by people with great power and money, who have so far refuted the existence of such a power cartel or have remained silent. Each of the issues raised must be taken cognisance of, and acted upon. As with the #MeToo movement, Justice Hema’s report has the potential of being a catalyst to enable scores of women to speak up. It behoves the state to ensure that their complaints are not ignored, or worse still, used against them.
Editorial 2: Middle path
Context: The modified pension scheme overcomes some shortcomings of NPS
Introduction
The Centre has restored guaranteed pensions for its employees, meeting their demand halfway, and weakly trying to hold on to principles of fiscal prudence. Pension schemes around the world, whether contributory and market linked or underwritten by the exchequer, are facing a crisis, due to multiple factors, including demographic reasons.
About Pension Finances
- Pension estimates: According to the Reserve Bank of India, the total Budget estimates of various States and Union Territories for pension in 2023-24 was ₹5,22,105.4 crore, which is between 6%-21% of their total revenue receipts.
- Pensioners concern: that it is their deferred wages. It can also be argued that pensions from the exchequer are at the cost of future generations.
- Outsourcing jobs: Governments are outsourcing jobs through contracts, and resorting to innovations such as Agnipath — a short service scheme for the military services — and the ballooning of pension bills is among the reasons that drive such measures.
Impact of Governments leaving posts unfilled
- First, it negatively affects state capacity
- Second, it reduces avenues for government and public sector jobs for India’s expanding number of young job seekers.
About New Pension Scheme
- The New Pension Scheme (NPS), which was market-linked and managed by an autonomous entity, was introduced during the stock market boom.
- Two decades later, when people began retiring under the NPS — those who joined after January 1, 2004 — it turned out that they were receiving much less than what they would have got under the old scheme.
About Unified Pension Scheme
- The Middle Path: A committee led by former Finance Secretary and Cabinet Secretary-designate T.V. Somanathan devised a middle path that involves employee contributions and enhanced share from the Centre.
- The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS): approved by the Cabinet, promises a pension of 50% of the average basic pay of the last 12 months before retirement and a minimum pension of ₹10,000 for those who worked for at least 10 years.
- The Centre’s share: Towards the scheme was increased from 14% under the NPS to 18.5%, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said will ensure government employees dignity and financial security.
Conclusion
The government should note that no reform can be sustainable without broad political consensus. Social security for older people must cover the widest segment of the population. Government employees are an organised pressure group, and having managed to restore their guaranteed pension, they should wholeheartedly welcome the UPS, rather than protest against employee contribution.
