Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program (PMGKY)

closed

The development objective of Accelerating India's COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program is to strengthen the capability of state and national governments in India to provide coordinated and adequate social protection to the poor and vulnerable from the impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This operation aims to support India’s response and recovery from the devastating economic impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with emphasis on accelerating social assistance through adequate safety nets for the poor and vulnerable. India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Program (PMGKY) leverages its strong e-payments platforms to re-enforce social assistance by approving additional cash payments to the poor and vulnerable identified by national programs. . Instead of creating a new pipeline to deliver cash or in-kind assistance, India is uniquely placed to use its large-scale pre-existing safety nets -which target the poor and vulnerable in large numbers -to deliver disaster responsive social protection. he program will accelerate the delivery of social assistance announced under the PMGKY package at the state and national level through three pillars: (i) Accelerating the provision of adequate social protection for the poor and vulnerable by scaling up cash/in-kind assistance through pre-existing national platforms and programs (safety nets, e-payments architecture, self-help groups and disaster management protocols); (ii) Providing robust social protection for essential workers involved in Coronavirus (COVID-19) relief efforts; and (iii) Ensuring vulnerable groups have access to PMGKY benefits through reform measures aimed at expanding points of last-mile delivery. The third pillar is critical to ensure migrants and informal workers at risk of exclusion can avail of social protection at this time of crisis.