India amongst top 5 countries with largest social safety net programs: World Bank

The World Bank in its recent report titled ‘The State of Social Safety Nets 2015’, has stated that India is amongst the countries with world’s five largest social safety net programs including the middle-income nations of China, South Africa and Ethiopia. The report highlights that a growing number of developing countries are investing in social safety nets to improve the lives and livelihoods of billions of poor and vulnerable people, yet around 55% of the world’s poor or 773mn people with acute needs still lack safety net coverage, especially in lower-income countries and in urban areas. The key findings of the report are enumerated below : ·         1.9 billion people in 136 countries benefit from social safety net programs. ·         Safety net programs help reduce the poverty gap by 15%. But only 1/3 of the world's poor are covered by safety nets program with largest gaps in Sub-saharan Africa and South Asia. ·         The combined spending on social safety nets amounted to about US$329bn between 2010 and 2014. ·         Around 718mn people are enrolled in cash transfer programs, including public works, and constitute 36% of social safety net globally. Cash transfers constitute the highest share of spending in all regions except in Sub-Saharan Africa, where food and other in-kind transfers dominate. ·         On average, developing countries spend 1.6 percent of their GDP on social safety nets. This is low compared to other public policy measures such as fuel subsidies. ·         In low-income and lower-middle-income countries, social safety nets cover only 25% of the poor, compared to 64%% in upper-middle-income countries. ·         In Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where most of the global poor live, social safety nets cover one-tenth and one-fifth of the poorest 20 percent, respectively. ·         The coverage of the poor living in urban areas is lower than in rural settings. The difference amounts to about 8.5% points in low-income countries. ·         Safety net programs on average help reduce the poverty headcount rate by 8%. Safety nets also reduce the poverty gap by 15% on average of the poverty gap without safety nets. ·         Social safety nets have positive and significant impacts on education, health, and food security, but also promote households’ ability to generate income that can lead to positive effects in local economies. ·         In Nicaragua, Mexico, and Zambia, social safety nets beneficiaries are more likely to start up microenterprises by 3, 4, and 17% points, respectively with respect to non-beneficiar