Shiv Sahay Singh’s
story titled ‘Death by
digital exclusion: On faulty public distribution system in Jharkhand’ published
in The
Hindu was declared the winner of the inaugural K. P. Narayana
Kumar Memorial Award for Social Impact Journalism.
The award
was instituted as an effort to keep alive the legacy of K. P. Narayana Kumar, a
graduate of the ACJ from the Class of 2001, who passed away last year [Read obituary].
This award was made possible thanks to the efforts of the school’s alumni from
the same batch.
The
final jury comprising Senthil Chengalvarayan (Chairperson), Vidya Subrahmaniam
and Jose Martin Tharakan chose the winners from ten shortlisted entries.
The
award, which comprises a trophy, a citation and INR 1,00,000/- in prize money,
was presented to the winner by the Chief Guest Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief
Scientist of the World Health Organisation, at the online Commencement Lecture
for ACJ Class of 2020-2021.
The
jury’s citation read as follows:
“The K P
Narayana Kumar Memorial Award for social impact journalism was instituted to
recognise reportage that identifies latent social problems, gives a voice to
those affected and points to potential remedies. The unanimous pick for the
inaugural award is Shiv Sahay Singh’s “Death by digital exclusion: On faulty public
distribution in Jharkhand,” published in The Hindu.
The article stood above the rest for its focus on how ostensible reforms to a
government scheme can often adversely impact those who need it the most due to
flaws in design and implementation.”
“Digitisation
and Aadhaar verification of potential beneficiaries were meant to plug
leakages in the Public Distribution System (PDS). However, Singh’s
on-the-ground reporting shows that in tribal villages of Jharkhand the
system has created more problems than it has solved. For example, those
who have not been able to meet the criteria of having a ration card and a
linked Aadhaar number have been excluded from receiving foodgrains. Lack of internet
connectivity in remote villages means that point of sale machines used for
tracking deliveries do not work.”
“The
report points out that fixing connectivity alone may not be the solution. The
cancellation of ration cards held by those who really require them indicates a
need to rethink a digitisation-at-all costs approach. Singh’s article
highlights a series of deaths that are seen as a consequence of a patchy
PDS accentuated by the poor implementation of the other major rural safety
net in India, the job guarantee scheme.”
“The state
government denies these deaths are caused by starvation. The scale of the
challenge is conveyed by his interviews with people who have been pushed to a
precarious existence by policy experiments that on paper are meant to safeguard
their entitlements. The potential benefits of digital transformation have been
well advertised by the Narendra Modi Government. Many have adapted to the
disruptions such a transformation entails. Sahay’s report is a
timely reminder that for those on the margins, these disruptions may be
the last straw.”