Mains Practice Questions for the Day
- Q. “The Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 seeks to balance workers’ immediate financial needs with long-term retirement security while strengthening employer accountability.” Examine.
- Q. The Santal Hul of 1855 was not merely an uprising against colonial rule but also a struggle against land alienation, displacement and the erosion of community belonging. Discuss.
Q. “The Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 seeks to balance workers’ immediate financial needs with long-term retirement security while strengthening employer accountability.” Examine.
(UPSC GS Paper II: Social Justice, Labour Welfare, Government Policies and Social Security)
Introduction:
The Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme, 2026, notified under the Code on Social Security, 2020, replaces the EPF Scheme, 1952. It modernises provident-fund administration by simplifying partial withdrawals, clarifying contribution rules and strengthening protection for contract workers.
Body
Major Reform Features
- Simplified withdrawals: The earlier 13 categories have been consolidated into essential needs, housing needs and specified special circumstances.
- Improved liquidity: Members can withdraw for illness, education, marriage and housing after fulfilling prescribed conditions, generally after 12 months of membership.
- Minimum balance safeguard: A member must ordinarily retain 25% of the aggregate fund balance, protecting part of the retirement corpus.
- Unemployment protection: Full withdrawal is permitted after one year of unemployment.
- Contribution flexibility: The mandatory contribution remains generally 12% each by employee and employer, while employees may voluntarily contribute above the wage ceiling or at a higher rate.
- Contract-worker protection: Even where a contractor deposits contributions, the principal employer remains ultimately liable, reducing evasion through outsourcing.
- Continuity for international workers: Existing coverage and withdrawal provisions continue, subject to Social Security Agreements.
Significance
The scheme improves access to savings during emergencies, simplifies compliance and enhances accountability. It also aligns provident-fund regulation with the broader labour-code framework and gives workers greater flexibility in retirement planning.
Concerns
Frequent withdrawals may erode retirement savings. Digital exclusion, delayed employer deposits, low worker awareness and weak enforcement against defaulting contractors may limit its benefits. Retaining only 25% may also be inadequate for low-income workers.
Way Forward
EPFO should strengthen real-time contribution alerts, grievance redressal, multilingual awareness, financial counselling and digital tracking of contractors and principal employers.
Conclusion:
The 2026 Scheme is a worker-oriented reform, but its success depends on balancing short-term liquidity, long-term social security and effective employer compliance.
Q. The Santal Hul of 1855 was not merely an uprising against colonial rule but also a struggle against land alienation, displacement and the erosion of community belonging. Discuss.
(UPSC GS Paper I: Modern Indian History, Tribal Uprisings and Indian Society)
Introduction:
The Santal Hul of 1855, led by Sido and Kanhu Murmu from Bhognadih, was one of the most significant tribal uprisings against British rule. Beginning on 30 June 1855, it emerged from rising revenue demands, indebtedness, exploitation by intermediaries and the weakening of Santal control over land. The rebellion also represented a wider struggle to protect dignity, cultural autonomy and community belonging.
Body
Colonial Settlement and Creation of a Homeland
In 1832, the British demarcated Damin-i-Koh along the Rajmahal Hills and encouraged Santals to settle there. Their objectives were to clear forests, expand cultivation and increase revenue.
Through collective labour, the Santals:
- Cleared forests and cultivated uncultivated land.
- Established villages and family settlements.
- Developed social and emotional attachment to the region.
Thus, a colonial revenue project gradually became a Santal homeland.
Causes of the Santal Hul
The conditions that supported settled life were progressively destroyed.
- Rising revenue demands: Higher rents reduced the economic security of cultivators.
- Indebtedness: Exploitative loans trapped Santal families in recurring debt.
- Intermediary exploitation: Moneylenders, zamindars, traders and revenue officials increased pressure on cultivators.
- Land alienation: Debt and unequal contracts weakened Santal control over land.
- Administrative injustice: The colonial system provided little access to justice or grievance redressal.
- Social humiliation: Insults to Santal elders and women intensified resentment.
The rebellion therefore arose from both material exploitation and the erosion of dignity and autonomy.
Rebellion Against Internal Dispossession
The Hul was directed against colonial officials, revenue authorities, moneylenders, zamindars and other exploitative intermediaries.
Its significance extended beyond physical displacement. A community may continue living in the same geographical area but still become dispossessed when it loses:
- Control over land
- Economic security
- Social dignity
- Access to justice
- Cultural autonomy
The Hul was therefore a struggle against both colonial rule and internal uprooting.
Suppression and Migration
The British suppressed the uprising with extensive military force. Its aftermath accelerated the dispersal of Santal families towards Purnea, Malda, Burdwan, Jalpaiguri and Assam’s tea plantations.
Displaced Santals became labourers in:
- Tea gardens
- Agricultural estates
- Road-building projects
- Distant colonial settlements
Thus, suppression did not end movement but converted displacement into labour migration.
Memory, Language and Identity
Geographical dispersal did not erase Santal identity. Oral traditions, songs, festivals, shared origin narratives and memories of the Hul preserved community unity.
The development of the Ol Chiki script by Raghunath Murmu in 1925 strengthened linguistic and cultural assertion. The inclusion of Santali in the Eighth Schedule in 2003 further recognised its importance.
Contemporary Relevance
Santals continue to face land alienation, livelihood insecurity, distress migration, educational barriers and inadequate protection for migrant workers. Mining, dams, infrastructure and commercial acquisition continue to threaten tribal land and community life.
Way Forward
- Strengthen tribal land and forest rights.
- Expand secure local livelihood opportunities.
- Improve protection for seasonal migrant workers.
- Promote Santali-medium education and teacher availability.
- Support Ol Chiki while recognising regional script diversity.
- Give tribal uprisings greater space in historical education.
- Preserve oral traditions and cultural institutions.
Conclusion:
The Santal Hul represented resistance to colonial exploitation as well as the destruction of land rights, dignity and belonging. Although suppression scattered Santal communities, shared memory, language and cultural traditions preserved their identity. The Hul remains an enduring symbol of indigenous resistance, cultural survival and the struggle for justice.
