Importance of Directive Principles of State Policy

There is a difference of opinion regarding the importance of the Directive Principles of State Policy. The main factor is that Fundamental Rights are justifiable. You can move to the court to get your rights but the Directive Principles are non-justiciable. They cannot be enforced by law. In spite of these limitations, the Directive Principles are very important.

Let us look at some points which explain the Importance of Directive Principles of State Policy

� Directive Principles are in the nature of a pledge made by the framers of the Constitution to the people of India. A framework is provided for a political, social, and economic program of a modern democratic State.
� Guidelines are provided to the governments to make laws and policies as per the fundamental principles.
� They provide a measure to judge the performance of a government.
� They direct the government to move towards the goal of a Welfare State. They reflect the ideas of liberty, equality, justice, and fraternity mentioned in the Preamble.
� The people can gain knowledge regarding their expectations from the political parties in power.
� They provide a direction to Courts regarding safeguarding the rights of the citizens.
� The goal of establishing social and economic order is laid before the government through these Principles.
� The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 provides that if a law is made to give effect to any of the Directive Principles, it will not be declared unconstitutional even if it takes away any of the rights under Article 14, 19, and 31. It also makes clear that if there is any conflict between the Directive Principles and

Fundamental Rights then the former shall prevail. Do you know why it is so? It is because the welfare of the people as a whole is more important than an individual.

Amendment of Constitution

The Directive Principles have contributes a lot in establishing a Welfare State in India by emphasizing Economic Welfare, Social Justice, and Law, Justice, and Administration. But the question arises, what do we mean by a Welfare State? A Welfare State is a state which seeks to ensure the maximum happiness of a maximum number of people living within its territory. Both the Union and State governments have taken steps to implement Directive principles, which aim at establishing social and economic democracy, the basic goal of a Welfare State.

Social Equality and Justice

As per the Right to Education Act, it is mandatory for every child between 6 � 14 years of age to get free education in all government and government-aided schools. It is also mentioned that 25% of seats should be reserved for the children belonging to economically weaker sections of society.

Right to Education

� Untouchability has been made an offense punishable by law to protect the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from social injustice.
� Under the constitutional directive for prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves, it has been banned in many states.
� Special scholarships are provided to socially and economically weaker sections of the society. Some seats are reserved in schools, institutions, and jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
� Various institutions like Small Scale Industries Board, All India Handicrafts Board, All India Khadi and Village Industries Board, etc. have been established to promote cottage industries.

Economic Welfare

� Many Land Reform Acts like the Land Ceiling Act and the Abolition of Zamindari have been passed by the Government to ensure the right to an adequate means of livelihood for the rural people.
� Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013 was passed in 2013 and finally came into force on January 1, 2014. The Act aims to establish the law on land acquisition, and rehabilitation of people who were directly affected by the land acquisition. The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was replaced by this one.

Land Acquisition

� Banks, industries, and insurance companies are nationalized to ensure the ownership of the material resources of the community is evenly distributed for the common good.
� Various laws like the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 have been enacted by the government to ensure that the workers get equal pay for equal work.
� Various programs like the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) have been launched to help poor families living in rural areas. The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana was launched in 1989 to employ rural people.
� Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: Launched on January 13, 2016 for the farmers to maintain a uniform premium to be paid for their crops. 2% will be paid for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops and 5% for the annual commercial and horticultural crop. The remaining share is to be paid equally by the central and state governments.

Fasal Bima Yojana

Jan Dhan Yojana: Announced by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on August 15, 2014. The Scheme aims at improving the lives of people and freeing them from the tensions of moneylenders. Bank accounts have been opened under the scheme, providing life insurance cover of thirty thousand rupees and one lakh accidental insurance benefits.

Jan Dhan Yojana

National Food Security Bill: It was passed by the Parliament on September 12, 2013, and was called the National Food Security Act, 2013. It provided an adequate quantity of good quality food at affordable prices. It gives the right to subsidize food grains to 67% of Indians. Let�s discuss some features of this Act.

• 75% of rural and 50% of the urban population is entitled to 5 kg of food grains per person per month at Rs 3, Rs 2, and Rs 1 kg for rice, wheat, and coarse grains respectively.
• Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to nutritional meals and maternity benefits of at least Rs 6000 for six months.
• Public distribution system to be reformed.
• The eldest woman in the household will be entitled to the issue of the ration card who is of 18 years or above.
• State and district level redress mechanisms.

Read More: What Are The Directive Principles of State Policy: Nature and Criticism