Breaking down the question
This ten-mark question has two parts. First, define social security. Second, examine recent security measures adopted by the government in India. The word examine asks for a brief critical assessment, not just a list, so you should note both what has been attempted and where gaps remain. Given the ten-mark limit, the answer must be compact — a clear definition followed by a structured, evaluative account of measures.
The topic — challenges of social transformation — signals that the examiner wants social security understood as part of the larger project of protecting citizens against insecurity in a rapidly changing economy dominated by informal work.
How to approach it
Define social security as protection against the economic and social risks of life — old age, sickness, unemployment, disability, maternity and destitution. Frame it, following T. H. Marshall, as an element of social citizenship, and, following Amartya Sen, as a means of securing capability and dignity. Then examine recent Indian measures thematically — social insurance, pensions, health cover, and the codification of labour law — while noting the central challenge of extending protection to the informal workforce.
Model answer
Social security refers to the set of measures through which society protects its members against the economic and social distress that arises from the loss or reduction of income owing to old age, sickness, disability, maternity, unemployment or death. T. H. Marshall placed such protection at the heart of social citizenship — the idea that membership of a community entails a right to a basic standard of welfare. Amartya Sen deepens this by treating social security as a means of expanding human capability and safeguarding dignity, not merely relieving want. Social security thus spans both social insurance, funded by contributions, and social assistance, funded by the state for the poor and vulnerable.
In India, the defining challenge is that the overwhelming majority of the workforce is in the informal sector, outside the reach of traditional, employment-based protection. Recent measures can be examined against this challenge. In the domain of pensions and insurance, contributory schemes have sought to extend old-age pension and life and accident cover to unorganised and low-income workers, widening the base of protection beyond formal employees. In health, publicly funded health-insurance schemes have aimed to shield poor households from catastrophic medical expenditure, addressing one of the commonest causes of impoverishment.
The most significant structural reform has been the consolidation of numerous labour statutes into codified labour codes, including a dedicated code on social security. This framework, at least in intention, seeks to bring gig, platform and unorganised workers within the ambit of social protection, and to move India towards more universal coverage. Alongside these run long-standing measures such as employment guarantee in rural areas, food security through subsidised grain, and maternity and welfare provisions for particular categories of workers.
Examined critically, these measures represent a genuine widening of the idea of protection, yet their reach remains uneven. Coverage of the informal workforce is still partial, benefit levels are often modest, and implementation and awareness lag behind design. The link between informal work, poverty and the absence of protection is developed further in the notes on poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
The considered conclusion is that social security in India is expanding from a narrow, employment-based model towards a broader conception of social protection for all, but that realising social citizenship in Sen's sense still requires extending secure, adequate cover to the vast informal majority.
Examiner's perspective
For ten marks, examiners want a precise definition and a structured, evaluative account rather than a bare list. The best scripts anchor the concept in social citizenship and capability, citing Marshall and Sen, and then examine recent measures across pensions, health and labour codification while keeping the informal-sector challenge in view. A short critical note on uneven coverage, followed by a forward-looking conclusion, distinguishes a top answer.