Know your Ministry - No. 55 - Social Justice and Empowerment

The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment is entrusted with the empowerment of the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society. The target groups of the Ministry are:

Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Senior Citizens, Victims of Substance Abuse, Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Beggars, Transgender. The Ministry has been implementing various programmes/schemes for social, educational and economic development of the target groups.

Constitutional of India has laid down explicit provisions relating to Socially & Educationally Backward Classes (OBCs), Persons with Disability and the Old, Social Justice & Empowerment, as a whole, Scheduled Castes and Prevention of Substance Abuse with Schedules (under 7th, 11th and 12th)

SUBJECTS ALLOCATED TO THE MINISTRY  

The following subject which fall within List III - Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution:

Nomadic and Migratory Tribes

To act as the nodal Department for matters pertaining to the following groups, namely:-

(i)   Scheduled Castes;
(ii)  Socially and Educationally Backward Classes;
(iii) Denotified Tribes;
(iv) Economically Backward Classes; and
(v)  Senior Citizens;

Special schemes aimed at social, educational and economic empowerment of the groups mentioned at (i) to (iv) above, e.g. scholarships, hostels, residential schools, skill training, concession loans and subsidy for self-employment, etc.

• Monitoring of Schedule caste sub plan.
• Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers in alternative occupations.
• Programmes of care and support to senior citizens.
• Prohibition.
• Rehabilitation of victims of alcoholism and substance abuse, and their families.
• Beggary.
• International Conventions and Agreements on matters dealt within the Department.
• Awareness generation, research, evaluation and training in regard to subjects allocated to the Department.
• Charitable and Religious Endowments and promotion and development of Voluntary Effort pertaining to subjects allocated to the Department.
• The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.
• The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 ( (in so far as it relates to the Scheduled Castes, excluding administration of criminal justice in regard to offences under the Act).
• National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993
• The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
• National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
• National Commission for Safai Karmacharis.
• National Commission for Backward Classes.
• National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation.
• National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation.
• National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation.
• National Institute of Social Defence.
• Dr. Ambedkar Foundation.
• Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation
• National Commission for Denotified and Semi-Namadic Tribes

MIS / ANNUAL REPORTS – Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY), DBT MIS, Grants MSJE (eAnudaan), MS Survey, FCC Mode 2 Application, Allocation for Welfare of Scheduled Castes (e-UTTHAAN) and National Overseas Scholarship Scheme

SECTOR-WISE DETAILS AVAILABLE IN PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR:

• State/UT-wise SCs Population, 2011.
• State-wise number of Castes notified as Scheduled Castes (as on 23.09.2008).
• State-wise, District-wise List of Blocks with >40% SC population.
• State-wise, District-wise List of Blocks with >40% but less than 50% SC population.
• List of Blocks with >50% SC population.
• Districts having more than 40% SC population in India.
• State/UT-wise SCs & PD Literacy Rate, 2001.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), Among Total Population and SC Population.
• Sex-wise Drop-out Rates, Among Total Population and SC Population.
• State-wise Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line by Social Groups, 2004-05.
• State-wise Senior Citizens (60+) Population, 2001.
• State/UT-wise Number of Entries in the Central List of OBCs as on March, 2018.

Top of Form

ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS

Commissions - National Commission for Scheduled Castes; National Commission for Backward Classes; National Commission for Safai Karamcharis; National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes;

National Institutes- National Institute of Social Defence (NISD)

Corporations - National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC); National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC);

Foundations - Dr. Ambedkar Foundation and  Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation;

CHALLENGES & TASKS AHEAD FOR THE MINISTRY

• Need to formulate a National Level Action Plan for Total Abolition of Beggary.
• Specific stringent enactment for all those responsible for the act of begging in public places and related exploitations.
• Develop and National Database to publish authentic data for Victims of Substance Abuse or addicted to drugs and alcohols.
• To suspend all People Welfare Schemes and subsidies to people engaged in the abuse of Social Justice.
• Central Act for Senior Citizens applicable to all States and UTs alongwith prescribed guidelines and norms for people admitted to Old Aged Homes.
• To develop a National Registry exclusively for Denotified, Nomadic, Semi-Nomadic Tribes and Transgender communities and engage them in all untapped potential employment areas like Security, Paramedical services, Public Help e-Seva counters, Adult Education, Crèche Services, Hostel warden, Enumeration of Population Census, Traffic Regulations, etc. Government can set up a separate department under the Ministry to manage these affairs for Training and Placement.
• Develop a technology for abolition of Manual scavenging in toto and secure the life and livelihood of all Safai Karamcharis engaged in this activity for ages.
• Establish a robust legal framework to develop women empowerment and demolish the menaces of Crime against Women, Dowry, Female Insecticide-Sex Selective abortion, Honor Killings, Rape, Sexual harassment in public and work places, Child marriage, acid throwing, Domestic Violence, etc,
• Crimes against women including Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Senior Citizens, Victims of Substance Abuse, Denotified, Nomadic, Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Beggars, Transgender, etc should be exclusively dealt by independent Tribunals with exorbitant adjudicating powers mandated by a Specific Code or Enactment.
• To devise an Action Plan for scaling up of productivity and identifying employment opportunities and establish Social Justice with total empowerment.