On May 1, 2023, the NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released the ‘Best Practices in Social Sector: A Compendium, 2023’ which is a compilation of 75 initiatives of the Centre and the states/ Union Territories (UTs) in the social sector.
- Out of the 75 initiatives, 14 have been launched by the Union government, two are joint initiatives by the Centre and the state governments, while the rest are from 26 states and UTs.
14 Social Sector:
The 75 initiatives are the innovations in policymaking at national and state levels in 14 key social sectors such as health, education, agriculture, science and technology, the environment, Disaster mitigation,Sports, COVID–19, Energy conservation, E- governance and digitization, Women’s empowerment, Financial inclusion, Skill development, and Social welfare.
- 75 initiatives have benefitted a large segment of the society and are replicable.
Key Initiatives under Social Sector:
i.Union Government’s Initiatives:
- DigiLocker
- UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance)
- Direct and full benefit of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers
- Department of Food and Public Distribution
- Academic Bank of Credits
- National Academic Depository
- A life, less ordinary: Ganga Prahari – Guardians of the Ganga
- National Artificial Intelligence Portal-A critical hub for everything AI in India
- Innovations for Defence excellence
- Combating drug addiction – Nasha Mukt Bharat
- Prayatna: Special Project for Transgenders
- Financial inclusion for street vendors under PM SVANidhi
- Ethanol – A success story
- Portability of Ration Cards: One Nation One Ration Card
ii.Government of NCT of Delhi’s Initiatives:
- Home based education to children with multiple disabilities and profound/severe disabilities
- Electric vehicle policy and Induction of Electric Buses –A measure to improve Delhi’s air quality
- Bio Decomposer Solution and Spray Programme – Fighting stubble burning
- Delhi pushes towards sustainable power eco-system
iii.Government of Karnataka’s Initiatives:
- Kalika Chetarike – Activity based learning in Karnataka
- Solving dry waste handling Materials Recovery Facility at Nitte Gram Panchayat, Zila Panchayat, Udupi District
- Santhe Kaushalkar – Self Help Group and Artisan Profiling Platform
- Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary Information System (FRUITS)
- Kutumba: Social Protection cum Entitlement Management System
- Akanksha: An integrated online platform for SDG and CSR alignment
iv.Government of Uttar Pradesh’s Initiatives:
- Black Rice Initiative in Chandauli
- Reducing Maternal and Newborn Deaths (ReMiND) through mobile application
- SARTHI & SAKHI -Mental Health Helpline
- Shifting Gears from Disaster Management to Disaster Risk Reduction in Chitrakoot District
Number of Best Practices in Social Sector:
| Union Government | 14 |
| Union and State Government Joint initiatives | 2 |
| Karnataka | 6 |
| Assam, Madhya Pradesh | 5 each |
| NCT of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh | 4 each |
| Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan | 3 each |
| Andaman and Nicobar, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Manipur | 2 each |
| Jammu and Kashmir, TamilNadu, Bihar, Chandigarh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tripura, Nagaland | 1 each |
Recent Related News:
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), have jointly prepared a report “Assessment of Lead Impact on Human and India’s Response”, in July 2022, which found that India bears the world’s highest health and economic burden due to lead poisoning.
About National Institution for Transforming India(NITI Aayog):
CEO – B.V.R. Subrahmanyam
Headquarters – New Delhi
Establishment – 2015
