On February 16, 2022, Union Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar, Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) launched the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNT/NT/SNTs (SEED) from Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, Delhi.
About SEED:
It is an umbrella scheme for the empowerment and welfare of the most deprived and economically weaker Indian communities’ viz. De-notified Tribes (DNTs), Nomadic Tribes (NTs) and Semi Nomadic Tribes (SNTs). It has been formulated with four components that affect their livelihood.
- Its outlay is ~Rs 200 crore to be spent over five years beginning 2021-22 to 2025-26.
- It will be implemented by the Development and Welfare Board for DNTs, SNTs &NTs (DWBDNCs) along with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and National Health Authority (NHA).
Four Components of Scheme:
i.Educational empowerment- Free coaching to students from these communities for Civil Services, entry to professional courses like medicine, engineering, MBA, etc.
- Approximately, 6250 students will be provided free coaching under this component in five years.
- Funds to spend in 5 years- Rs 50 crore
ii.Health Insurance through PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) of National Health Authority.
- Funds to spend in 5 years- Rs 49 crore
iii.Livelihoods to support income generation
- Funds to spend in 5 years- Rs 49 crore
iv.Housing (through PMAY- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana)
- Funds to spend in 5 years- Rs 50 crore
Online Portal:
The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has developed an online portal to ensure seamless registration and will also act as a repository of the data on these communities. It consists of two modules:
i.One module for registration of the applicant with details of his family, income, occupation, aadhar and bank details, caste certificate, etc. Upon completing the registration, the applicant will be assigned a unique ID (UID) number which will be used for applying other components of the scheme.
ii.Second part comprises of scheme component for which applicant wants to seek benefit with his UID. The funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in their account.Â
Background:
The key reason to remain as underprivileged communities is the enactment of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 during the British rule under which they were subjugated, persecuted and neglected. They were branded as criminals under various colonial acts which led to the forcible alienation from their traditional occupations and habitations. These communities never had access to private land or home ownership. These tribes used forests and grazing lands for their livelihood and residential use
Even After independence, the first commission was set up in October 2003, to look into the problems of these communities. After that, the Renke Commission was set up in 2008. Then in 2015 a ‘National Commission for De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes’ was constituted under the chairmanship of Bhiku Ramji Idate for a period of 3 years.Â
- On the basis of National commission’s recommendation, the Government of India (GoI) set up DWBDNCs in 2019. The Board has been tasked to formulate and implement welfare and development programmes for DNCs.
Other Participants:
R.Subrahmanyam, Secretary, and Surendra Singh, Joint Secretary of Department of Social Justice & Empowerment; and Bhiku Ramji Idate, Chairman, DWBDNCs.
Recent Related News:
On the occasion of the Mahaparinirvana Diwas 2021(6th December), Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment(SJE), Dr Virendra Kumar participated in the event organised by Dr Ambedkar Foundation at Dr Ambedkar International Center, New Delhi campus and launched the ‘Shreshtha Yojna’ and National Fellowship Management and Grievance Redressal Portal during the event.
About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment(MoSJE):
Union Minister– Dr Virendra Kumar (Constituency- Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh)
Ministers of State (MoS)– A. Narayanaswamy (Constituency- Chitradurga, Karnataka) and Pratima Bhoumik (Constituency- Tripura West, Tripura), Ramdas Athawale(Rajya Sabha – Maharashtra)
