Welfare of Denotified Communities- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes.
Denotified Communities in News
- Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment recently informed the parliament about various steps taken by the government for the Development and Welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
Steps taken for the Welfare of Denotified Communities
- Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs): It was notified by the government in 2021.
- DWBDNCs were constituted for the development and welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
- Scholarship Schemes: This Ministry is also implementing schemes for pre and post-matric scholarships to DNT students. For Example-
- Ambedkar Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship for DNTs, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, was launched for the welfare of those DNT students who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC.
- Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNT Communities (SEED): The SEED Scheme has been launched in February, 2022 for the welfare of DNT Communities.
Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNT Communities (SEED)
- About: SEED was launched by the Social Justice Ministry with a total outlay of Rs. 200 Crore for the next five years.
- Implementation: The DWBDNCs (Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities) has been tasked with the implementation of this scheme.
- Significance: The government will be able to identify the gaps in accessing this Scheme by the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities after the SEED Scheme is implemented for some time.
- Components of SEED Scheme: It has the following four components
- To provide coaching of good quality for DNT candidates to enable them to appear in competitive examinations,
- To provide Health Insurance to them,
- To facilitate livelihood initiatives at the community level and
- To provide financial assistance for the construction of houses for members of these communities.
Who are DNTs?
- The term ‘De-notified Tribes’stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British Raj between l87l and I947.
- These Acts were repealed by the Independent Indian Government in l952, and these communities were “De-Notified”. A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic.
Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED)