Empowerment Of Other Weaker Sections

Other weaker sections include elderly (above 60), drug abused, manual scavengers, lower castes, etc. These sections of population are dependent, face discrimination and are most vulnerable group after women and child. Hence special policy directives are needed, few of them are discussed below -

Integrated Programme for Older Persons

It was launched in 1992 and revised in 2018 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It aims at improving the quality of life of the senior citizens by providing basic amenities like food, shelter, medical care and entertainment opportunities by encouraging productive and active aging.

  • Under this Scheme, financial assistance (up to 95% in the case of States of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and North-eastern states and 90% for rest of the country) is provided to Non-Governmental/Voluntary Organizations, Panchayati Raj Institutions, etc. for maintenance of Old Age Homes, Respite Care Homes and Continuous Care Homes, Multi-service Centres, Mobile Medicare Units, Day Care Centres for Alzheimer’s disease /Dementia patients, physiotherapy clinics for older persons, etc.

Swachhta Udyami Yojana

It was launched on 2nd October, 2018 with twin objective of cleanliness and providing livelihood to Safai Karamcharis and liberated Manual Scavengers to achieve the overall goal of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”.

  • Its components include - extending financial assistance for construction, operation & maintenance of Pay and Use community toilets in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and procurement & operation of sanitation related vehicles.
  • As of Sept. 2019, 1383 beneficiaries have been covered.

National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018- 2023)

It is drafted by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to address the problem of drug and substance abuse in the country. It aims to employ multi-pronged strategy to address the issue. It is holistic as it covers all dimensions i.e. education, de-addiction and rehabilitation of affected individuals and their
families.

  • The major initiatives in the plan include co-ordination with implementing agencies for controlling the sale of sedatives, painkillers and muscle relaxant drugs, and checking the online sale of drugs.
  • Since 2014-15, under the scheme, total number of beneficiaries are 4, 98,247.

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana

It is a Central Sector Scheme launched in April, 2017 aimed at providing Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior Citizens belonging to BPL category. It is being implemented by the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO), a PSU under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

  • Senior Citizens, belonging to BPL category and suffering from any of the age related disability/infirmity are eligible for benefits under the scheme.
  • As of January. 2019, more than 70000 Senior Citizens belonging to BPL category have benefited from the scheme.

Challenges

  • Poor Information Dissemination: Help of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) must be sought to ensure awareness.
  • Budgetary Constraints: Covering 104 million rural elderly will require much more effort and monetary allocations.
  • With the number of the elderly in India set to surge by 2050 to almost 300 million, or about a fifth of the population, governments need to make more comprehensive efforts to address the problems of elderly.

Dr. Ambedkar Scheme for Social Integration through Inter-Caste Marriages

It was launched in 2013 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to encourage inter-caste marriages in the society. An inter-caste marriage, for the purpose of this Scheme means a marriage in which one of the spouses belongs to Scheduled Caste and the other belongs to a Non-Scheduled Caste.

Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY)

It was launched in 2010 on pilot basis for the integrated development of 1000 villages each with more than 50% Scheduled Castes (SCs). In 2014-15 it was extended to other 1500 villages across 11 states. The government aims to cover more than 26000 villages by 2024-25.

Features of Adarsh Gram

  • As far as possible, elimination of poverty, but reduction in its incidence by at least 50% within three years.
  • Universal adult literacy
  • 100% enrolment and retention of children at the elementary stage (I-VIII).
  • Reduction of infant mortality rate (per thousand live births) to 30 and maternal mortality rate (per lakh) to 100, by 2012. As of 2017, India has reduced infant mortality rate to 33 (Sample Registration System) and the Maternal Mortality ratio also declined to 122.
  • Village should fulfill the Nirmal Gram Puraskar norms of the Dept. of Drinking Water Supply, M/o Rural Development, i.e., these villages should be 100 % open defecation free.
  • Access to safe drinking water facility to all villagers on a sustainable basis.
  • 100% institutional deliveries for pregnant women.
  • Full immunization of children.
  • Achieving all weather road connectivity to the village.
  • 100% registration of deaths and births in the village.
  • No child marriages, and child labour.
  • No public consumption of liquor and other intoxicating substances.
  • 100% allotment of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana (PMGAY) houses to all eligible families.
  • To become ‘Adarsh Grams’, these villages must fill in the gaps in critical socio-economic ‘Monitorable Indicators’ as part of various sectors/domains. These domains include water and sanitation, education, health and nutrition, agricultural best practices etc. amongst others.
  • Schemes like this face challenges at the ground level like social and traditional dogmas, bringing attitudinal change for integration, ensuring proper utilization of funds, etc. The administration, especially the local units must ensure honest implementation to reap in maximum result.

Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS)

It was launched in 2007 with the objective of rehabilitating manual scavengers and their dependents in alternative occupation by 2009 but was extended as the target was not achieved.

  • After the enactment of ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013’, SRMS was revised in synchronization with the provision of the Act.
  • Under this scheme one time cash assistance is provided to one member from each family.

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