Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has its origin from the erstwhile Ministry of Welfare.
• Two departments have been under the Ministry
  1. Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (Samajik Nyaya and Adhikarita Vibhag)
  2. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)

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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

1. Corporations/Commissions/Institutions

National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK)

• The NCSK was established as a statutory body in 1994 as per the provisions of the NCSK Act 1993.
• The NCSK Act ceased to have effect from 2004.
• Now, the Commission acts as a non-statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Objective - To monitor the implementation of the Prohibition of employment as manual scavengers and their rehabilitation Act, 2013.
• It also receives complaints/petitions from manual scavengers from all over the country.
• The Commission suo motu takes cognizance of problems of safai karamcharis and try to resolve them by playing a proactive role.
• Achievements - Compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs has been made in 144 of sewer death cases.

Dr. Ambedkar Foundation & Dr. Ambedkar International Centre

• Dr. Ambedkar Foundation - It is a society set up in 1992 under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860.
• It is also registered as a charitable institution and is fully funded by the Government of India.
• It implements Dr. Ambedkar Centre of Excellence (DACE) for coaching SC students for Civil Services Examination (CSE)
• Dr. Ambedkar International Centre - It was inaugurated in 2017 in New Delhi.
• It was envisaged the centre as 'Centre of Excellence' for research and policy making in the field of socio-economic transformation.

National Institute of Social Defence

• The National Institute of Social Defence has become an autonomous body and is registered under the Societies Act XXI of 1860 with the Government of NCT, Delhi.
• It is a central advisory body for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• It is a Centre of Excellence on research and training in the field of social defence.

DEPARTMENT OF EMPOWERMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

1. International Day of Persons with Disabilities

• International Day of Persons with Disabilities was celebrated on 3^rd December.
• National awards were given for the outstanding achievements and work done towards empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

2. Sign Language Day

• 23^rd September is declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Sign Languages.
• Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous body under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated the Sign Language Day.
• Theme – “Sign Languages Unite Us”
• An ISL Dictionary app called Sign Learn was launched.
• ISLRTC had signed a MoU with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for converting NCERT textbooks from Class I to XII into Indian Sign Language (digital format) for children with hearing disabilities.

3. Mega Divya Kala Mela

• In Divya Kala Mela, more than 200 Divyang craftsmen, artists, entrepreneurs displayed their skills, art and entrepreneurship.

4. Divya Kala Shakti programme

• Divya Kala Shakti programmes were organized at Mumbai, Delhi and Guwahati for North and North East region to showcase the inner potential of PwDs in performing arts.

5. Northern Regional Cultural Event for the Differently Abled

• The first-ever Northern Regional Cultural Event for the differently abled has been organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

6. MoUs with e-Commerce companies

• MoUs were signed with e-Commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart to provide skill training and employment opportunities for PwDs.

7. Composite Regional Centre (CRC)

• Composite Regional Centers were inaugurated at Kozhikode, Chhattisgarh and Shillong, to expand the service delivery system to provide better rehabilitation services in a barrier free environment.
• Composite Regional Centre for Persons with Disabilities provide both preventive and promotional aspects of rehabilitation like education, health, employment,vocational training, research, rehabilitation for persons with disabilities etc.
• The CRCs function as extended arms of the National Institutes (NIs).

8. Assistance to Disabled persons for purchasing/fitting of aids/appliances (ADIP) Scheme

• ADIP Scheme aims to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable and scientifically manufactured appliances.
• It is implemented through NGOs, National Institutes and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO).
• ALIMCO is a Schedule ‘C’, Mini-Ratna Category II Central Public Sector Enterprise working under the aegis of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

9. Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY)

• It is a Central Sector Scheme that was launched in 2017 to provide physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens (aged above 60 years).
• Coverage - The assisted-living devices are provided to
  • Senior citizens belonging to the BPL category and
  • Senior citizens with monthly income not more than Rs. 15000
• The Government ensures that about 30% of the beneficiaries in each district shall be women.
• Implementation - The expenditure for implementation of the scheme will be met from the "Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund".
• The Scheme will be implemented through ALIMCO.

10. Indian National Blind Cricket team

• The Indian blind cricket team was formed in 1998.
• Currently, the team is managed by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI).
• It is associated with World Blind Council, and is the apex body governing blind cricket in the country.
• India has won the T20 world cup thrice.
• It is the only blind team in the world that has won the T20, ODI and Asian championship.

Reference

1. PIB | Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities