WELFARE

WELFARE

BestCurrentAffairs.com In 1985-86, the erstwhile Ministry of Welfare was bifurcated into the Department of Women and Child Development and the Department of Welfare. Simultaneously, the Scheduled Castes Development Division, Tribal Development Division and the Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Division were shifted from the Ministry of Home Affairs and also the Wakf Division from the Ministry of Law to form the then Ministry of Welfare. Subsequently, the name of the Ministry was changed to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in May, 1998. Further, in October, 1999, the Tribal Development Division was moved out to form a separate Ministry of Tribal Affairs. In January, 2007 the Minorities Division along with Wakf Unit were moved out of the Ministry and formed a separate Ministry and the Child Development Division was merged with the Ministry of Women and Child Development.  Two departments have been created under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment namely: (i) Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (Samajik Nyaya and Adhikarita Vibhag) (ii) Department of Disability Affairs (Nishaktata Karya Vibhag) since renamed as Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).  On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a draft Constitution for India. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950. With its adoption, the Union of India became the modern and contemporary Republic of India replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the country’s fundamental governing document.  Dr B.R.Ambedkar is regarded as the principal architect in the framing of the Constitution of India which is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India.  The national committee that was formed under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister for celebrating the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar decided to increase awareness about the Constitution.  The 128th Birth Anniversary of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was celebrated on 14th April, 2018 in the Parliament House Lawns, New Delhi.  In pursuance of Article 17 of the Constitution of India, the Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was enacted. Subsequently, it was amended and renamed in 1976 as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. Rules under this Act, viz., The Protection of Civil Rights Rules, 1977 were notified in 1977. The Act extends to the whole of the country and provides punishment for the practice of untouchability. It is implemented by the respective state governments and union territory administrations.  The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (The PoA Act) came into force in 1990. This legislation aims at preventing commission of offences by persons other than scheduled castes and scheduled tribes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.  Comprehensive Rules under this Act, titled Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995 were notified in 1995, which, inter-alia, provide norms for relief and rehabilitation. These Rules had not been amended thereafter.  The National Commission for SCs and STs (NCSC) which was set up under Article 383 of the Constitution in 1990 was bifurcated into two Commissions namely, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes after the 89th Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 2003. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is responsible for monitoring the safeguards provided for Scheduled Castes and also to review issues concerning their welfare.  Pre-Matric Scholarship This is a centrally sponsored Scheme, which is implemented by the state governments and union territory administrations, which receive 100 per cent central assistance for the total expenditure under the scheme, over and above their respective committed liability. It was started in 1977-78.  Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC Students: The Scheme was introduced in 2012.  Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana: The objective of the Scheme is to provide hostel facilities to SC boys and girls studying in middle schools, higher secondary schools, colleges and universities.  Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SC Students: The Scheme provides financial assistance to scheduled caste students for pursuing research studies leading to M. Phil, Ph.D, and equivalent research degree in universities, research institutions and scientific institutions. University Grants Commission (UGC) is the nodal agency for implementing the Scheme.  Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) is a central sector Scheme, started in 1980.  The centrally sponsored scheme for participating in the equity share of the Scheduled Castes Development Corporations (SCDCs) in the ratio of 49:51 (central/state) was introduced in 1979. At present, SCDCs are functioning in 27 states/UTs.  The National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) was set up in 1989 under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (formerly Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956).  Government announced the setting up of a Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes in 2014.  In 2014, the government announced that a sum of ₹ 200 crore will be allocated towards credit enhancement facility for young and start-up entrepreneurs, belonging to scheduled castes  A separate Department of Disability Affairs was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and

Empowerment in 2012.

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020  According to Census 2011, there are 2.68 crore persons with disabilities in the country (who constitute 2.21 per cent of the total population). Out of the total population of persons with disabilities, about 1.50 crore are men and 1.18 crore are women. BestCurrentAffairs.com The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) deals with the following legislations governing different aspects of disability and welfare and empowerment of the Persons with Disabilities— The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992; The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995; and The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.  Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), has formulated the accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan), as a nation-wide campaign for achieving universal accessibility for PwDs.  Section 2 (t) of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, defines a person suffering from not less than 40 per cent of any disability as certified by a medical authority. The disability being blindness (b) low vision (c) leprosy cured (d) hearing impairment (e) loco-motor disability (f ) mental illness (g) mental retardation (h) autism (i) cerebral palsy or (j) a combination of any two or more of (g), (h) and (i) (Section 2 (i) of the PwD Act, 1995 read alongwith Section 2(j) of The National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999).  Mental illness has been recognized as one of the disabilities under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. The treatment and care of the mentally ill persons are governed by the Mental Health Act, 1987. The Act is administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.  A comprehensive law, namely, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 was enacted and enforced in 1996.  National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities is a statutory body under The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.  The Chief Commissioner is an important statutory functionary, appointed under Section 57 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.  The Chief Commissioner can also take suo moto notice of non-implementation of any rule, law, etc., meant for persons with disabilities and is vested with the powers of a civil court relating to summoning of witness, discovery, requistioning and production of any document, etc.  The Rehabilitation Council of India is a statutory body set up under the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992.  National Institute for the Visually Handicapped, Dehradun,  National Institute for Orthopaedically Handicapped, Kolkata,  Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai,  National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, Secunderabad,  National Institute of Rehabilitaion Training and Research, Cuttack,  Institute for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi,  National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai.  Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), Kanpur is a public sector body, engaged in manufacturing of aids and appliances for persons with disabilities.  Five Composite Regional Centres (CRCs) for the Persons with Disabilities are located at Srinagar, Lucknow, Bhopal, Sundernagar and Guwahati.  Four Regional Rehabilitation Centres for Spinal Injuries and other Disabilities at Mohali, Cuttack, Jabalpur and Bareilly are providing services for basic management and follow-up of the spinally injured so as to make the affected persons functionally independent.  The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) is an apex-level financial institution for extending credit facilities to persons with disabilities for their economic development.  Under the Scheme for Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of AIDs and Appliances assistance is given for procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, standard aids and appliances.  The Ministry of Tribal Affairs was set up in 1999 after the bifurcation of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment with the objective of providing more focused approach on the integrated socioeconomic development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs), the most underprivileged of the society, in a coordinated and planned manner.  The Fifth Schedule under Article 244 (1) of Constitution defines “Scheduled Areas” as such areas as the President may by Order declare to be Scheduled Areas after consultation with the Governor of the state.  The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (2) of the Constitution relates to those areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram which are declared as “Tribal Areas” and provides for district councils and/or regional councils for such areas. These Councils have been conferred with wide ranging legislative, judicial and executive powers.  The criteria for declaring any area as a “Scheduled Area” under the Fifth Schedule are: (a) preponderance of tribal population, (b) compactness and reasonable size of the area, (c) a viable administrative entity such as a district, block or taluk, and (d) economic backwardness of the area as compared to neighbouring areas. The specification of “Scheduled Areas” in relation to a state is done by a notified order of the President, after consultation with the state governments concerned. The same applies for altering, increasing, decreasing, incorporating new areas, or rescinding any orders relating to “Scheduled Areas”. India Year Book 2020 Synopsis [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page No.115 © BestCurrentAffairs.com. All Rights Reserved. [For IAS Prelims 2020]

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020  The advantages of Scheduled Areas are that: (a) the Governor of a state, which has Scheduled Areas, is empowered to make regulations in respect of the following: (i) prohibit or restrict transfer of land from tribal people; (ii) regulate the business of money lending to the members of scheduled tribes. In making BestCurrentAffairs.com any such regulation, the Governor may repeal or amend any Act of Parliament or of the Legislature of the state which is applicable to the area in question; (ii) The Governor may through public notification direct that any particular Act of Parliament or of the legislature of the state, shall not apply to a Scheduled Area or any part thereof in the state or shall apply to such area subject to such exceptions and modifications as he may specify; (c) the Governor of a state having Scheduled Areas therein, shall annually, or whenever so required by the President of India, make a report to the President regarding the administration of the Scheduled Areas in that state and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the state as to the administration of the said area.  Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) shall be established in states having Scheduled Areas. The role of TAC is to advise the state government on matters pertaining to the welfare and advancement of the scheduled tribes in the state as may be referred to it by the Governor. The TAC will consist of not more than twenty members of whom about 3/4 are to be from ST-MLAs. The TAC may also be established in any state having scheduled tribes but not Scheduled Areas on the direction of the President of India.  The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), vide which the provisions of Panchayats, contained in Part IX of the Constitution, were extended to Scheduled Areas, also contain special provisions for the benefit of scheduled tribes.  The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 of the Constitution identifies autonomous districts in the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. It also makes provisions for recognition of autonomous regions within these autonomous districts. These have been specified in Parts I, II, II A and III of the table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule. In other words, areas where provisions of Sixth Schedule are applicable are known as Tribal Areas.  The state-wise details of Tribal Areas are as:- Part-I Assam 1. The North Cachar Hills District; 2. The Karbi-Anglong District; and 3. The Bodo Land Territorial Area Districts; Part II Meghalaya 1. Khasi Hills District; 2. Jaintia Hills District; and 3. The Garo Hills District; Part II Tripura; Tripura Tribal Areas District; and Part III Mizoram 1. The Chakma District 2. The Mara District; and 3. The Lai District  The district or regional councils are empowered to make rules with the approval of the Governor with regard to matters like establishment, construction or management of primary schools, dispensaries, markets, cattle ponds, ferries, fisheries, roads, road transport and waterways in the district.  The Autonomous Councils of the North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong have been granted additional powers to make laws with respect to other matters like secondary education, agriculture, social security and social insurance, public health and sanitation, minor irrigation, etc., The councils have also been conferred powers under the Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code for trial of certain suits and offences, as also the powers of a revenue authority for their area for collection of revenue and taxes and other powers for the regulation and management of natural resources.  The term scheduled tribes is defined in the Constitution of India under Article 366(25) as such tribes or tribal communities or parts of groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be scheduled tribes. Article 342 prescribes the procedure to be followed in the matter of specification of scheduled tribes. In terms of Article 342(1), the President may, with respect to any state or union territory, and where it is a state, after consultation with the Governor thereof, notify tribes or tribal communities or parts thereof as scheduled tribes. This confers on the tribe or part of it a constitutional status invoking the safeguards provided for in the Constitution, to these communities, in their respective states/UTs. Thus, in terms of Article 342(1), only those communities who have been declared as such by the President through an initial public notification will be considered as scheduled tribes. Any further amendment in the list is to be done through an Act of Parliament (Article 342(2)). Parliament may, by law, include in or exclude from the list of scheduled tribes, any tribe or tribal community or parts thereof. The list of scheduled tribes is state-specific. In other words, a community declared as scheduled tribe in one state need not be so in another.  Thus, the first specification of scheduled tribes in relation to a particular state/ union territory is by a notified order of the President, after consultation with the state governments concerned. The criteria generally adopted for specification of a community as a scheduled tribe are : (a) indications of primitive traits; (b)distinctive culture; (c) shyness of contact with the community at large; and (d) geographical isolation i.e., backwardness.These are not spelt out in the Constitution but have become well established. They take into account the definitions in the 1931 Census, the reports of the first Backward Classes Commission (Kalelkar Committee), 1955, the Advisory Committee on Revision of SC/ ST lists (Lokur Committee), 1965 and the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Bill, 1967 (Chanda Committee), 1969. There are over 700 tribes (with many of them overlapping in more than one state) as notified under Article 342 of the Constitution of India, spread over different states and union territories of the country. It is worth noting that no community has been specified as a scheduled tribe in relation to the states of Haryana and Punjab and the union territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.  No person who is not a scheduled tribe by birth will be deemed to be a member of scheduled tribe merely because he or she has married a person belonging to a scheduled tribe. Similarly, a person who is a member of a scheduled tribe will continue to be a member of that scheduled tribe, even after his or her marriage with a person who does not belong to a scheduled tribe.  National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was set up with effect from 19th February, 2004 by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution, through the Constitution (Eighty-ninth Amendment) Act, 2003. The Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Commission have been India Year Book 2020 Synopsis [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page No.116 © BestCurrentAffairs.com. All Rights Reserved. [For IAS Prelims 2020]

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020 conferred the rank of Union Cabinet Minister and Minister of State respectively, while the members of the

Commission have been given the rank of a Secretary to the Government of India.  The Commission is vested with all the powers of a civil court trying a suit while investigating any matter or BestCurrentAffairs.com inquiring into any complaint relating to deprivation of rights and safeguards of the scheduled tribes.  The present Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) strategy was initially developed by an Expert Committee set up by the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare in 1972 for rapid socio-economic development of tribal people and was adopted for the first time in the Fifth Five Year Plan.  The Ministry has issued revised guidelines for inter-state allocation of funds and implementation of programmes / activities under proviso to Article 275(1) of the Constitution and under special central assistance to Tribal Sub Plan (SCA to TSP) in 2016.  With a view to pay a focused attention and accelerate the pace of economic development of scheduled tribes, the erstwhile National Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Financial Development Corporation was bifurcated and National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) was set up in 2001 under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The NSTFDC has been granted license under Section 25 of the Companies Act (A Company not for profit).  Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (AMSY) is an exclusive Scheme for the economic development of ST women, at a highly concessional rate of interest.  The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), was set up in 1987 as a national level apex body under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 (MSCS Act, 1984) After the enactment of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 (MSCS Act, 2002) TRIFED is deemed to be registered under the latter Act and is also listed in the Second Schedule to the Act as a National Cooperative Society.  The bye-laws of TRIFED were revised in April, 2003 in tune with the new Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002 read with the Multi State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2002. Under its revised mandate TRIFED has stopped bulk procurement in Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) from tribals.  TRIFED now functions as a ‘market developer’ for tribal products and as ‘service provider’ to its member federations.  The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 seeks to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations but chose rights on ancestral lands and their habitat were not adequately recognized in the consolidation of state forests during the colonial period as well as in independent India resulting in historical injustice to them. The Act has been notified for operation from 2007.  The central government launched an approach, namely, Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) with a view to translate the available resource into overall development of tribal population with an outcome-based orientation.  The Second Backward Classes Commission (commonly known as Mandal Commission), constituted under Article 340, submitted its report in 1980. In the light of this report, the Government of India provided 27 per cent reservation in central government posts for persons belonging to the socially and economically backward classes, (also referred to as “Other Backward Classes” or OBCs). The Government in 1993 reserved 27 per cent of vacancies in civil posts and services under the Central Government, to be filled through direct recruitment in favour of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). With the amendment of Article 15 of the Constitution in 2006 and the enactment of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act in 2007, listing of other backward classes has become relevant for admission in central educational institutions also. Under this Act, OBC students are entitled to 27 per cent reservation in central educational institutions in a phased manner, over a period of three years commencing from the academic session 2008-09. The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was set up in 1993 as per the provision of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. The Constitution (102 Amendment) Act of 2018 gave constitutional status to the Commission.  Nanaji Deshmukh Scheme of Construction of Hostels: This is a centrally sponsored Scheme launched from 2014-15 being implemented through state governments/UT administrations/central universities. The Scheme aims at providing hostel facilities to those DNT students who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC, to enable them to pursue secondary and higher education.  National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) was incorporated in 1992 as a Company not for profit with an objective to promote economic and developmental activities for the benefit of backward classes and to assist the poorer sections of these classes in skill development and self employment ventures. It is a Government of India Undertaking under the aegis of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Corporation extends various types of loans to the target group i.e., members of backward classes.  The existing National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) was announced in 1999 to reaffirm the commitment to ensure the well-being of the older persons.  The government has reconstituted National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) to advise and aid the government on developing policies and programmes for older persons.  Under Integrated Programme for Older Persons, financial assistance upto 90 per cent of the project cost is provided to NGOs for establishing and maintaining old age homes, day care centres, mobile medicare units and to provide non-institutional services to older persons.  In order to have a definite structure as well as regional representation, the Council has been reconstituted and renamed as National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSrC) in 2012.

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020  The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, was enacted, inter alia, to curb drug abuse. Section 71 of the Act provides that the Government may, in its discretion, establish as many centres as it thinks fit for identification, treatment, education, after-care, rehabilitation, social reintegration of BestCurrentAffairs.com addicts.  The Ministry of Minority Affairs was established in 2006. It has been mandated for formulation of policies, schemes and programmes for welfare and socio-economic development of 6 (six) notified minority communities namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains, which constitute more than 19 per cent of India’s population. From October 2016, the mandate of the Ministry has been expanded to manage Haj Pilgrimage as well.  The Prime Minister’s 15-Point programme for the Welfare of Minorities was announced in 2006.  To improve transparency in scholarship schemes, a new and revamped version of National Scholarship Portal was launched for various ministries Central government including Ministry of Minority Affairs for extending scholarships during 2016-17.  The Maulana AzadNational Fellowship (MANF) scheme for minority students was launched in 2009 as a Central Sector Scheme (CSS). It is implemented through University Grants Commission (UGC) and cent per cent central assistance is provided under the Scheme.  Naya Savera - Free Coaching and Allied Scheme: The “Free Coaching and Allied Scheme for the candidates belonging to miniority communities was launched in 2007 by this Ministry.  Nai Udaan: The objective of the Scheme is to provide financial support to the minority candidates clearing prelims conducted by Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission and State Public Service Commissions.  This Ministry implements an exclusive scheme ‘Nai Roshni’ for leadership development of minority women with an aim to empower and instill confidence in them by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with government systems, banks and intermediaries at all levels. It is implemented through empanelled non-governmental organizations.  The Minorities Commission which was set up in 1978 became a statutory body with the enactment of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 after which it was renamed as the National Commission for Minorities. The first statutory National Commission was set up in 1993. The NCM Act, 1992 was amended in 1995 which provided for a Vice Chairperson in the Commission. With the 1995 amendment, the Commission’s composition was expanded to 7 members (including a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson). The provision under Section 3(2) of the Act stipulates that five members including the Chairpersons shall be from amongst the minority communities.  Thirteen state governments, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Government of NCT of Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have set up statutory commissions for minorities. Manipur and Uttarakhand have set up non-statutory commissions.  The Office of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities (CLM) was established in 1957. in pursuance of the provision of Article 350-B of the Constitution which envisages investigation by CLM of all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the linguistic minorities in the country under the Constitution and reporting to the President upon these matters at such intervals as the President may direct. The President may want that all such reports be laid before each House of the Parliament and sent to the government administration of states/UTs concerned. The CLM organization has its headquarters at Delhi with three zonal offices at Belgaum, Chennai and Kolkata.  Under the Constitution of India, certain safeguards have been granted to the religious and linguistic minorities. Article 29 and 30 seek to protect the interests of minorities and recognize their right to conserve their distinct language, script or culture and to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Article 347 makes provision for Presidential direction for official recognition of any language spoken by a substantial proportion to the populations of a state or any part thereof for such purpose as the President may specify. Article 350 gives the right to submit representation for redressal of grievances to any authority of the Union or a state in any of the languages used in the Union/states. Article 360A provides for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups. Article 350B provides for a Special Officer designated as Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution.  A Wakf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties for purposes recognised by the Muslim Law as religious, pious or charitable. Apart from these religious aspects, the Wakfs are also instruments of social and economic upliftment. Administration of central legislation for Wakfs is the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. For the purpose of advising the central government on matters relating to working of the state Wakf Boards and the proper administration of the Wakfs in the country, the Central Wakf Council was established as a statutory body in 1964, under Section 8A of the Wakf Act, 1954 (now read as Sub-Sec(1) of the Section 9 of Wakf Act, 1995). The present Council was reconstituted in 2005. The Union Minister in charge of Wakf is the Chairperson of the Council.  Durgah Khawaja Saheb Act : It is an Act to make provision for the proper administration of Dargah and Endowment of the Dargah Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chishty (R.A.). Under this central Act, the administration, control and management of the Dargah Endowment has been vested in a representative committee known as the Dargah Committee appointed by the central government. The Dargah of Khwaja Moin- ud-din Chishti at Ajmer in Rajasthan is a Waqf of international fame. It is being administered under the Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act, 1955. With the help of the Government of India, the Ministry of Urban Development and with the active involvement of the government of Rajasthan through local administration, the Dargah Committee is implementing a scheme of providing lodging facilities for lakhs of India Year Book 2020 Synopsis [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page No.118 © BestCurrentAffairs.com. All Rights Reserved. [For IAS Prelims 2020]

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020 pilgrims who visit the holy Dargah during the annual Urs. The facility was earlier named “Vishram Sthali” and has been renamed “Gharib Nawaz Mehmankhana”. The infrastructure is meant to provide facilities/ amenities to the zaireen of Dargah Khwaja Sahab. BestCurrentAffairs.com A separate Ministry of Women and Child Development came into existence from 2006.  Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is one the flagship programmes of the Government, launched in 2015 to address the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and address other related issues of disempowerment of women. CSR is the number of girls against 1000 boys in the age group of 0-6 years. It is a tri- ministerial, convergent effort of Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resource Development.  Government announced pan India implementation of maternity benefit programme to eligible pregnant women and lactating mothers. The programme was named Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).  Poshan Abhiyaan is a flagship programme of Ministry of Women and Child Development which ensures convergence with various programmes i.e., Anganwadi Services. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) of MWCD Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), National Health Mission (NHM). Swachh Bharat Mission. Public Distribution System (PDS). It focuses to lay emphasis on the first 1000 days of the child, which includes the nine months of pregnancy, six months of exclusive breastfeeding and the period from 6 months to 2 years to ensure focused interventions on addressing undermutrition. Besides increasing the birth weight.  Government of India approved the Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK) Scheme in 2017 for its implementation from 2017-18 to 2019-20 to empower rural women through community participation.  A new initiative to establish One Stop Centres (OSC) was conceived and is being implemented across the country since April 2015. A woman who has suffered violence can get medical, police, legal and psychological counselling assistance at these centres. These also have a place for them to temporarily stay in case their condition so warrants. The OSC, popularly known by the name of Sakhi will be integrated with 181 and other existing helplines. The first centre was inaugurated at Raipur, Chhattisgarh in 2015. So far 138 such centres have been operational in 31 states/UTs., catering to the needs of the women affected by violence.  The Scheme of Universalisation of Women Helpline is being implemented since 2015, intended to provide 24 hour emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence.  The ‘Panic Button and Global Positioning System in Mobile Phone Handsets Rules, 2016’ have been notified by the Department of Telecommunications. Under these rules, all new feature phones will have the facility of panic button configured to the numeric key 5 or 9 and all smart phones will have it configured to three times short pressing of the on-off button. Further, all new mobile phones will be required to have the facility of identifying the location through satellite based OPS. An Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) is also being set up under Nirbhaya Fund in collaboration with MHA, which will integrate all emergency numbers to 112 with state-of-art technology to respond to distress signals sent from panic button.  The broad mandate of Mahila Police Volunteers (MPVs) is to report to authorities/police the incidences of violence against women such as domestic violence, child marriage, dowry harassment and violence faced by women in public spaces. Haryana has become the first state to operationalise the Mahila Police Volunteers scheme. It was launched jointly by the WCD Ministry and Haryana government in 2016 for the districts of Karnal and Mahendragarh in the state. Other states are expected to follow the same soon.  The Ministry is implementing the Swadhar Greh Scheme which targets the women who have been victims of unfortunate circumstances and who are in need of institutional support for rehabilitation so that they could lead their life with dignity. The Scheme envisages providing shelter, food, clothing and health as well as economic and social security for the women victims of difficult circumstances which includes widows, destitute women and aged women. Swadhar Greh Scheme is being implemented as a sub-scheme of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme Protection and Empowerment of Women under which funds are released through the states.  Working Women Hostel Scheme aims at providing safe and affordable accommodation to working women.  An advisory has been issued to all state governments to increase representation of women in police to 33 per cent of the total strength.  The recently enacted Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 notified in 2016, included acid attack as a kind of disability. Acid attack victims can now avail disability benefits.  Gender Budgeting (GB) is a powerful tool for achieving gender mainstreaming so as to ensure that benefits of development reach women as much as men.  To institutionalize such budgeting in the country, the setting up of Gender Budgeting Cells (GBCs) in all ministries/departments was mandated by the Ministry of Finance in 2007. The MWCD as the nodal agency for gender budgeting is undertaking several initiatives for taking it forward at the national and state levels.  The initiative of Gender Champions is being implemented through educational institutions to sensitize young students and create awareness on laws, legislations, legal rights and life skills education. The Gender Champion guidelines developed by MWCD are being operationalized in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development.  Shelter Home for Widows: It is the largest ever such facility being established or funded by the government, the Home, which will have a capacity to house 1000 women, is being constructed on 1.424 hectare of land at an estimated cost of ₹ 57 crore (including cost of the land) at Vrindavan. The design of the Home has been prepared in consultation with HelpAge India and is old age friendly. India Year Book 2020 Synopsis [BestCurrentAffairs.com] Page No.119 © BestCurrentAffairs.com. All Rights Reserved. [For IAS Prelims 2020]

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020  Ministry of Labour and Employment carried out suitable amendments in the Act, which are as follows: (i) enhancement of maternity leave under Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 from existing 12 weeks to 26 weeks; (ii) extension of maternity benefit to adopting mothers and commissioning mothers; (iii) BestCurrentAffairs.com establishment of crèche facility within the office/factory premises.  The Act is now called the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.  Village Convergence and Facilitation Service (VCFS) is an initiative launched in 2015 aimed at creating awareness through community engagement.  Women of India Exhibitions/Festivals: The Initiative was started in 2014 to link women organic farmers and entrepreneurs directly to the market.  The Ministry of Women and Child Development launched “Mahila e- Haat”, a unique direct online digital marketing platform for women entrepreneurs/SHOs/NGOs in 2016.  Now, as per the revised Rules, submission of father’s name is not mandatory and a person can obtain passport only by specifying his/her mother’s name. Further, a person does not need to submit her/his marriage/ divorce certificates.  Ujjawala is a comprehensive scheme to combat trafficking. The Scheme was launched in 2007 with the objective to prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation).  The norms of the Ujjawala scheme have been revised from 1st April, 2016.  The Governmen had set up a dedicated fund called Nirbhaya Fund in 2013, for implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security for women in the country.  Every year, International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March. On this day, a large number of events are held across the country to inspire and celebrate achievements of women in various spheres. On this occasion, Nari Shakti Puraskars are given to individuals and institutions that have rendered distinguished services to the cause of women empowerment.  A major part of India’s population—around 158 million consist of children in the age of 0-6 years (2011 Census).  Khoya-Paya Portal: In order to bring citizen participation for protecting children, a new citizen based portal Khoya-Paya was launched in 2015 which enables posting of information of missing and sighted children.  POCSO e-Box: Children are often unable to complain about sexual abuse because it is usually done by someone known to them. In order to provide them with a safe and anonymous mode of making a complaint, an internet based facility, e-Box, has been provided.  POCSO e- box launched in 2016, has received and handled 300 complaints.  The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016 (JJ Model Rules, 2016) was notified thereby repealing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 (JJ Rules, 2007).  Government has notified Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and Chapter VIII of the Act provisions for adoption of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children and also adoption of children by relatives.  Further, all adoptions under the Act have to proceed as per the Adoption Regulations framed by Central Adoption. Central Adoption Resource Agency has been reconstituted as Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) under this Act.  The Adoption Regulations were notified in 2017 and in supersession of Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015. Registering online with Central Adoptions Resource Authority (CARA) is mandatory to adopt a child from anywhere in India. Central Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) is the only official portal of CARA for legal adoption process.  National Nutrition Mission (NNM) is proposed to achieve improvement in nutritional status of children (O-6years), adolescent girls and pregnant women and lactating mothers in a time bound manner over a period of three years with the objectives of preventing and reducing under-nutrition in children (0-3 years); reducing the prevalence of anaemia among young children (6-59 months); reducing the prevalence of anaemia among women and adolescent girls (15-49 years) and reducing low birth weight.  The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme now known as Anganwadi Services Scheme was launched in 1975 with the objective to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-6 years; lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child; reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropouts; achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development; and enhance the capability of the mothers to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the children through proper nutrition and health education. The beneficiaries of the scheme are children below six years of age, pregnant and lactating mothers. It is self selecting and is open to all the beneficiaries without any pre- condition.  In pursuance of the provisions contained in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, the Ministry has notified the (under the Integrated Child Development Scheme Rules, 2017) in 2017 to regulate the entitlement specified under provisions of said Act for every pregnant woman and lactating mother till 6 months after child birth, and every child in the age group of 6 months to 6 years (including those suffering from malnutrition) for 300 days in a year, as per the nutritional standards specified in Schedule II of the said Act.  MWCD implementing International Development Association (IDA) assisted in 162 high burden districts of 8states inthe country covering 3.68 lakh Anganwadi Centres with the following project development objective: (i) to strengthen the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) policy framework, systems and capacities, and facilitate community engagement, to ensure greater focus on children under three years of age; (ii) to strengthen convergent actions for improved nutrition outcomes. One of

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020 the key activities in ICDS System’s Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project (ISSNIP) is

Information and Communication Technology enabled Real Time Monitoring (ICT-RTM) of ICDS.  Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) was introduced in 2010-11 and is operational in 205 selected BestCurrentAffairs.com districts across the country. It aims at all-round on pilot basis development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years.  Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) under MWCD is in process of setting up of 4 food testing Laboratories viz., central laboratory at Faridabad and 3 regional food testing laboratories at Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata for analyzing the food and nutritional supplements for food safety and quality to ensure nutritional and feeding norms for supplementary nutrition in ICDS Scheme.  A comprehensive regulation on fortification of Foods namely ‘Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016 was operationalized which sets the standards for fortification of major staple foods namely, wheat flour, rice, milk, edible oil and salt.  The National Plan of Action for Children (NPAC), 2016 is based on the principles embedded in the National Policy for Children, 2013.  The National Creche Scheme is being implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme through the states/UTs from 2017 to provide day-care facilities to children of working mothers and other deserving women.  Ministry launched the National Early Childhood Care and Education (NECCE) Policy in 2013.  National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development popu- larly known as NIPCCD, is a premier organisation devoted to promotion of voluntary action research, training and documentation in the overall domain of women and child development. Established in New Delhi in 1966 under Societies Registration Act of 1860, it functions to cater to the region-specific requirements of the country. The Institute, over a period of time, has estab- lished four Regional Centres at Guwahati (1978), Bengaluru (1980), Lucknow (1982) and Indore (2001).  The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to review the Con- stitutional and legal safeguards for women; recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.  The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was set up in 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. NCPCR is a statutory body to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.  Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body that functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is desig- nated as the central authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accor- dance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adop- tion, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003. CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associ- ated /recognised adoption agencies.  The Central Social Welfare Board was established in 1953 to carry out welfare activities for promoting voluntarism, providing technical and financial assistance to the voluntary organisations for the general welfare of family, women and children. This was the first effort to set up an organization, which would work on the principle of voluntarism as a non-governmental organiza- tion.  Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) was established in 1993 as an autonomous body and was registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. RMK is a national level organization for socio-economic empowerment of women.