Dr. Virendra Kumar, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, will inaugurate the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 16th February 2022, at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi, for the benefit of De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
The De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes are the most marginalized, economically, and socially disadvantaged communities. The majority of them have been living in poverty for decades and will continue to do so in the face of an unclear and bleak future. De-notified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes have escaped our developmental framework and, as a result, are denied support, in contrast to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
These communities have never had access to private land or homeownership in the past. These tribes relied on woods and pasture fields for subsistence and housing, and maintained “deep ecological ties.” Numerous of them are reliant on a variety of natural resources and must create intricate ecological niches to survive. Changes in the ecosystem and environment have a significant impact on their livelihood alternatives.
Dr. Virendra Kumar, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment will launch the scheme
Dr. Virendra Kumar, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, will inaugurate the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 16th February 2022, at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi, for the benefit of De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
In February 2014, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment established a three-year National Commission for De-Notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes. This National Commission was established by Shri Bhiku Ramji Idate. This commission completed its work in December 2017 and issued a report. The panel included draught lists of DNT/NT/SNT Communities in its report. The amount of DNT/NT/SNT communities in detail.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment established the Development and Welfare Board for De-Notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs) in 2019 in response to the National Commission’s recommendations. The Board has been charged with developing and implementing initiatives for the welfare and development of these communities.
A scheme for the empowerment of DNT communities has been created for households earning Rs.2.50 lakh or less per annum from all sources and not receiving similar benefits from the Centre or the State Governments. The Scheme will have the following four components, with an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore to be spent over a five-year period beginning in the Financial Year 2021-22 and ending in the Financial Year 2025-26.
To provide high-quality coaching to DNT/NT/SNT aspirants in order to prepare them for competitive examinations
A component of free coaching for DNT students has been envisioned to strengthen these communities educationally. This component’s purpose is to provide high-quality coaching to DNT applicants in order to prepare them for competitive examinations/admission to professional courses such as medical, engineering, and MBA in order to acquire an acceptable position in the public/private sector. Candidates will be selected for each course based on a system-generated merit list accessible via the portal. In five years, about 6250 students will receive free coaching through this component. A total of Rs.50 crore would be spent over the next five years.
To give health insurance to people who are DNT/NT/SNT
Members of DNT/NT/SNT communities are likely to lack access to medical facilities and other benefits provided by mainstream health policy. They are impoverished to the point of being unable to afford private medical care. The scheme’s primary objective is to provide financial assistance to the National Health Authority (NHA) in collaboration with State Health Agencies (SHAs) for the purpose of providing health insurance coverage of Rs.5 lakhs per family per year to DNT, NT, and SNT families in accordance with the provisions of the “Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.”
In five years, approximately 4,44,500 families will be covered by health insurance. The overall expenditure throughout the five-year period will be Rs.49 crore.
To promote livelihoods initiatives at the community level, including the establishment and strengthening of small clusters of DNT/NT/SNT Community institutions.
The decrease of DNT/NT/SNT communities’ traditional vocations increased their poverty. It is necessary to prioritize assisting these communities in generating income.
The scheme’s primary objective is to provide financial assistance to the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) for institution building in collaboration with the State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLM) of state governments/UTs at the community level as a livelihood initiative to increase productivity growth in key livelihood sectors for employment generation in DNT/NT/SNT communities through investments in institutional support and technical assistance. In five years, about 2,000 clusters will profit from this component. The overall expenditure throughout the five-year period will be Rs.49 crore.
To provide financial help to members of the DNT/NT/SNT Communities for the construction of homes
At the moment, a sizable number of families from the DNT/NT communities lack permanent shelter and housing. In light of their shifting socioeconomic circumstances, a considerable number of DNT groups are attempting to establish themselves in one location or another and pursuing different careers. DNTs have been observed living in slum conditions throughout the country, in both urban and rural locations. They live in open, small, improvised tents, small hutments, or improvised pucca or kaccha dwellings.
Given the housing crisis for DNTs, it has been proposed to set aside a special outlay for PMAY to support the priority of constructing dwellings only for DNTs residing in rural areas who have not benefited from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana as SC, ST, or OBC and are below the poverty line. Support is permissible up to Rs 1.20 lakhs in plain areas and up to Rs 1.30 lakhs in hilly areas (per unit assistance). Approximately 4,200 dwellings will be created over the next five years using this component. A total of Rs.50 crore would be spent over the next five years.
The Scheme will be administered via a portal built by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment. The gateway is divided into two sections. One module for applicant registration, includes information about the applicant’s family, income, occupation, aadhar and bank account information, and caste certificate. After completing the registration process, the applicant will receive a unique identification (UID) number that will serve as his permanent registration number.
The applicant may use this UID to apply to one or more components of the plan, depending on his eligibility. The second section contains the scheme component for which the applicant wishes to apply, with his UID serving as the login id and his mobile serving as the password. The portal will establish a permanent database that the applicant can access whenever they wish to enroll in a new component.
The funds will be instantly sent to the beneficiaries bank accounts. The Ministry of Rural Development, the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), and the National Health Authority are the other implementing authorities (NHA).