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  • 23rd July 2021| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement(AWE)

    Topics for Today’s questions:

    GS-1  Population and associated issues.

    GS-2  Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

    GS-3  Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment; Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. 

     

    GS-4 Case Study

     

    Questions:

    Question 1)

     

    Q.1) The ambit and reach of social security net needs to increase for the welfare of elderly as their share in population of India is expected to rise in near future. Discuss the challenges in design, development and execution of welfare measures for the elderly. How far do the recent measures taken by the government address these? (15 Marks)

     

    Question 2)

    Q.2) What are the issues facing the public healthcare system in India? Is privatisation an answer to these issues faced by the healthcare system? (10 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Q.3) The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project aims to make e-commerce processes open-source. What are the advantages of doing this? Suggest the approach the ONDC project should adopt to make it a success. (10 Marks)

    Question 4)  

    Q.4) Wildlife conservation is today the hot topic of talk throughout globe. Every international event has wildlife protection agenda directly or indirectly. Expanding human demands on land, sea and fresh water, along with the impacts of climate change, have made the conservation and management of wild areas and wild animals a top priority. But there are many different reasons for thinking that such conservation is important, and these reasons can shape conservation policies in different ways. (a) Outline different possible ethical perspectives through which it is possible to think about wildlife management and conservation. (b) Explore the different underlying values that can direct conservation policy. (20 Marks)

    NOTE- Since it’s a two month program last date to write answers is July 30th. All the questions will be evaluated latest by August 5th.
    After that this program will end as we need to focus on Prelims. So write all the answers before 30th July.

    HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?

    1. Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.

    2. A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.

    3. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.

    4.  Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.

    5. Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.

    6. If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 1st June is uploaded on 1st June then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis

    7. If you are writing answers late, for example, 1st June is uploaded on 3rd June, then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.

    8. We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Swatantra so that the mentor is notified about your answer.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. Swatantra Sir’s tag is available, tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment: 

    CLICK HERE To join Daily AWE

  • 23rdJuly 2021 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 709]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 709]

  • [RSTV Archive] Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021

    The government has introduced the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha to replace a nine-decade-old law to pave the way for shifting from lighthouses to modern aids for marine navigation.  Lok Sabha passed the Bill in March this year.

    In this article, we shall study the salient features, its application, the changes the bill would bring about in marine navigation.

    Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021

    • The Bill repeals the Lighthouse Act, 1927 and seeks to provide a framework for the development, maintenance, and management of aids to navigation in India.
    • Key features of the Bill include:

    Application:

    • The Bill applies to the whole of India including various maritime zones including territorial waters, continental shelf, and exclusive economic zone.

    Aid to navigation:

    • The Bill defines aid to navigation as a device, system, or service, external to the vessels designed and operated to enhance the safety and efficiency of navigation of vessels and vessel traffic. 
    • A vessel includes a ship, boat, sailing vessel, fishing vessel, submersible, and mobile offshore drilling units.
    • Vessel traffic service is defined as a service to improve the safety and efficiency of vessel traffic and protect the environment.

    Director-General of Aids to Navigation:

    • The Bill provides that the central government will appoint: (i) a Director General, (ii) Deputy Director Generals, and (iii) Directors for districts (which the centre may demarcate). 
    • The Director General will advise the central government on matters related to aids to navigation, among others.

    Central Advisory Committee:

    • The central government may appoint a Central Advisory Committee (CAC) consisting of persons representing the interests affected by the Bill, or having special knowledge of the sector. 
    • The government may consult the CAC on matters including: (i) establishment of aids to navigation, (ii) additions, alteration, or removal of, any such aids, (iii) cost of any proposal relating to such aids.
    • Further, the CAC may also appoint sub-committees for additional advice on these matters.

    Management of General Aids: 

    • The central government will be responsible for the development, maintenance, and management of all general aids to navigation and vessel traffic services.
    • Its powers with regard to management of aids to navigation include: (i) establishing, maintaining, adding, altering, or removing any aid to navigation, (ii) authorising to inspect any such aid which may affect the safety of navigation, and (iii) acquiring any land as may be necessary.

    Training and certification:

    • The Bill provides that no person shall be allowed to operate on any aid to navigation (including any ancillary activities), or any vessel traffic service in any place unless he holds a valid training certificate. 
    • The central government will accredit training organizations for imparting training to, or conduct assessments of, persons in the operation of aids to navigation and vessel traffic services.

    Levy of marine aids to navigation dues:

    • The Bill provides that marine aids to navigation dues will be levied and collected for every ship arriving at or departing from any port in India, at the rate specified by the central government from time to time. 
    • The central government may wholly or partially exempt certain vessels from these dues. 
    • These vessels include: (i) any government ship, which is not carrying cargo or passengers for freight or fares, or (ii) any other ship, classes of ships, or ships performing specified voyages.
    • Any dispute related to the marine aids to navigation dues, expenses, or costs, will be heard and determined by a civil court having jurisdiction at the place where the dispute arose.

     Heritage Lighthouse:

    • The central government may designate any aid to navigation under its control as a heritage lighthouse. 
    • In addition to their function as aids to navigation, such lighthouses will be developed for educational, cultural, and tourism purposes.

    Why was such bill needed?

    • India has a long coastline. There are radar beacons, GPS Navigation system to guide a ship for proper directing  of the ship.
    • In India there are 18 light houses which are more than 75 years old.
    • There are light house districts where safe navigation is provided. Cost of Maintaining of these Light houses is also very high.

  • A cardinal omission in the COVID-19 package

    Context

    On July 8, 2021, the Union government announced the “India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package: Phase II”. But it lacks provision for the medical workforce.

    Objectives of the package

    • The stated purpose of the package is to boost health infrastructure and prepare for a possible third wave of COVID-19.
    • There is plan to increase COVID-19 beds, improve the oxygen availability and supply, create buffer stocks of essential medicines; purchase equipment and strengthen paediatric beds.

    What is lacking in the package?

    • Workforce shortage: The package barely has any attention on improving the availability of health human resources.
    • As reported in rural health statistics and the national health profile there are vacancies for staff in government health facilities, which range from 30% to 80% depending upon the sub-group of medical officers, specialist doctors to nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists and radiographers, amongst others.
    • Interstate variation: In addition, there are wide inter-State variations, with States that have poor health indicators with the highest vacancies.

    Way forward

    • Package for filling the existing vacancies: The COVID-19 package II needs to be urgently supplemented by another plan and a similar financial package (with shared Union and State government funding) to fill the existing vacancies of health staff at all levels. 
    • An objective approach to assess the mid-term health human resource needs could be the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS).
    • IPHS prescribes the human resources and infrastructure needed to make various types of government health facilities functional.
    • The pandemic should be used as an opportunity to prepare India’s health system for the future.
    • Scrutiny of the progress on policy decision: The progress on key policy decisions, for the last few years, to strengthen India’s health system, including those in India’s national health policy of 2017, need to be objectively scrutinised.
    • These two sets of policy decisions should be reviewed and progress monitored, through a meeting of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare, of which the Health Ministers of the States are members.

    Conclusion

    India’s health system will not benefit from ad hoc and a patchwork of one or other small packages. It essentially needs some transformational changes.

  • SMASH PRELIMS For Absolutely FREE! Get Focused Prelims Sessions on Habitat | Join Parth sir at 8:30 pm

    MCQs, Revision, MPQs, Doubt Clearing, And Study Material

    Join Habitat for FREE UPSC Prelims sessions

    Dear aspirants,

    Prelims is coming and you need to be prepared to knock it out of the park! Attend absolutely FREE sessions with Parth sir and other mentors, and practice the most important concepts daily. Gain an advantage over your competition with complete coverage and smart answer techniques!

    What do you get?

    1. Intense Revision Through MCQs
    2. Expected questions.
    3. Daily Practice
    4. Doubt Clearing Sessions.
    5. Live Discussion.
    6. MCQs and parted analysis.
    7. Tips for Smart Guessing.
    8. Techniques for accurate answers.

    And more…

    Don’t pay a single rupee! Just join and start preparing!

    It’s Absolutely FREE, Join Now!

    Parth sir’s session starts at 8:30 pm

    https://youtu.be/uRGBKfLWkEY

    What do you have to do?

    1. Join Habitat For Absolutely Free Sessions!
    2. Read The Discussions Happening On The General Page.
    3. Click On The Blue Box To Join The Discussion.
    4. Participate, Ask Questions, Engage, And Learn!

    Don’t Miss Out On The Questions That May Help You Succeed!

    Here is a list of topics and discussions you can join immediately:

    Revise Economics for IAS PrelimsRavi Ranjan11:00 am
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    And many more…

    Whatever you need, we have it here.

    Join the club of your choice here (for free)

    How to join a discussion?

    After you have joined/registered on Habitat for free, go to the General club. Click on the blue box of the session you want to attend.

  • How To Start Preparation For IAS Exam – A Complete Guide To UPSC Civil Services Exam for Beginners & Working Professionals || Fill Registration form and get a Personalised Timetable till Prelims 2022 & Initial Study Material to begin Preparation

    Key Takeaways:

    1. Civilsdaily Monthly Magazine (Latest Two Months)
    2. Mentorship Call for Personlised Daily Timetable
    3. Beginners Guide / All Important sample Videos and Notes
    4. PDFs of Important Go-To Subjects to Begin with.

    UPSC Civil Services Exam for the recruitment of IAS, IFS, IRS and 21 other services is one of the most difficult exams in India. More than 10 Lakh aspirants give the UPSC exam every year making the exam competitive. But that does not mean YOU cannot crack it!

    Here’s what you need to know before you start preparing for UPSC Exam.

    Get your personalised daily timetable and initial study material

    FACT: UPSC Civil Service exam requires Hard Work + Strategy + Guidance This is the Holy Trinity that will help you become an IAS officer. 

    So, how do you start?

    1) The UPSC Exam Schedule: 

    UPSC exam is held in 3 stages – Prelims, Mains, And Interview. Prelims are based on objective questions, Mains is subjective, and Interview is a personality test. Fortunately, you can prepare for these stages together and online!

    2) Understanding the syllabus: 

    UPSC exam has a vast syllabus. It is important to know the scope of preparation before you start preparing for the exam. Here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself:

    a) What are the scope and the nature of the syllabus?

    b) What to study and what not to study?

    c) What is the question pattern?

    d) What are your weak areas and what are your strengths?

    e) What kind of guidance will you need? Etc.

    Our guidance program, for example, helps students understand the syllabus and develop a  strategy around it. The mentors at Civils Daily handhold the candidates and guide them at each step. They explain to the students about the Dos and Don’ts of the exam and train them how to develop a good study pattern.

    GET YOUR PERSONALISED DAILY TIMETABLE AND INITIAL STUDY MATERIAL

    3) Developing a Smart Strategy: 

    Developing a strategy that delivers results is very important for this exam. We believe that every student learns at their own pace and each student should have a personal study plan that suits their learning curve.

    This is why our mentors do the following:

    a) They assess the students and understand their requirements.

    b) They develop a study plan for the students that match their learning abilities.

    c) They provide the important study material so that the student doesn’t feel lost. 

    d) They provide regular feedback to students to help them remain focused.

    We believe that students should have strong strategies that are tried and tested, and our experienced mentors customise these strategies for each student.

    4) Managing Current Affairs: 

    Current Affairs is the heart and soul of UPSC preparation. But there is so much news every day that it becomes difficult for the student to cope. That is why we tie Current Affairs with static knowledge and share it with students. This makes it easy for students to remember important details and score more in the exam.

    You can also practice reading newspapers daily and making notes. This will keep you updated. And you can always receive the Current Affairs study material from us in consolidated form for quick revision.

    5) Choosing Optionals:

    This is what topper do when choosing optional:

    a) They narrow down the subjects to 3-4 options based on their background.

    b) They go through the syllabus thoroughly before making a decision.

    c) They also analyse the previous years’ question papers to understand the pattern.

    d) They consult with their mentors to develop a study plan that could work.

    Speaking with a mentor is highly helpful in making this decision because they keep analysing the exam pattern. The mentors know what kind of questions may come and how to study for them. Having an experienced guiding hand for optionals can take your preparation to the next level.

    GET YOUR PERSONALISED DAILY TIMETABLE AND INITIAL STUDY MATERIAL

    6) Writing Practice 

    Answer-writing practice and essay writing practice is a must for any candidate. But the most important thing is getting feedback and evaluation.

    a) Getting feedback from the beginning will help you practice the best way of writing answers.

    b) Getting your essays evaluated will help you avoid making mistakes.

    c) Getting the right guidance can save you a lot of effort.

    Starting with the right guidance can help you avoid mistakes and save you a lot of time.  Why waste time doing things that don’t work and why not start with the right guidance itself? 

    7) Getting The Right Guidance 

    Do not waste your time and energy in reinventing the wheel! 

    It is important to engage with someone who understands your needs. Experienced mentors know the common mistakes that students make, they understand how overwhelming this experience can be. The mentors know how much time and effort goes into the right preparation. And they know how to help students in all these situations.

    The best thing to do is to get in touch with a mentor who can help you avoid making mistakes and guide you to the right preparation techniques.

    This is why our programs are designed to help students at each stage of their preparation.  Any problem you face, you can speak with us and we will find a solution for you. We believe in working with our students and providing the guidance that can make your dream come true!

    GET YOUR PERSONALISED DAILY TIMETABLE AND INITIAL STUDY MATERIAL

  • OPEC Reaches Compromise With U.A.E. Over Oil Production

    Context

    The end to the UAE’s weeks-long impasse with Saudi Arabia and Russia, a non-OPEC state, was brought about by Sunday’s deal.

    What was the deal about?

    • United Arab Emirates (UAE), said to hold the world’s largest untapped crude reserves, had demanded an increase in its oil output quotas.
    • The end to the UAE’s weeks-long impasse with Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest crude exporters, and Russia, a non-OPEC state, was brought about by Sunday’s deal.
    • Under its terms, the UAE’s demand for an increase in its oil output quotas, in recognition of its higher production capacity, has been conceded.
    • The baselines have also been raised for Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, and Kuwait.
    • The bloc will now step up crude production by 400,000 barrels a day starting in August.
    • The output boost is in response to rising oil prices in the wake of the rebound in economic activity.
    • The cartel had cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels a day (mbd) as oil demand fell from 100 mbd to 91.1 mbd and prices plummeted from $70 in January 2020 to around $20 in April.

    Strain in Saudi Arabia-UAE relations

    • The UAE has played hardball during the bloc’s attempts to deal with the pandemic-induced price volatility.
    • Thus, while the internal rift has been resolved for now, the danger cannot be ruled out of an increasingly economically and politically assertive UAE flexing its muscle.
    • Bilateral relations between the traditional allies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have been especially strained since the UAE established diplomatic ties with Israel last year and withdrew troops from the Saudi-spearheaded war in Yemen the year before.
    • A more recent arena of tension is the tariffs Riyadh has imposed on imports from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
    • Saudi Arabia will now exclude from the GCC tariff agreement goods made by companies with a workforce of less than 25% of locals and industrial products with less than 40% of the added value after their transformation process.
    • Home to a predominantly migrant population, the move could hit the UAE especially hard.

    OPEC’s concerns

    • The OPEC, forecast in 2016 that a strict implementation of the Paris climate accord could see the demand for oil peak by 2030.
    • There is an eagerness to maximise the returns on their substantial hydrocarbon resources, amid growing speculation of a peak in oil demand within sight.
    • The International Energy Agency (IEA), which in 2016 forecast a continued rise in oil consumption until the 2040s, has more recently hinted at about a 5% rise or fall relative to the demand before the pandemic within a decade.
    • OPEC’s other concerns are the stabilization of world oil prices without jeopardizing national expenditure programs, and the diversification of economies in anticipation of the unfolding global energy transition.

    Conclusion

    The latest OPEC compromise echoes growing recognition of the delicate balance between competing domestic and global priorities.

    B2BASICS

    OPEC

    • The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
    • It aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil in the world market, in order to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing and purchasing countries.
    • It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
    • OPEC membership is open to any country that is a substantial exporter of oil and which shares the ideals of the organization.
    • Gabon terminated its membership in January 1995. However, it rejoined the Organization in July 2016.
    • As of 2019, OPEC has a total of 14 Member Countries viz. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates(UAE), Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, Angola, Ecuador, and Venezuela are members of OPEC.

     

  • ‘Open talks’ with the Taliban is India’s strategic necessity

    Context

    With over a third of Afghanistan’s more than 400 districts under Taliban control, the talk-to-the-Taliban option is indeed the best of the many less than perfect options available to India.

    India need a reset in its Afghanistan policy

    • India has ‘temporarily’ closed its consulate in Kandahar.
    • This follows the decision to suspend operations in the Indian consulates in Jalalabad and Herat.
    • India’s decision to partially “withdraw” from Afghanistan shows that betting only on the government in Kabul was a big mistake,
    • It also shows that India realises the threat the Taliban poses to Indian assets and presence in Afghanistan.
    • To safeguard its civilian assets there as well as to stay relevant in the unfolding ‘great game’ in and around Afghanistan, India must fundamentally reset its Afghanistan policy.
    • India must, in its own national interest, begin ‘open talks’ with the Taliban before it is too late.
    • Open dialogue with the Taliban should no longer be a taboo; it is a strategic necessity.

    Reason for avoiding open talks with Taliban

    • There are at least five possible reasons why India appears to want to keep the Taliban engagement slow and behind closed doors.
    • First, if India chooses to engage the Taliban directly, it could make Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, to look towards China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for national security and personal political survival.
    • Second, India is also faced with the dilemma of who to talk to within the Taliban given that it is hardly a monolith.
    • Third, given the global opprobrium that Taliban faced in its earlier avatar and the lack of evidence about whether the outfit is a changed lot today, New Delhi might not want to court the Taliban so soon.
    • Fourth, there is little clarity about what the Taliban’s real intentions are going forward and what they would do after ascending to power in Kabul.
    • Fifth, it would not be totally unreasonable to consider the possibility of Pakistan acting out against India in Kashmir if India were to establish deeper links with the Taliban.

    Reasons India should engage with the Taliban openly

    • Wide international recognition: Whether we like it or not, the Taliban, is going to be part of the political scheme of things in Afghanistan, and unlike in 1996, a large number of players in the international community are going to recognise/negotiate/do business with the Taliban.
    • Countering Pakistan: The Taliban today is looking for regional and global partners for recognition and legitimacy especially in the neighbourhood.
    • So the less proactive the Indian engagement with the Taliban, the stronger Pakistan-Taliban relations would become.
    • A worldly-wise and internationally-exposed Taliban 2.0 would develop its own agency and sovereign claims including perhaps calling into question the legitimacy of the Durand Line separating Pakistan and Afghanistan, something Pakistan was always concerned about. T
    • The Taliban would want to hedge their bets on how far to listen to Pakistan.
    • That is precisely when New Delhi should engage the Taliban.
    • Security of civilian assets: India needs to court all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban if it wants to ensure its security of its civilian assets there.
    • It makes neither strategic nor economic sense to withdraw from Afghanistan after spending over $3 billion, something the Government seems to be prepared to do
    • Being a part of Afghanistan’s future course: If India is not proactive in Afghanistan at least now, late as it is, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and China will emerge as the shapers of Afghanistan’s political and geopolitical destiny, which for sure will be detrimental to Indian interests there.
    • Continental grand strategy:  Backchannel talks with Pakistan and a consequent ceasefire on the Line of Control, political dialogue with the mainstream Kashmiri leadership, secret parleys with Taliban all indicate that India is opening up its congested north-western frontier.
    •  Except for the strategic foray into the Indo-Pacific, India today is strategically boxed in the region and it must break out of it. Afghanistan could provide, if not immediately, India with such a way out.

    Consider the question ” India’s Afghan policy is at a major crossroads; to safeguard its civilian assets there as well as to stay relevant in the unfolding ‘great game’ in and around Afghanistan, New Delhi must fundamentally reset its Afghanistan policy. Comment.” 

    Conclusion

    In the end, India’s engagement with the Taliban may or may not achieve much, but non-engagement will definitely hurt Indian interests.

    Back2Basics: Durand Line

    • Durand Line, boundary established in the Hindu Kush in 1893 running through the tribal lands between Afghanistan and British India, marking their respective spheres of influence.
    • In modern times it has marked the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
    • The acceptance of this line—which was named for Sir Mortimer Durand, who induced ʿAbdor Raḥmān Khān, amir of Afghanistan, to agree to a boundary—may be said to have settled the Indo-Afghan frontier problem for the rest of the British period.

  • Speedy trial a fundamental right: HC

    The Bombay High Court has said that speedy trial is a fundamental right highlighting the issue of people languishing in prisons waiting for the trial to begin.

    Background

    • The HC was hearing a petition seeking a judicial probe into the death of a tribal rights activist.
    • The petitioner told the court that he was not looking for the cause of the death, but an inquiry into what happened in jail that ultimately led to his death.

    Right to speedy trial

    • It is a right under which it is asserted that a government prosecutor may not delay the trial of a criminal suspect arbitrarily and indefinitely.
    • Otherwise, the power to impose such delays would effectively allow prosecutors to send anyone to jail for an arbitrary length of time without trial.
    • Right to speedy trial is a concept gaining recognition and importance day by day.

    Its constitutional status

    • The right to speedy trial is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
    • In the case Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab (1961) it was declared that right to speedy trial is an essential part of fundamental right to life and liberty.
    • Article 21 declares that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure laid by law.”

    What causes delay?

    • Delay in disposition of cases due to huge pendency
    • Provision for adjournment
    • Vacation of the court
    • Investigative agencies generally delay

    Why speedy trial is necessary?

    The right to a speedy trial serves several important purposes:

    • First, requiring a speedy trial helps to ensure that a defendant does not have to spend an unreasonable amount of time in jail.
    • It also helps to respect and protect the mental health of the defendant by making sure that the defendant is not kept in suspense or anxiety over pending criminal charges for months or years at a time.
    • The right to a speedy trial protects a defendant’s ability to gather evidence for his or her own defense.
    • Over time, physical evidence can become harder and harder to locate, and witnesses may move, lose their memories of an event, or even pass away.

    Alternative solutions

    • The Law Commission of India and the Malimath Committee recommended that the system of plea bargaining should be introduced in Indian criminal justice system.
    • Plea bargaining refers to a person charged with a criminal offence negotiating with the prosecution for a lesser punishment than what is provided in law by pleading guilty to a less serious offence.
    • This will facilitate the speedy disposal of criminal cases and reduces the burden on the courts at least for some minor trials and not serious criminal offences.

  • [pib] SMILE Scheme for persons engaged in the act of begging

    The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a scheme “SMILE – Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise”.

    SMILE Scheme

    • This scheme is sub-scheme under the ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of Begging’.
    • It covers several comprehensive measures including welfare measures for persons who are engaged in the act of begging.
    • The focus of the scheme is extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, basic documentation, education, skill development, economic linkages and so on.
    • The scheme would be implemented with the support of State/UT Governments/Local Urban Bodies, Voluntary Organizations, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), institutions and others.
    • Scheme provides for the use of the existing shelter homes available with the State/UT Governments and Urban local bodies for rehabilitation of the persons engaged in the act of Begging.
    • In case of non-availability of existing shelter homes, new dedicated shelter homes are to be set up by the implementing agencies.

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