Throw light on the achievements of Department of Social Justice & Empowerment over the last few years.

Department of Social justice and empowerment which works under the ministry of social justice and empowerment has a key role of ensuring the social justice and promoting equality of opportunity.
In order to pursue these objectives the department has initiated the following programmes to build an inclusive and sustainable India over the last few years:

• Setting up of a Help Line:Pursuant to Prime Minister’s Mann ki Baat Programme, a National toll free helpline for Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse has been set up.
• Creation of ‘Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Caste Entrepreneurs’ Scheme:The objective of this Scheme is to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Castes and to provide concessional finance to them. The scheme would be implemented by the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Limited.
• Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for the Scheduled Castes:The objective of the Scheme is to promote entrepreneurship among the scheduled castes and to facilitate concessional finance to them.
• Swachhta Udyami Yojana:As an integral part of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by the Prime Minister on 2nd October, 2014, the department has launched a new Scheme ‘Swachhta Udyami Yojana’ on 2nd October, 2014 for financing viable community toilet projects and sanitation related vehicles to collect garbage. 
• Commercial Motor Driving Training with Self Defence Skills for Women:For the economic as well as social empowerment of women belonging to the to the category of safai Karamcharis, scavengers and their dependents, the department  has introduced a course of “Commercial Motor Driving Training with Self Defence Skills for Women”.
• Green Business Scheme:The scheme aims to promote protected cultivation to support sustainable livelihoods of Scheduled Castes and Safai Karamcharis. Financial assistance would be provided for those economic activities that could address the challenges of climate change, e.g., E-rickshaw, solar pumps and other instruments working on solar energy etc. 
• Sanitary Mart Scheme:Under the Scheme loans are provided upto Rs. 15 Lakhs to Safai Karamcharis for construction of toilets/bio-degradable toilets. 
• The National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was made functional by appointing the Chairman and Member.

An inclusive and sustainable India can only be built on the pillars of social justice and empowering of the disadvantaged sections. These initiatives are a step in direction of ensuring an inclusive and sustainable India as per the motto of the government “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”.

Topics: GS-II: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors