Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Scheme.
• It is for the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Communities."

About the scheme: SEED

• It is an umbrella scheme for empowerment of these communities and Scheme for Economic Empowerment.
• It is formulated with 4 components:

1. Educational empowerment - Free coaching to students from these communities for Civil Services, entry to professional courses like medicine, engineering, MBA, etc.
2. Health Insurance - through PMJAY of National Health Authority.
3. Livelihoods to support income generation,
4. Housing - through PMAY/IAY

• The scheme alloted expenditure of Rs.200 crore to be spent over 5 years beginning 2021-22. 
• Implementation by:  Development and Welfare Board for DNTs, SNTs & NTs (DWBDNCs).

Features of the scheme

• An online portal to be developed by the Department.
• Portal - 

1. to ensure seamless registration and act as a repository of the data on these communities.
2. It is very user friendly and easily accessible on mobile phone with its mobile application. 
3. It will provide real time status of application to the applicant. 

• The payment to the beneficiaries - to be made directly to their accounts. 

Objectives

• Step towards the progress and development of these communities who have been neglected and subjected to apathy for many years.
• Upliftment of the last man standing.
• Determined to bring them into the mainstream of overall development.

DNTs, NTs, SNTs

• The term 'De-notified Tribes' stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, 1871.
• They are one of the most deprived and economically weaker communities in India.
• Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DNCs) are hard to reach, less visible, and frequently left out.
• While most DNTs are spread across the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, some DNTs are not covered in any of the SC, ST or OBC categories.

Various factors of their backwardness

During British period:

• The misery of these communities began with the enactment of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 during the British rule. 
• These communities were subjugated, persecuted and neglected. 
• The policies of the colonial government affected lives and livelihood adversely.
• These communities were branded as criminals under various colonial acts. 
• This led to the forcible alienation from their traditional occupations and habitations. 
• They remained hunter gatherers and pastoral/peripatetic.

After Independence

• They have not benefitted much from the planned development of over 7 decades.
• They were deprived of state support like the SCs/STs.
• The 1st commission was set up in October 2003 to look into the problems of these communities. 
• The Renke Commission was set up in 2008.
• National Commission in 2015 under the chairmanship of Shri Bhiku Ramji Idate.
• Commission was tasked among others to identify and proper listing of these communities in different states.
• Also to evaluate the progress of development of these communities in the states for systematic approach of development of these communities.
• Based on commission's recommendation - Development and Welfare Board for DNTs, SNTs & NTs (DWBDNCs) was established in 2019.

Steps taken by the government

• Government has taken the initiatives for proper rehabilitation of these communities and identification of areas of intervention for their progress.
• Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities has been constituted.
• Government is committed to ensure overall development of these communities in true sense following the mantra - Sabka Saath, Saabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas, Sabka Prayaas.