Over the last three years we have witnessed a fundamental shift in the narrative of social justice for the marginalised. The focus has moved from the politics of welfarism and entitlement to a more participatory model of empowerment. By all means, the Central Government is effectively exploring multiple facets of empowerment for the socially deprived sections of the society. Here is an objective assessment of the steps taken by the present regime towards achieving the goal of social justice and holistic development of the last man in the village, which is reflective of the eternal commitment to the principles of Antyodaya.

The annual financial statements of the Government for the last three years have reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen the rural economy and indigenous infrastructure that lies at the core of our villages. It is indicative of the commitment reiterated by the Prime Minister NarendraModi on more than one occasions. Since the inception of the incumbent government, Modihas made his intentions clear that the core agenda of the government will remain“welfare of themarginalised”. 

Social Justice remains a cornerstone of our Constitution. Within the dichotomy of development and justice, one should not ignore the core responsibilities of the state. As far as development is concerned, non-state actors are adequately equipped with the resources and wherewithal to carry out developmental activities.However, more sustainable inclusion can only be realised with the intervention of the state.

Here it becomes imperative to revisit the role of the state as an active enabler. It is, therefore, opined that the state’s role is critical and should not be diluted. Disinvestment and abrupt privatisation should be debated and discussed as profit making and revenue generation leads to immense competition and ‘survival of the fittest’ syndrome. Those on the fringes of the society may not be able to compete in the extremely demanding circumstances of the corporate world. Hence, one of the paramount challenges is to create an amicable atmosphere to enable ease of doing business for these sections of the society.

Here comes the idea of ‘Subaltern Entrepreneurship’ which aims to equip the subaltern skill base with the requisite support system comprising of financial and regulatory facilities. One is aware of the fact thatgovernment jobs are shrinking and in any case, too much reliance on the government jobs might not be a desirable proposition.

India has been traditional preservers of various skills and crafts such as shoe making, embroidery, polishing, handlooms etc. It is in the area of skill development that one must evolve ways to match the existing skills sets amongst citizens with the ever-increasing demands of the globalised world. Policies facilitated by actions must ensure adequate representation of the weaker sections in co-operatives, corporates and civil societies through well-organised interfaces as well as through engagements at both institutional as well as at individual levels. This is where the present government is invested. 

Financial inclusion is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to the economically weaker and the lower-income segments of society. In this directionthe Government has taken several initiatives, all of which are potentially game-changers in the realm of social sector policy canvas. An actionable policy armed with inclusive growth is the need of the hour and the present government is successfully executing several schemes and programmes on this premise.

The key initiatives undertaken by the Union Government for social and economic security are:

• Financial Inclusion of the Poor: Prime Minister Jan DhanYojana.  This is a very significant scheme that strives to end Financial Untouchability by ensuring that the economically weaker sections have access to bank accounts.
• Expansion of Social Security Net. This has been achieved through PradhanMantriSurakshaBimaYojana (Accident Insurance), Atal Pension Yojana (Unorganized Sector) and PradhanMantriJeevanJyotiYojana (Life Insurance), which provide social and economic security to the marginalized sections of the society.
• Institutional Support for Subaltern Entrepreneurship. This has been achieved through MUDRA Bank, to provide microfinance to entrepreneurs in rural hinterland of India. National Hub for SC/ST entrepreneurs has been created to support the entrepreneurs coming from the marginalized communities.

Mudra loan for Financial Year: 2015-2016

Amount of Mudra loans sanctioned to micro units is Rs 3,48, 80,924 (3.48 crore)

Amount Sanctioned: Rs 1, 37,449.27 Crore

Amount Disbursed: Rs 1, 32,954.73 Crore

                                        Social Category Mudra Loan Beneficiary: Fact Sheet

*Source - mudra.org.in Complied by DICCI Secretariat

• 'Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Caste Entrepreneurs': The objective of this scheme is to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and to provide concessional finance to them. The scheme would be implemented by the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) Limited for which Rs200 crorehas been allotted.
• Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for the Scheduled Castes: The objective of the scheme is to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Castes (SCs)and to facilitate concessional finances to them. A budget of Rs200 crore has been allocated to IFCI Limited to facilitate the scheme.
• SwachhtaUdyamiYojana: As an integral part of 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' launched by the Prime Minister on October 2, 2014, the National SafaiKaramcharis Finance & Development Corporation(NSFDC) has launched a new Scheme 'SwachhtaUdyamiYojana' for financing viable community toilet projects and sanitation related vehicles to collect garbage.
• Green Business Scheme: The scheme has been started by NSFDC, with the aim to promote green businesses to support sustainable livelihoods of SCs and SafaiKaramcharis. 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: Launched in 2014-15, under the scheme, loans up to Rs15 lakhare provided to SafaiKaramcharis for construction of toilets/bio-degradable toilets.
• Stand up India: This scheme was recently launched to boost the spirit of entrepreneurship among the most vulnerable groups of the society. The specific groups are SCs, Scheduled Tribes (STs) and women. Under the umbrella of this scheme every single branch of a public sector bank is asked to support one entrepreneur each from women and SCs/STs category.
• Declaration of Panchtirth: The government has decided to dedicate five key places related with Babasaheb as Panchtirth which means places of pilgrimage to inspire the present generation Dalits. The Madhya Pradesh government has established a grand memorial at Mhow, the birthplace of Babasaheb. Maharashtra Government has purchased the house situated at 10, King Henry Road in London where Babasaheb pursued his higher education. This was inaugurated by the Prime Minister during his visit to the city in 2015.

These schemes clearly highlight that the government is committed to the cause of upliftof Dalits and other disadvantaged sections of the population. As outlined, various landmark initiatives have been initiated under the present regime to eliminate poverty and empower the weaker sections of the society. (Courtesy PIB)

                              – The author is a Dalit scholar