The SEED scheme.

News Highlight:

The Union Social Justice Ministry received 402 applications online from across the country for benefits under the Economic Empowerment of Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi­nomadic (SEED) Tribes.

Key Takeaway

• The Ministry has allocated ₹200 crores for the SEED scheme to be spent over five financial years from 2021­-22 to 2025­-26.

SEED Scheme

• The Scheme for Economic Empowerment of Denotified, Nomadic, Semi­nomadic (SEED).
• It comes under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• The scheme will have the following four components with an approximate cost of Rs 200 crore to be spent over five years, starting with Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Under the scheme, the government seeks to provide free coaching to students for civil services examinations, competitive exams for admission to professional courses; health insurance; livelihood support; and housing.
• It has been formulated for families having an income from all sources of Rs. 2.50 lakh or less per annum and not availing any such benefits from similar schemes of the Center Government or the State Government.
• The scheme will be implemented through a portal, developed by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• The funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in their account after verification.
• The other implementing agencies are the Ministry of Rural Development, the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), and the National Health Authority (NHA).

Components of the scheme

• Free Coaching:
  • A component of free coaching for DNT students (De-notified Tribes) has been envisioned for the educational empowerment of these communities.
  • The objective of this component is to enable them to appear in competitive examinations/ admission to professional courses like medicine, engineering, MBA, etc., for an appropriate job in the Public/Private Sector.
  • The selection of the candidates for each course will be based on system generated merit list through the portal.
• Health Insurance:
  • Members of these communities are likely to have little or no access to medical facilities and other benefits under mainstream health policies.
  • The scheme’s primary objective is to provide financial assistance to the National Health Authority (NHA) in association with State Health Agencies (SHAs).
  • These agencies will provide a health insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh per family per year for families as per the norms of “Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
• Livelihood Initiatives:
  • The decline of traditional occupations of DNT/NT/SNT communities(De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes) has exacerbated their poverty.
  • A focus on supporting livelihood generation for these communities is required.
  • The scheme’s primary objective is to provide financial assistance to the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
  • It would enhance productivity growth in crucial livelihood sectors for employment generation through institutional support and technical assistance investments.
• Financial support for housing:
  • Considering the shortage of houses for DNTs, it has been proposed to earmark a separate outlay for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to support the specific importance of providing houses only for DNTs living in rural areas.
  • It is for those who have not taken advantage of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana as SC, ST, OBC and are living below the poverty line.
  • The admissible support is Rs 1.20 lakhs in the plains and Rs 1.30 lakhs in hilly areas (per unit assistance).

De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes

• The De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic tribes are the most neglected, marginalised, and economically and socially deprived communities. 
• Most of them have been living a life of deprivation for generations and continue to do so with an uncertain and gloomy future. 
• De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic tribes somehow escaped the attention of our developmental framework and thus are deprived of support, unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

• Historically, these communities never had access to private land or home ownership. These tribes used forests and grazing lands for their livelihoods and residential use and had “solid ecological connections.” Many depend upon various types of natural resources and carve out intricate ecological niches for their survival. The changes in the environment and environment seriously affect their livelihood options.

Content Source: The Hindu

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