Governance
In News: The Parliamentary panel on Social Justice and Empowerment has pulled up the Union government over the “very slow” process to categorise over 260 denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes under either the SC/ST/OBC lists, which government officials have pointed to for the delay in the approval of benefits under the SEED (Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs) scheme.
- Department of Social Justice and Empowerment had submitted that the Anthropological Survey of India had submitted reports on categorisation of 48 DNT communities so far.
Aim – SEED scheme:
- providing free competitive exam coaching, health insurance, housing assistance, and livelihood initiatives.
About the scheme:
- The scheme was launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- An amount of ₹200 crore has been allocated for this scheme — to be spent over five years from FY2021-22 to FY2025-26.
- The scheme was launched along with a system for online applications and live status-tracking.
- More than 10 crore Indians from over 1,400 communities are either denotified, nomadic or semi-nomadic.
Anthropological Survey of India:
- Anthropological Survey of India is the only research organisation to pursue anthropological research in a Governmental setup.
- In 1945, Anthropology section of the Zoological Survey was carved out to become the Anthropological Survey of India (An.S.I)
- The head office is in Calcutta
- It comes under the Ministry of Culture.
Objectives of An.S.I:
- To study the tribes and other communities that form the population of India both from the biological and cultural point of view.
- To study and preserve the human skeletal remains, both from ancient and contemporary period.
- To collect, preserve, maintain and document the bio-cultural heritage and the traditional art and craft of the people of India through Anthropological Museums.
Source: The Hindu
