Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment recently reviewed the implementation of the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) program.
Denotified Tribes (DNTs), Nomadic Tribes (NTs), and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (SNTs) have historically remained outside the SC/ST/OBC categories and were left out of welfare schemes—hence this dedicated initiative.
About SEED Program
Launch Year: 2022
Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Objective:
- To provide quality coaching, health insurance, and housing aid to DNT and livelihood support to DNT (Denotified Tribes)/ NT (Nomadic Tribes)/ SNT (Semi-Nomadic Tribes) communities.
Beneficiaries:
- It targets families with an annual income of ₹2.50 lakh or less, who are not availing benefits from similar schemes of the central or state governments.
Components:
It includes four key components for the welfare of the DNT communities:
- Providing quality coaching to DNT candidates for competitive examinations,
- Providing health insurance to DNT communities,
- Promoting livelihood initiatives at the community level for small groups within DNT/NT/SNT communities,
- Providing financial assistance to DNT individuals for constructing houses.