Social Justice and Welfare Schemes
Social justice for UPSC: constitutional safeguards and laws for SCs, STs, women, children, disabled and transgender persons, NFSA, and how welfare schemes are designed and delivered.
SyllabusGS II · Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies for their protection and betterment; issues relating to health, education, human resources, poverty and hunger
The Preamble promises justice — social, economic and political. This chapter is about how India tries to deliver it to those most likely to be left behind: Scheduled Castes and Tribes, women, children, persons with disabilities, transgender persons, the elderly and the poor. UPSC treats it as a three-layer topic: constitutional safeguards, protective laws and bodies, and welfare schemes and their delivery.
What UPSC asks
- Prelims: articles (15(4), 17, 23, 46, 340–342A), Acts and years (PoA 1989, RTE 2009, NFSA 2013, RPwD 2016, Transgender Persons Act 2019), entitlements under NFSA, landmark judgments, and the ministry and features of long-running schemes such as ICDS.
- Mains GS II: performance of welfare schemes, targeting and leakages, Direct Benefit Transfer, rights-based vs scheme-based welfare, health and education outcomes, and the role of the State vs markets and civil society.
Key sub-topics
| Layer | Examples |
|---|---|
| Constitutional safeguards | Articles 15(4), 16(4), 17, 21A, 38, 39, 41, 46, 47; Fifth and Sixth Schedules |
| Protective laws | PCR Act 1955; PoA Act 1989; Forest Rights Act 2006; RPwD Act 2016 |
| Institutions | NCSC, NCST, NCBC, NCW, NCPCR, NHRC |
| Rights-based entitlements | RTE Act 2009; NFSA 2013 |
| Schemes and delivery | ICDS, PM POSHAN, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, DBT, JAM |
Read the main note, Welfare of Vulnerable Sections, then the quick revision sheet and the practice questions.