Welfare of Vulnerable Sections: Schemes, Laws and Institutions

What the official syllabus says

HCS Main Written Examination, Paper IV: General Studies-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 constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Topics in detail

Who are the vulnerable sections

• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; Other Backward Classes; economically weaker sections
• Women and girls; children; the elderly
• Persons with disabilities; transgender persons
• Religious and linguistic minorities
• Migrant and unorganised workers, landless labourers, the urban poor, de-notified tribes

Constitutional safeguards

• Articles 15(4), 15(5), 15(6), 16(4), 16(4A), 16(6), 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, 46, 330, 332 and 335
• Fifth and Sixth Schedules for tribal areas
• Reservation: Indra Sawhney (1992), the creamy layer, the 50% limit; Janhit Abhiyan (2022) on EWS reservation
• Sub-classification of Scheduled Castes: State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh (2024)

Laws

• Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955; Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
• Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013
• Forest Rights Act, 2006; PESA, 1996
• Women: Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013; PCPNDT Act, 1994; Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
• Children: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; POCSO Act, 2012; Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006; child labour law amended in 2016
• Elderly: Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007
• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016; Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
• Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019; NALSA judgment (2014)

Schemes by type

• Scholarships and hostels for SC, ST, OBC and minority students
• Social security pensions (National Social Assistance Programme) for the old, widows and the disabled
• Schemes for women and girls: safety, health, nutrition and education of the girl child
• Child development and protection services
• Housing, financial inclusion and insurance for the poor
• Skill and livelihood schemes for marginalised groups

Institutions and bodies

• National Commissions for SCs, STs, Backward Classes, Women, Minorities, Safai Karamcharis, Protection of Child Rights
• Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
• Special courts under the Atrocities Act and POCSO Act; child welfare committees
• State commissions and welfare departments

Performance of schemes

• Coverage and utilisation of funds; delays in scholarships
• Awareness and access; documentation barriers
• Low conviction rates under protective laws
• Evaluation reports, audits and the role of social audit

Overlaps

Social issues such as gender and caste are also in General Studies I; compassion towards the weaker sections is part of General Studies IV.