Welfare mechanism

Women’s Economic Empowerment Index

Context: India aspires to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, but women who constitute nearly half the population contribute only 18% to the GDP. Their invisibility in data makes gender-disaggregated data crucial for inclusive growth.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Gender budgeting, WEE Index (Uttar Pradesh)

Mains: Role of gender data in inclusive growth, governance reforms, women’s economic empowerment.

Almost 196 million employable women in India are outside the workforce. The biggest barrier to women’s economic empowerment is not merely the lack of opportunities but their invisibility in data. Without gender-disaggregated data their participation gaps across education, skilling, employment, and entrepreneurship will remain stalled. 

Women’s Economic Empowerment Index: 

  • The WEE Index was recently launched by Uttar Pradesh. It aims to track the impact of government schemes on women's economic participation across all 75 districts of the state.
  • It is India’s first district-level tool to track women’s participation across five economic levers:
    • Employment
    • Education and skilling
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Livelihood and mobility
    • Safety and inclusive infrastructure
  • The index shifts focus from participation numbers to structural barriers that limit women’s empowerment. E.g., Data showed women dominate skilling enrolments but remain very low in entrepreneurship due to poor access to credit. 

Why Gender Data is Needed?

  • Inclusive Growth: Inclusive economic growth cannot occur if half the population remains invisible in policy datasets. Gender-disaggregated data ensures women’s contribution is measured, valued, and integrated into growth strategies.
  • Making Gaps Visible: Without a gender lens, existing indices on health, economy, and infrastructure mask inequities. Data reveals critical drop-off points such as high female dropout rates after Class 12 and post-graduation, or the gap between skilling enrolment and entrepreneurship.
  • Catalyst for Reforms: Visibility of inequities prompts departments to act. E.g., In Uttar Pradesh, data on low female representation among bus drivers and conductors, led to new recruitment strategies and women-friendly infrastructure such as women’s restrooms in bus terminals.
  • Shifting beyond Participation Rates: Gender data helps track retention, leadership roles, re-entry into work, and quality of employment, not just surface-level participation. It highlights systemic barriers such as limited access to credit for women entrepreneurs despite high skilling enrolments.
  • To improve Gender Budgeting: Gender budgeting is often confined to welfare schemes or finance departments. True gender budgeting requires applying a gender lens to every rupee spent in sectors like education, infrastructure, energy, and housing, and this is only possible if robust gender-disaggregated data exists.
  • Guiding Policy and Investment: Data makes it possible to design district-wise gender action plans, guiding budget allocations and infrastructure priorities.

A robust framework such as the WEE Index can be replicated and scaled in other states as well. It can help the states translate intent into implementation: turning data into district-wise gender action plans that guide budget allocations, infrastructure priorities and programmatic reforms.

Also Read: Budgeting for a gender-inclusive ‘Viksit Bharat’ 

Anticipatory Bail under the SC/ST Act 1989

Context: The Supreme Court in Kiran vs Rajkumar Jivaraj Jain quashed the Bombay High Court order granting anticipatory bail to an accused of caste atrocities reaffirming the statutory bar under the Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: About Anticipatory bail and SC/ST Act 1989.

What is Anticipatory Bail?

  • Anticipatory bail is a pre-arrest legal safeguard provided under the Code of Criminal Procedure (now Section 482 of BNSS) allowing a person to seek bail in anticipation of arrest for a non-bailable offence. 
  • It is preventive in nature and distinct from regular bail, which is sought after arrest.
  • It was recommended by the Law Commission of India to protect citizens against arbitrary or mala fide arrests. 

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 explicitly excludes the application of Section 482 of BNSS which provides for anticipatory bail. 

Why is Anticipatory Bail barred under SC/ST Act 1989? 

  • Parliament introduced this bar to protect victims from intimidation, harassment, and coercion by accused persons after registration of cases.
  • The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of this bar in multiple judgments, holding that it does not violate Article 14 (equality before law) or Article 21 (right to life and liberty).
  • Offences under the Act are treated as a distinct class because they are rooted in systemic untouchability, caste oppression, and social exclusion.

In Kiran vs Rajkumar Jivaraj Jain (2025): 

  • The Supreme Court quashed anticipatory bail granted by the Bombay High Court terming it a manifest error and jurisdictional illegality. 
  • It held that courts cannot conduct a mini-trial at the bail stage and must only check for a prima facie case. 
  • The ruling reinforced that the SC/ST Act is a substantive shield to protect dignity and security of vulnerable groups. 

Judicial Precedents: 

  • State of M.P. vs Ram Krishna Balothia (1995), the SC upheld the validity of Section 18 emphasising the need for strong deterrent measures.
  • Vilas Pandurang Pawar vs State of Maharashtra (2012), the Court reiterated that anticipatory bail is statutorily barred when a prima facie case under the Act exists.
  • Prathvi Raj Chauhan vs Union of India (2020), the Court clarified that anticipatory bail may be considered only if no prima facie offence under the Act is made out, but not otherwise. 
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Sickle Cell Anaemia and the battle for Disability Justice

Context: In 2024, the Indian government issued revised guidelines under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016. These guidelines provide a framework for assessing the extent of disability of people with two copies of the sickle cell gene, or with both sickle cell and beta thalassaemia, or Hb D.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: Key facts about Sickle Cell Anaemia; Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

Mains: Issues in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016.

The RPWD Act 2016 marked a step towards protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, and promoting their full inclusion in society. The law aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and promises dignity, equality, and non-discrimination. 

About Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

  • The Act defines persons with disabilities as a person with physical, intellectual, or sensory impairment which, in interaction with barriers, hinders his full and effective participation in society equally with others. 
  • Types of disabilities covered under the Act are increased from 7 to 21. It includes various physical and mental disabilities like acid attack victims, dwarfism and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  • Persons with benchmark disabilities are entitled to free school education up to 18 years of age, reservations in higher educational institutions, development assistance programmes, and government employment.
  • Reservation: It mandates a 4% reservation in public employment and 5% reservation in educational institutions for PwD. 
  • The Act mandates both public and private institutions to make infrastructure accessible and provide ICT consumer products for PwD.

Sickle Cell Anaemia

  • It is an inherited or genetic blood disorder that affects haemoglobin, the protein in Red Blood Cells (RBCs) that carries oxygen to all parts of the body.
  • Healthy RBCs are soft and round. In SCD, the haemoglobin is abnormal, which causes the RBCs to become hard and sticky and look like a sickle.
  • These rigid, sticky cells die early and often get stuck in blood vessels, clogging the flow of blood. As a result, different parts of the body do not get the oxygen they need. This can cause pain and other serious health problems such as infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke. 
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Treatment: 

  • It is a lifelong illness. The only cure comes in the form of gene therapy and stem cell transplants, however, both are costly and still in developmental stages. 
  • Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (2023) aims to eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem by 2047. 

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a painful, progressive, and disabling blood disorder, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities like Tribals. 

Narrow lens of disability in Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016

  • Not-inclusive: The Act extends reservations in public sector employment under the 4% quota for persons with vision and hearing loss, locomotor disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.  However, individuals with SCD and other blood disorders are not included in the quota.
  • Subjectivity in benchmark disability: The benchmark disability under the Act must meet a certain threshold of impairment, specifically 40% or more. However, different hospitals, medical boards, and doctors can assign different disability percentages to the same person, depending on their personal judgment.
  • Certification bottlenecks: A medical authority, including chief medical officer, evaluates and certifies disability. Diagnosis reports of confirmatory tests must be from a government or standard lab. The certification process can be largely inaccessible for Adivasi and Dalit patients in rural or remote areas. 

Way Forward

  • Extending job reservations to individuals with SCD and related blood disorders would acknowledge their condition as a significant, lifelong disability. 
  • Reforming the certification process to account for fluctuating and invisible disabilities would reflect a rights-based lens rather than a purely biomedical one.
  • Improve Accessibility: Mobile medical units in tribal and rural areas for on-site certification and treatment.

Disability is not only shaped by physical health, but also by social exclusion, structural barriers, and policy gaps. The continual reliance on biomedical scoring and exclusion of people with SCD from full protections undermines the very purpose of recognising the condition under the Act. 

Unless India’s recognition of SCD brings real rights and protections, it risks becoming exclusion disguised as inclusion. 

Also Read: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 remains only a legal document without intense sensitisation of government functionaries and citizens regarding disability. Comment. 

Government Plans to revise Income Limits for Marginalised Students’ Scholarships

Context: Ahead of the upcoming financial cycle (FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31), the Union government is considering revising the parental income limit for eligibility in availing post and pre-matric scholarships administered to students from marginalised castes and tribes.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Welfare schemes by the government. 

Marginalised Students’ Scholarships

  • The post and pre-matric scholarships for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Castes (OBCs) run as centrally sponsored schemes by the government. They are funded by both the Union and State governments on a 60:40 ratio (Union: States), except for in northeast States where the ratio is 90:10.
  • Post-matric scholarships for SCs, STs, and OBCs, require the student to be an Indian national studying at the post-matric stage (after 10th grade). 
  • Pre-matric scholarships are mostly available to students of grades IX and X. For SCs pre-matric scholarships are available from grades 1 to X, if their parent or guardian is involved in an unclean or hazardous occupation. 
  • Both post and pre-matric scholarships require students’ annual parental income to be below ₹2.5 lakh to become eligible.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is looking to raise parental income limit to ₹4.5 lakh for post and pre-matric ST scholarships, and the Social Justice Ministry is discussing revising the limits for post and pre-matric scholarships for SCs), Other Backward Castes (OBCs), and Denotified Tribes (DNTs).

In addition, discussions are also on to raise the parental income limit of college and school scholarships for OBCs, and DNTs. 

Reasons for Revising the Parental Income Limit

  • Falling Number of Beneficiaries: Government data shows significant drops in beneficiaries for both pre-matric and post-matric scholarships across SCs, STs, OBCs, EBCs, and DNTs.
  • Too Low Existing Limit: The Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of OBCs and the Parliamentary Committee overseeing the Ministries of Tribal Affairs & Social Justice observed that the current ₹2.5 lakh limit is too low, excluding many families even when they face financial stress.
  • Parliamentary Panel Recommendations: OBC Welfare Committee recommended doubling the income limit for OBC scholarships and expanding pre-matric coverage from Class IX-X to Class V onwards. The Joint Committee on Tribal Affairs & Social Justice recommended revising the parental income limits for ST scholarships and similar schemes for other marginalised groups.

Panels stressed that revising the limit would allow the scholarships to reach more beneficiaries who genuinely require them.

Need for a Unified Welfare Architecture in India

Context: India’s welfare architecture is vast and globally recognised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). However, it remains fragmented and inefficient, underscoring the need for systemic unification.

Relevance of the Topic  Mains: India’s Welfare Architecture - Issues, Need for a unified system.

India's Welfare Architecture:  

  • India’s welfare architecture is one of the largest in the world. The Centre runs over 34 major social protection schemes and 24 pension schemes, while states have their own independent initiatives. 
  • The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has acknowledged India’s achievement in delivering both cash and non-cash social protection. 
  • ILO’s World Social Protection Report (2024) states that India’s social protection coverage has doubled from 24.4% in 2021 to 48.8% in 2024.
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While these benefits reach over 100 crore beneficiaries, they operate in silos often duplicating efforts and creating administrative inefficiencies.

Issues with the Current Welfare System

  • Fragmentation of Schemes: Over 34 major central schemes, 24 pension schemes, and many separate state-level programmes run in silos.
  • Duplication & Overlap: Schemes with similar benefits are repackaged under new names by different states, leading to duplication of effort and resources. Institutions like E-Shram (unorganised workers) and EPFO (formal workers) overlap, but do not interconnect.
  • Poor Targeting: Eligibility criteria vary widely between schemes causing exclusion of deserving beneficiaries and inclusion of ineligible ones. No unified database (scattered data) or structure makes it difficult to identify the right people.
  • Complex Access for Citizens: People have to run between multiple government offices and platforms to claim entitlements. Lack of portability across states for migrants and informal workers.
  • Inefficient Use of Resources: Scarce fiscal resources spread thinly across many small schemes instead of pooled for greater impact.
  • Focus on Short-term Consumption, Not Long-term Growth: Most schemes are isolated cash payouts without linkages to skill development, asset creation, or economic empowerment.
  • Political Populism: Frequent election-season welfare promises add to fragmentation and fiscal stress. 

These structural gaps highlight the urgent need for a unified welfare delivery system that consolidates schemes and integrates data across Centre and states.

Advantages of a Unified Welfare State

  • Eliminates duplication of schemes and saves administrative costs. Optimises scarce fiscal resources for deeper coverage.
  • Simplifies access: one platform for all entitlements. Improves interoperability between databases and schemes.
  • Strengthens targeting of genuine beneficiaries. Integrates benefits, allowing one entitlement to unlock others.
  • Shifts focus on collective outcomes instead of isolated scheme performance.

The G20 New Delhi Declaration’s call for “sustainably financed universal social protection coverage” further strengthens the case for a “One Nation, One Social Security” governance model.

Global Lessons: 

  • Brazil- The Fome Zero Programme: Established the Unified System of Social Assistance (SUAS), integrating welfare services across all 26 states, the federal district, and over 5,500 municipalities.
  • South Korea (1990s Reforms): Consolidated fragmented programmes under the National Pension Service and National Health Insurance Service.

Proposed Framework for Unified Welfare Architecture in India: 

  • Centre provides the unified architecture; states adapt to local contexts.
  • Use EPFO’s Universal Account Number (UAN) to route all transfers, earmarking a portion for pensions/insurance.
  • Employ Aadhaar, JAM Trinity, and Digital India Stack for portability and verification.
  • Reward states for improved coverage, efficiency, and outcome delivery.
  • Harmonise overlapping welfare laws while respecting state autonomy.

To unlock the full potential of its vast welfare network, India must move from fragmented silos to a unified, digitally integrated system that ensures portability, precision targeting, and lasting socio-economic upliftment.

Why are Arya Samaj Marriages under the scanner of Courts?

Context: Recently, the Allahabad High Court directed the state government of Uttar Pradesh to investigate the functioning of “fake Arya Samaj societies" allegedly involved in conducting illegal marriages across the state.

Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Arya Samaj Marriages; Special Marriage Act 1954. 

What is Arya Samaj?

  • The Arya Samaj was formally established as a Hindu revivalist movement by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875. 
  • It gained prominence in northern India, especially Punjab (including present-day Pakistan), in the late 19th century.
  • Arya Samaj made the very first attempts to convert persons from other faiths or ideologies to its version of Vedic, monotheistic Hinduism through a process it called “shuddhi” (purification).
  • One of the ways it facilitated this was by having a progressive view of inter-caste and even interfaith marriages. 

Arya Marriage Validation Act, 1937

  • The Arya Marriage Validation Act was enacted in 1937. This law formally recognised marriages conducted according to Arya Samaj rituals.
  • These weddings follow a simplified set of Hindu ceremonies and require only that the couple is of legal age and identifies as Arya Samajis- regardless of caste or prior religious affiliation.
  • The Act clearly states that Arya Samaj marriages cannot be considered invalid just because the individuals belong to different castes or were from another religion before the marriage.

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 which covers not just Hindus but also Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs recognises Arya Samaj marriages. Those belonging to other religions simply need to convert to Hinduism before the wedding.

In effect, till the Special Marriage Act, 1954 came into force, the Arya Samaj provided the only way for a Hindu to marry out of caste or religion and to still retain their caste.

About Special Marriage Act, 1954: 

  • The Special Marriage Act (SMA) 1954 was enacted to provide a secular legal framework for marriages between individuals belonging to different religions, castes, or communities. 
  • SMA enables marriage between inter-faith or inter-caste couples, without them giving up their religious identity or resorting to conversion.
  • Under the SMA, the couple must provide a 30-day public notice before they marry. This notice is displayed publicly at the Registrar's Office, leaving them vulnerable to harassment from their families or allowing anyone to raise objections to the marriage

Arya Samaj weddings are fast (a couple of hours) with the ease of paperwork and relaxed requirements. This makes Arya Samaj weddings popular among eloping or runaway couples, who often belong to different castes or religions.

Challenges associated with the Arya Samaj Marriage: 

  • Illegal weddings:
    • Concerns over mass-scale solemnisation of marriages by Arya Samaj organisations without verifying marriage eligibility conditions. 
    • Additionally, a growing number of fake organisations operating under the Arya Samaj name have emerged. These unauthorised groups often conduct marriages without proper checks, forged documents, and in some cases, even solemnise the weddings of underage brides.
  • Odds with Anti-conversion law: Various states have passed stringent anti-conversion laws in recent years. Arya Samaj marriages are at odds with the state anti-conversion laws. The shuddhi performed before most interfaith Arya Samaj marriages does not comply with the onerous process for conversion prescribed in the anti-conversion law.
    • E.g., In Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021 renders void any marriage that is preceded by an unlawful or procedurally non-compliant religious conversion. The Act requires both a pre-conversion declaration 60 days before marriage and a post-conversion declaration within a specified timeframe to the district magistrate. 

The Allahabad HC and Madhya Pradesh HC have ordered police investigations into instances where these organisations allegedly married minors using forged documents, and facilitated conversions without following procedures mandated by the anti-conversion laws of these states.

Also Read: Special Marriage Act 1954: Provisions and Concerns 

SC questions Age Restriction for Surrogacy

Context: The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict in a group of petitions challenging the age cap for couples seeking to have a child through surrogacy. The petitioners are especially those couples who had started the surrogacy process before the enactment of the present legal framework for surrogacy.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. Mains: Challenges In Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. 

Surrogacy in India: Concept and Legal Provisions

  • Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple. 
  • Surrogacy can be classified into:
    • Altruistic surrogacy entails no financial compensation for the surrogate.
    • Commercial surrogacy involves paying the surrogate for bearing the child, implying a profit
    • Compensated surrogacy simply involves covering the incurred expenses and loss of wages.
  • The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, prescribe the legal framework for surrogacy.

About Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021

  • The Act prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy. 
  • Rationale: To prevent the commodification of reproductive labour and to impose procedural safeguards to ensure that surrogacy is used only in cases of medical necessity.
  • The Act permits surrogacy to: 
    • Intending couple who suffer from proven infertility (Intending woman must be between 23-50 years of age; fathers must be between 26 and 55).
    • Indian woman who is a widow or divorcee between the age of 35 to 45 years and who intends to avail the surrogacy.
  • Surrogacy clinics are prohibited from conducting surrogacy or any associated procedures unless they receive registration approval from the relevant authority.
  • The National Surrogacy Board (NSB) and State Surrogacy Boards (SSBs) shall be established by both the central and state governments, respectively.
  • For a surrogate mother to be eligible for a certificate from the appropriate authority:
    • she must have a familial relationship with the intending couple
    • not have served as a surrogate mother previously
    • possess a certificate confirming her medical and psychological health
    • be an ever-married woman having a child of her own, and be 25 to 35 years old.
  • The surrogate mother is not allowed to use her own eggs for the surrogacy process.
  • An order concerning the parentage and custody of the child to be born through surrogacy, has to be passed by a Magistrate's court.
  • Insurance coverage for a period of 36 months covering postpartum delivery complications for surrogate. 

Issue of Age Restriction on Surrogacy: 

In Devika Biswas v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that Right to Reproduction is an essential facet of the ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

  • The legal framework for surrogacy has a certain age limit for the married couple or single married widowed women intending to have a child through surrogacy. 
  • The petitioners argue that the age limit creates an unreasonable classification:
    • violating Article 14 of the Constitution. 
    • interferes with reproductive autonomy which has been recognised as an aspect of personal liberty under Article 21.

The government has defended the age restrictions on grounds of medical safety, citing that the statutory age caps are based on recommendations from medical experts, and align with practices in reproductive health. The argument is that: 

  • Surrogacy age limits align with natural reproductive timelines and are necessary for protecting the welfare of the child.
  • Advanced parental age influences both an unborn child’s health through genetic and epigenetic changes, and also the filial love that a child requires for 20 years of their life.

Challenges In Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021: 

  • Exclusionary: The provisions deny this opportunity to LGBTQ+ persons, live-in couples, unmarried women and single parents. The definition of single women excluding unmarried women is arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
  • Altruistic surrogacy is Paternalistic: It expects a woman to go through the physical and emotional tolls of surrogacy free of cost and only out of ‘compassion’. Thus reinforcing the age old patriarchal norm of no economic value to the women’s work. 
  • It does not respect the bodily autonomy of women: By shifting from right based to need based approach, it snatches away the right of a woman to decide upon her reproductive choices. Further, it is violative of her fundamental rights under Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution. 
  • Impetus to black marketing: Blanket ban on commercial surrogacy may lead to creation of unregulated, exploitative underground/black markets.
  • Does not define close relative: The Act does not define ‘close relative’, which is a condition to be fulfilled by the surrogate mother. Thus, scope for confusion and exploitation of loop holes is always there.
  • Reproductive liberty to the couples: Several restrictions in form of eligibility criteria etc. restrict the surrogacy option to intending couples, which is a denial of reproductive liberty to them.
  • No power to make a decision on abortion: The Intending couple does not have final say in the consent to abort a surrogate child, even if the child being born out of a surrogacy arrangement is at the risk of physical or mental abnormalities. 
  • Identity and emotional aspect: Several times couples do not want to reveal their plans of opting for surrogacy, now putting the condition of close relative to be a surrogate clearly ignores this aspect and restricts the choices. Further, familial bonds and interaction may involve high emotional complications between surrogate mother and intended parents.
  • Definition of infertility: Infertility is restricted to failure to conceive, does not cover other issues that a woman may face in delivering a child. 

Way Forward

  • The government should remove the time limit for IVF treatment before permitting surrogacy, taking into consideration medical circumstances and concerns that deter some women from childbirth.
  • The issue of postpartum depression should be addressed by implementing provisions for its management, and maternal benefits should be accessible to all mothers.
  • The government should provide a clear definition of close relative and infertility.
  • With appropriate safeguards, expanding the surrogacy sector to include commercial surrogacy will benefit individuals who long for the experience of parenthood.
  • The government should include live-in couples, unmarried women, and single parents in this Act, as Right to Reproduction is a fundamental right. 

The Child Adoption Crisis in India

Context: The latest data obtained through a recent Right To Information (RTI) application shows asymmetry in child adoption in India. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), the country’s nodal adoption agency, has struggled to effectively manage the adoption process. 

Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). Mains: The Child Adoption Crisis in India. 

Adoption is India are governed by two laws

  • Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists). 
  • Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. CARA comes into the picture for parents taking the JJ Act route.

Central Adoption Resource Authority

  • Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) was set up in 1990 by the Ministry of Women & Child Development to oversee child adoption procedures for Indians and non-resident Indians living abroad.
  • CARA attained the status of a statutory body in 2016 under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.  
  • CARA is the nodal body regulating the adoption of orphaned, surrendered and abandoned children in India. 

Mandate and Functions of Central Adoption Resource Authority

  • CARA is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.  
  • These procedures include centralising registration for children and prospective parents, conducting home study reports, referring children, preparing orders and conducting post-adoption follow-ups.
  • CARA is also mandated to frame regulations on adoption-related matters from time to time as per Section 68 of the JJ Act, 2015.  

In 2018, CARA allowed individuals in a live-in relationship to adopt children from and within India. 

Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, 1993:

  •  The international agreement facilitates adoption beyond borders. 
  • It helps find a permanent family for a child for whom a suitable family cannot be found in his or her State of origin and to prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children. 
  • India ratified the convention in 2003.

Juvenile Justice Act and Adoption Process

  • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 empowered CARA to streamline the process and infuse transparency and efficiency into the system.
    • It included setting up an e-governance system (CARINGS) to facilitate adoption, allowing prospective parents to track applications and setting out times for domestic and inter-country adoptions to ensure early deinstitutionalisation of such children.
    • The streamlined process meant that once CARA gave a no-objection certificate (NOC) to childcare institutions and civil society organisations, they could directly give a child for adoption, minimising the possibility of trafficking and corruption. 
  • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2022 authorised local District Magistrates (DMs) to issue adoption orders in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability, thus decentralising responsibilities. The DMs would also be charged with inspecting the functioning of local childcare institutions, child welfare committees, juvenile justice boards, etc.

Benefits of Adoption: 

  • Adoption can provide a child with the critical resource needed for a healthy and stable living. 
  • Allows mothers to continue pursuing their goals without putting their education or career on hold.
  • Relieves the financial and emotional stress of unplanned pregnancy and single parenting.
  • Gives an opportunity to help hopeful parents who would not be able to have a child otherwise.  

Challenges in Child Adoption Process in India: 

  • Growing gap and imbalance in Adoption: In 2022, a Parliamentary panel called the imbalance in adoption a paradoxical situation:
    • As per the 2020 World Orphan Report, India has an estimated 3.1 crore children who were orphans. But as of 2025, only 2652 children were legally free for adoption.  
    • While a significant number of parents are willing to adopt, only a limited number of children are legally cleared for adoption. As of 2025, there are 13 prospective parents for every child free for adoption. 
  • Time-consuming adoption process: Average delay for prospective parents to get an adoption referral in India has increased from 3 years by 2022 to about 3.5 years in 2025. This delay could force prospective parents to adopt children via illegal means. 
  • Implementation Challenges:
    • Over-Centralisation: CARA’s centralised processes and requirement for multiple NOCs and home studies cause delays and discourage many adoptions, especially inter-country adoptions. 
    • Tedious legal formalities: Exhaustive paperwork and court procedures often lead to attrition of prospective parents in the adoption process pipeline.
    • Infrastructure constraints: Implementation is a huge challenge due to resource limitations, lack of training, and a gap in linkages between adoption agencies and the Child Care Institutions (CCI).
    • Shortage of babies/young children: High demand-supply skew exists for healthy infants/toddlers (aged 0-2 years) amid prevalent societal prejudices. Most children tend to be older in age or have special needs, who are less likely preferred by prospective parents.

In 2023, the Supreme Court “expressed displeasure” over the time-consuming adoption process.

Way Forward

  • Digitalisation of the records of children with Child Care Institutions (CCI) to speeden the process of bringing children to legal adoption pool.
  • Address Legal Complexities: Simplify procedures, make court processes child-friendly avoiding intimidating environments. Set time-bound frameworks at each step to fasten the adoption process. 
  • Mandatory formal training and counseling for prospective parents, particularly those adopting children with special needs. 
  • Enhance Monitoring and Quality enhancement mechanisms for Child Care Institutions (CCI), including mandatory licensing and annual grading on indicators like resource availability and child protection norms compliance. 
  • A Parliamentary Standing Committee (2022) has recommended district-level surveys to ensure that orphan and abandoned children found begging on the streets are made available for adoption at the earliest.
  • Robust post-adoption tracking systems are also needed.

Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA), 1956 which allows Hindus to adopt without involving agencies remains a popular mode of child adoptions. However, it adds to concerns as adoptions under HAMA may bypass child welfare checks leading to potential misuse about trafficking and illegal adoptions.  

Hence, India needs a robust child adoption process that is child-centric, less time consuming and  institutionalised. 

Every SC/ST Complaint must lead to FIR without Preliminary Inquiry: Madras HC

Context: Recently, the Madras High Court has ruled that the police cannot conduct preliminary inquiry on receipt of complaints disclosing cognisable offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989. Police should straightaway register First Information Reports (FIRs) against the suspects.

Relevance of the topic:

Prelims: About Madras HC ruling and key Provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Mains: Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Provisions and issues in Implementation. 

In a significant verdict, the Madras High Court has held that : 

  • The police must immediately register an FIR upon receiving complaints that disclose cognizable offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, without conducting any preliminary inquiry.  
  • The court cited Section 18A(1)(a) of the SC/ST Act (inserted via 2018 Amendment) which states:  No preliminary inquiry shall be required for registration of an FIR against any person under this Act.
  • The court reinforced that As per Rule 7(1) of the SC/ST Rules 1995, only officers not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) are authorised to investigate.
  • Directed that the chargesheet must be filed within 60 days of FIR registration to ensure timely justice.
  • The Judge directed the Director-General of Police/ Head of Police Force to communicate a copy of his order to all Commissioners as well as Superintendents of Police in the State to ensure compliance with legal procedures in SC/ST cases.

SC and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989

  • Enacted to prevent atrocities and hate crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
  • Aim: To provide protection, justice, and rehabilitation to victims of caste-based violence and discrimination. 
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Key Provisions of SC and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989: 

  • Criminalises caste-based atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  • Includes acts like social boycott, denial of access to public spaces, forced labor, sexual abuse, and humiliation.
  • Does not cover offenses between SCs and STs themselves.
  • Most offences under the Act are cognizable and non-bailable.
  • Mandates establishment of exclusive Special Courts for speedy trial of cases.
  • Provides for relief, compensation, and rehabilitation of victims.
  • Burden of proof may shift to the accused in certain cases (reverse burden of proof).
  • Section 18: Bars anticipatory bail for accused under the Act (unless quashed by courts in exceptional cases).
  • Section 18A (Inserted in 2018): No preliminary inquiry required before FIR. No prior sanction needed for arrest of public servants. 
  • Rule 7 of SC/ST Rules, 1995: Investigation must be conducted by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
  • Charge sheet must be filed within 60 days from FIR registration.

Issues in Implementation:  

  • Police continue to conduct preliminary inquiries before registering FIRs, despite Section 18A(1)(a) prohibiting it.
  • Inquiries are often conducted by officers below the rank of DSP, violating Rule 7(1) of the SC/ST Rules, 1995.
  • Police frequently delay or avoid FIR registration, misusing discretion and undermining victims’ rights.
  • Regular procedural non-compliance hampers justice delivery and weakens cases.
  • Final reports/chargesheets are not filed within the mandated 60-day period, defeating the objective of speedy justice.

Also Read: National Commission of Scheduled Caste

Tribal Welfare Outreach Campaign Launched Across 500+ Districts in India

Context: Recently, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the Tribal Welfare Outreach Campaign to implement tribal welfare schemes across over 500 districts in India.

Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: About outreach campaign for the implementation of its welfare schemes, PM JANMAN, Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.

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Tribal Welfare Outreach Campaign:

  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has rolled out a large-scale outreach campaign for the implementation of its welfare schemes in over 500 districts of the country, aiming to cover 1 lakh tribal dominated villages and habitations.
  • The outreach is a part of the Centre’s ongoing year-long celebration of the Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh. The Centre began this celebration on November 15, 2024, the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda.
  • Objective: The campaign is centered around ‘benefit saturation’ camps aimed at  last mile doorstep delivery of two key flagship schemes:
    • Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN)
    • Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.

Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN):

  • Launched in 2023
  • Objective: Address socio-economic challenges faced by Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
  • Focus: Basic facilities and welfare services to PVTGs, including- housing, water, sanitation, education, health, connectivity, and livelihood opportunities.
  • Delivery Mechanism: Localised camps offering documentation, health cards, financial inclusion, and welfare enrolment.

Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan:

  • Launched in 2024. Named after Birsa Munda, revered tribal freedom fighter also known as Dharti Aaba (Father of the Earth)
  • Objective: Comprehensive development of tribal areas and communities by addressing critical gaps in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and livelihoods. 
  • Enabling infrastructure and enhancing socio-economic conditions in selected tribal-majority villages (with a population of 500 or more, and at least 50% tribal residents as well as villages in Aspirational Districts with a tribal population of 50 or more). 
  • 17 Ministries of the Government of India will unite for the welfare of tribal communities through 25 focus interventions. Each line ministry has been allocated budget and targets under the scheme. Construction of hostels, rural electrification, building of homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, livestock support and fisheries support etc.
  • Nodal Agency: Ministry of Tribal Affairs 
  • The Mission will span a period of 5 years, from 2024-25 to 2028-29. 

The outreach campaign will run for a fortnight. Among its focal points are providing basic documentation to tribal communities in the form of Aadhaar cards, Ayushman Bharat cards through enrolment, grant of titles under the Forest Rights Act, and opening of pension accounts as well as Jan Dhan accounts. 

Delhi launches Ayushman Bharat Vaya Vandana Yojana

Context: The Chief Minister of Delhi flagged off a fleet of registration vans for doorstep registration of beneficiaries of the Delhi government’s Vaya Vandana Yojana.

Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Vaya Vandana Yojana. 

Ayushman Bharat Vaya Vandana Yojana

  • Initiative of: Delhi government. 
  • Aim: To provide cashless treatment of up to ₹10 lakh for senior citizens aged 70 and above for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation across public and private empanelled hospitals in Delhi. 
  • Mobile registration vans will conduct on-the-spot registrations in local neighbourhoods. Every citizen aged 70 or more can obtain the Ayushman Vaya Vandana Health Card simply by providing their Aadhaar and Delhi residence proof for registration.
  • This initiative combines ₹5 lakh coverage from the central government’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) with an additional ₹5 lakh provided by the Delhi government.
    • Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) is the largest health assurance scheme in the world. It offers health insurance worth ₹5 lakh per year per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.
  • All eligible beneficiaries can avail benefit regardless of their financial background. 

The initiative aims at the welfare of senior citizens and seeks to eliminate all logistical challenges to accessible healthcare. 

What is a Gig Worker? - Definition & Meaning

Context: As of 2025, India’s gig economy is projected to employ over 12 million workers, a number expected to increase further with urbanisation and digital penetration. The workers often work 10-12 hours daily, six or seven days a week, to meet basic needs. They are devoid of social security (i.e., no provident fund, no health insurance, and no pension). 

Relevance of the Topic: Mains: Gig workers: Challenges faced and government initiatives.

About gig workers

  • Code on Social Security 2020 defines a gig worker as “a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of traditional employer-employee relationship. 
  • In this firms hire workers on a part-time flexible basis rather than as full-time employees.
  • They can be broadly classified into platform and non-platform-based workers.
  • Platform workers are individuals whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms. For example, drivers for cab-hailing services like Uber or Ola, delivery workers of Zomato or Swiggy.
  • While non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers and own-account workers in the conventional sectors, working part-time or full time. For example, home-based workers (such as handicrafts, tailoring, etc.) and domestic workers (maids, cooks, etc.)
  • According to the report by NITI Aayog and IBEF, the gig workforce in India is 7.7 million and is expected to expand to 2.35 crore (23.5 million) workers by 2029-30.

Government initiative regrading gig workers

  • Code of social security: Provides for the registration of all the Gig workers. 
    • It calls upon the Central and State Governments to formulate schemes to ensure social security benefits such as Insurance for the Gig workers. 
    • It also empowers the Government to set up Social Security Funds for their benefit. The contribution to these funds may be funded from contributions of Centre, State and aggregator platforms such as Uber, Zomato etc.
    • The National Social Security Board will be responsible for ensuring the well-being of gig economy workers and will consist of representatives from both aggregator companies and gig workers.
  • e-shram portal: A centralised database of Unorganized Workers which will help to implement the social security services to them and share their information with various stakeholders for delivering the welfare schemes.
  • The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act 2023: A board will be set up to make sure gig workers register and receive support, addressing their weaknesses and giving them a way to bargain and negotiate together. The Act also includes a plan to create a social security fund, which will be funded by a fee on each transaction.
  • PMJAY to Gig Workers: The Budget 2025 announced that gig workers will now be eligible for healthcare under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). This move addresses gig workers' lack of income security and access to medical services.

Challenges faced by gig workers

  • Social security:  Platform workers in India are predominantly paid a piece rate (i.e., Per task) and are classified by the platforms as “Independent contractors”. As a result, workers do not benefit from labour regulations pertaining to wages, hours, working conditions, and the right to collective bargaining.
  • Safety and health risk: Due to the demanding work hours, drivers are physically exhausted, and exposed to an increased risk of road traffic accidents, especially due to the ‘10-minute delivery at the doorstep’ policy of certain e-commerce platforms.
  • Algorithmic control: Platforms are criticised for having opaque algorithms, imposing excessive control over their workers through “ratings-based reputation systems”, assigning “disproportionate power” to customers over workers, and causing significant risk to workers who are unfairly penalised based on customer feedback.
  • Modest pay: Many app-based cab drivers and delivery workers are having a hard time covering their costs because they're paid too little. For example, Blinkit pays a minimum of only Rs 15 for each delivery.
  • Issues with labour codes: Among the four proposed new labour codes, only the Code on Social Security mentions gig work.
    • Despite receiving the assent of the President, the Labour Codes are still awaiting implementation 4 years on.

Way forward:

According to Niti Aayog: 

  • Platformisation: Platform India initiative can be launched similar to Start-up India, to make platforms simpler and provide support through funding, incentives, skill development, and financial inclusion.
  • Need regulations to ensure that companies establish fair and transparent payment structures to protect gig workers from being underpaid or exploited by companies.
  • Platform-led models for skilling and job creation: In the gig and platform sector need promotion. Platforms can collaborate with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to nurture skilled workers and micro-entrepreneurship.
  • Gender Sensitisation & Accessibility Awareness Programmes for workers and their families: Platform businesses can undertake partnerships with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to enable different sections of workers such as women workers and PwDs to take up employment opportunities in the platform sector through skill development, access to finance and assets.
  • Occupational Disease and Work Accident Insurance: On the lines of Indonesia’s initiatives in offering accident and other insurance to platform workers, may adopt such a model for providing accident insurance to all delivery and driver partners, and other platform workers across India.
  • RAISE Framework for Operationalizing the Code on Social Security (CoSS), 2020: As Central and State governments draw up rules and regulations under CoSS 2020, they could adopt the five-pronged RAISE approach to ensure realisation of full access to social security for all gig and platform workers: 
    • Recognise the varied nature of platform work to design equitable schemes.
    • Allow augmentation of social security through innovative financing mecha- nisms. 
    • Incorporate, while designing schemes, the specific interests of platforms, factoring the impact on job creation, platform businesses and workers.
    • Support workers to subscribe to government schemes and welfare programmes through widespread awareness campaigns. 
    • Ensure benefits are readily accessible to workers.

Global Practices:

  • In 2021, the United Kingdom recognized Uber drivers as ‘workers’ under the UK Employment Rights Act 1996.
  • Germany's Temporary Employment Act ensures gig workers receive equal pay and treatment.