The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is scaling up the Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) scheme to rehabilitate persons engaged in begging through livelihood support, education, healthcare, counselling, and economic empowerment. The scheme matters for UPSC because it sits at the intersection of social justice, welfare delivery, urban governance, and dignity-based rehabilitation.
What happened now
According to the Ministry, the beggary rehabilitation component under SMILE is operational in 216 cities and is planned to extend to 295 cities by financial year 2030-31. The approved implementation plan also places emphasis on metropolitan cities and religious, tourist, and historical places.
The Ministry said the rehabilitation target is 35,000 persons, and more than 10,200 persons engaged in begging have already been rehabilitated. The remaining target is to be achieved in phases through the approved plan.
Background and earlier position
SMILE is an umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Its beggary rehabilitation component is the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging. The scheme is designed around identification, rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration rather than punitive handling of begging as a social problem.
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