UPSC MAINS SOCIOLOGY SYLLABUS
Paper 2 – Section C – Visions of Social Change in India
(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation:
(a) Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.
(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
(c) Violence against women.
(d) Caste conflicts.
(e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.
(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.
USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development)
The scheme was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. It aims to upgrade the capacity building and traditional skills of master craftsmen and artisans. In light of globalization & competitive market, these crafts have gradually lost their employability. It also envisages at boosting skills of craftsmen, weavers, and artisans who are already engaged in traditional ancestral work.
Seekho Aur Kamao
It is a skill development scheme for youth of 14 – 35 years age group and aiming at improving the employability of existing workers, school dropouts etc.
Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India on 23 September 2013 launched a central sector scheme for Skill Development of Minorities. Its main objective is to bring down unemployment rate of minorities during 12th Plan period (2012-17).
Jiyo Parsi
The Ministry of Minority Affairs initiated the Jiyo Parsi Scheme in 2013 to check the declining Parsi population.
The main objective of the scheme was to arrest the declining trend of the Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions, in order to stabilize their population and thereby increasing the population of Parsis in India. The scheme also offers cash assistance to encourage Parsi couples to have children. The scheme is applicable to all couples, irrespective of their financial status.
Naya Savera
The scheme aims to empower the students belonging to minority communities and prepare them for competitive examinations, so that their participation in government and private jobs improves. The scheme provides financial support for free coaching to notified minority students in selected coaching institutions.
Nai Manzil Scheme
The Nai Manzil Scheme is designed as an integrated education and training programme that provides youth from minority communities skills needed for different tasks in a rapidly changing world.
Nayi Udaan scheme
The objective of the Nai Udaan Scheme is to provide financial support to the minority candidates who clear the preliminary examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission and State Public Service Commission.
Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme
The Ministry of Minority Affairs implements MANF Scheme for educational empowerment of students belonging to six notified minority communities i.e. Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian (Parsi). The Scheme is implemented through the University Grants Commission (UGC). The selection of candidates is done through JRF-NET (Junior Research Fellow- National Eligibility Test) examination conducted by the National Testing Agency.
Hamari Darohar
“Hamari Dharohar” scheme has been formulated to preserve rich heritage of minority communities of India. The scheme provides for curating rich heritage of minorities under overall concept of Indian Culture which includes curating exhibitions, preservation of literature/ documents etc.
Nai Roshni
Nai Roshni-a Leadership Development Programme for Minority Women is a Central Sector Scheme for women belonging to minority communities in the age group of 18 to 65 years. The objective of the scheme is to empower and instil confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all levels. It includes various training modules like Leadership of women, Educational Programmes, Health and Hygiene, Swachch Bharat, Financial Literacy, Life Skills, Legal Rights of Women, Digital Literacy and Advocacy for Social and behavioral change.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram (PMJVK)
The Ministry of Minority Affairs is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram (PMJVK), in the identified Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs) of the country. The erstwhile Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) has been restructured and renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram for effective implementation since 2018. It seeks to provide better socio-economic infrastructure facilities to the minority communities. 80% of the resources under the PMJVK would be earmarked for projects related to education, health and skill development. 33 to 40% of resources under the PMJVK would be specifically allocated for women centric projects.
Nayi Udaan Scheme
The objective of the Nai Udaan Scheme is to provide financial support to the minority candidates who clear the preliminary examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission and State Public Service Commission.
Waqf Management
The waqf is managed by a mutawali, who acts as a supervisor. It is similar to a trust established under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, but trusts can be set up for a broader purpose than religious and charitable uses. A trust established can also be dissolved by the board unlike a waqf. A waqf can be formed through a deed or instrument, or a property can be deemed waqf if it has been used for religious or charitable purposes for a long period of time. The proceeds are typically used to finance educational institutions, graveyards, mosques and shelter homes. A person creating the waqf cannot take back the property and the waqf would be a continuing entity. A non-Muslim can also create a waqf but the individual must profess Islam and the objective of creating the waqf has to be Islamic.
National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC).
The National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) is functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, with an objective to promote the economic & developmental activities for the benefit of the “Backward Sections’ amongst the notified Minorities, preference being given to the occupational groups & women. The NMDFC is a Public Sector Undertaking, registered under the Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956, as a “Company not for profit”.
