Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

{{Infobox government agency

| seal = Government of India logo.svg

| seal_width = 100px

| seal_caption = Branch of Government of India

| headquarters = Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Shastri Bhawan,
C-Wing,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road
New Delhi,110011
New Delhi

| region_code = IN

| logo_caption = Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

| image =

| minister1_name = Virendra Kumar Khatik

| minister1_pfo = Cabinet Minister

| minister2_name = Ramdas Athawale

| minister2_pfo = Minister of State

| minister3_name = B. L. Verma

| minister3_pfo = Minister of State

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| website = {{URL|https://socialjustice.gov.in/}}

| name = Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

| logo = Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.png

| logo_size = 250px

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| budget = {{INRConvert|6908|c}} (2017-18 est.){{cite web |url=http://www.indiabudget.gov.in/ub2018-19/eb/sbe95.pdf |title=Budget data |date=2019 |website=www.indiabudget.gov.in |format=PDF |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304170727/http://www.indiabudget.gov.in/ub2018-19/eb/sbe95.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2018 |url-status=dead }}

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The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India ministry. It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), LGBT people, the disabled, the elderly, and the victims of drug abuse. It also helps in the enforcement of legislation with regards to these marginalized groups to better enforce anti-discrimination policies.{{Cite web|title=Subjects Allocated : Department of Social Justice and Empowerment - Government of India|url=https://socialjustice.nic.in/UserView/index?mid=1509|access-date=2021-10-25|website=socialjustice.nic.in}}

The Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The current minister is Virendra Kumar, who is assisted by two ministers of state, Ramdas Athawale and B. L. Verma.

History

In 1985–1986, the former Ministry of Welfare was divided into the Department of Women and Child Development and the Department of Welfare. At the same time, the Departments of Scheduled Castes Development, Tribal Development, and Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Wakf of the Ministry of Law were separated from those ministry to form the new Ministry of Welfare.

The Ministry of Welfare was renamed as the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in May 1998. In October 1999, the Department of Tribal Development was separated to form the new and independent Ministry of Tribal Affairs. In May 2004 following the formation of the First Manmohan Singh ministry, the Department of Women and Child Development was separated to form an independent ministry to be known as the Ministry of Women and Child Development, while in January 2006, the Departments of Minorities Welfare and the Wakf were separated to form the Ministry of Minority Affairs. To propagate the ideologies and philosophy of Babu Jagjivan Ram, the 'Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation', has been set up by the Ministry.{{cite web|title=A brief on Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation|url=http://www.socialjustice.nic.in/babujagjivanram.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619070115/http://socialjustice.nic.in/babujagjivanram.pdf|archive-date=19 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}

In 2012, the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment launched Oblindia, an online library for visually impaired college students. At launch, the library included 12,000 books in 10 languages.{{cite news |title=India's First Online Braille Library Launched |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/indias-first-online-braille-library-launched/746546 |access-date=2019-03-23 |date=2012-01-05}}

Organisation

The ministry has five bureaus, each headed by a Joint Secretary: Scheduled Castes Development Bureau; Backward Classes Bureau Coordination, Media, Administration; Disability Bureau; Social Defense (SD) Bureau; and Project, Research, Evaluation and Monitoring Bureau.

Statutory Bodies
Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, New Delhi
National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities
Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI)

National Institutes
Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai (AYJNIHH)
Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi (formerly Institute for the Physically Handicapped (IPH))
National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities, Kolkata
National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, Secunderabad
National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIVH), Dehradun
Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research, Cuttack (NIRTAR)
National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), Chennai
Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre (ISLRTC)
National Institute of Social Defence (NISD)

Composite Regional Centres for Persons with Disabilities (CRCs)
Public Private Partnership
Indian Spinal Injury Centre

=Think Tank=

Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi

Legislation

Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007

Cabinet Ministers

Note: MoS, I/C {{ndash}} Minister of State (Independent Charge)

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" \| {{Abbr\|No.\|Number}} ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"\| Portrait ! rowspan="2" style="width:18em" \|Minister {{small\|(Birth-Death) Constituency}} ! colspan="3" \|Term of office ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" \|Political party ! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" \| Ministry ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"\| Prime Minister
style="width:8em"\| From ! style="width:8em"\| To ! style="width:6em"\| Period
colspan="11"\| Minister of Social Security
1 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Ram Subhag Singh {{small\|(1917{{ndash}}1980) MP for Bikramganj}} (MoS) \| 9 June 1964 \| 13 June 1964 \| {{ayd\|9 Jun 1964\|13 Jun 1964}} \| rowspan="3"\| Indian National Congress \| rowspan="2"\| Shastri \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="2" style="width:9em"\| Lal Bahadur Shastri
rowspan="2"\| 2 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Ashoke Kumar Sen {{small\|(1913{{ndash}}1996) MP for Calcutta North West}} \| 13 June 1964 \| 11 January 1966 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|13 Jun 1964\|11 Jan 1966}}
11 January 1966 \| 24 January 1966 \| Nanda II \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| Gulzarilal Nanda
colspan="11"\| Minister of Social Welfare
3 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Kotha Raghuramaiah {{small\|(1912{{ndash}}1979) MP for Guntur}} (MoS) \| 24 January 1966 \| 25 March 1966 \| {{ayd\|24 Jan 1966\|25 Mar 1966}} \| rowspan="4"\| Indian National Congress \| rowspan="2"\| Indira I \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="7"\| Indira Gandhi
rowspan="2"\| 4 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Asoka Mehta {{small\|(1911{{ndash}}1984) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra, until 1967 MP for Bhandara}} \| 25 March 1966 \| 13 March 1967 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|25 Mar 1966\|22 Aug 1968}}
13 March 1967 \| 22 August 1968 \| rowspan="3"\| Indira II
5 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Panampilly Govinda Menon {{small\|(1906{{ndash}}1970) MP for Mukundapuram}} \| 22 August 1968 \| 23 May 1970 \| {{ayd\|22 Aug 1968\|23 May 1970}}
6 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\| \| 70px \| Kengal Hanumanthaiah {{small\|(1908{{ndash}}1980) MP for Bangalore City}} \| 26 May 1970 \| 18 March 1971 \| {{ayd\|26 May 1970\|18 Mar 1971}} \| rowspan="3"\| Indian National Congress (R) \| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\|
7 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\| \| 70px \| Siddhartha Shankar Ray {{small\|(1920{{ndash}}2010) MP for Raiganj}} \| 18 March 1971 \| 20 March 1972 \| {{ayd\|1971\|3\|18\|1972\|3\|20}} \| rowspan="2"\| Indira III
8 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\| \| 70px \| Saiyid Nurul Hasan {{small\|(1921{{ndash}}1993) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh}} (MoS, I/C) \| 24 March 1972 \| 24 March 1977 \| {{ayd\|1972\|3\|24\|1977\|3\|24}}
9 \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Pratap Chandra Chunder {{small\|(1919{{ndash}}2008) MP for Calcutta North East}} \| 24 March 1977 \| 28 July 1979 \| {{ayd\|1977\|3\|24\|1979\|7\|28}} \| Janata Party \| Desai \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party}}"\| \| Morarji Desai
10 \| style="background:{{party color\|Indian National Congress (Urs)}}"\| \| 70px \| Karan Singh {{small\|(born 1931) MP for Udhampur}} \| 28 July 1979 \| 19 August 1979 \| {{ayd\|28 Jul 1979\|19 Aug 1979}} \| Indian National Congress (Urs) \| rowspan="2"\| Charan \| rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party (Secular)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Charan Singh
11 \| style="background:{{party color\|AIADMK}}; color:white"\| \| 70px \| Sathyavani Muthu {{small\|(1923{{ndash}}1999) Rajya Sabha MP for Tamil Nadu}} \| 19 August 1979 \| 23 December 1979 \| {{ayd\|19 Aug 1979\|23 Dec 1979}} \| All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
12 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Shankarrao Chavan {{small\|(1920{{ndash}}2004) MP for Nanded}} \| 19 October 1980 \| 8 August 1981 \| {{ayd\|19 Oct 1980\|8 Aug 1981}} \| rowspan="3"\| Indian National Congress (I) \| rowspan="2"\| Indira IV \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Indira Gandhi
rowspan="2"\| 13 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Sheila Kaul {{small\|(1915{{ndash}}2015) MP for Lucknow}} (MoS, I/C) \| 8 August 1981 \| 31 October 1984 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|8 Aug 1981\|26 Dec 1984}}
4 November 1984 \| 31 December 1984 \| Rajiv I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| Rajiv Gandhi
colspan="11"\| Minister of Women and Social Welfare
14 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Maragatham Chandrasekar {{small\|(1917{{ndash}}2001) MP for Sriperumbudur}} (MoS, I/C) \| 31 December 1984 \| 25 September 1985 \| {{ayd\|31 Dec 1984\|25 Sep 1985}} \| rowspan="2"\| Indian National Congress (I) \| rowspan="2"\| Rajiv II \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Rajiv Gandhi
15 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Rajendra Kumari Bajpai {{small\|(1925{{ndash}}1999) MP for Sitapur}} (MoS, I/C) \| 25 September 1985 \| 2 December 1989 \| {{ayd\|25 Sep 1985\|2 Dec 1989}}
colspan="10"\| Minister of Welfare
16 \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}; color:white"\| \| 70px \| Ram Vilas Paswan {{small\|(1946{{ndash}}2020) MP for Hajipur}} \| 6 December 1989 \| 10 November 1990 \| {{ayd\|6 Dec 1989\|10 Dec 1990}} \| Janata Dal \| Vishwanath \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}; color:white"\| \| Vishwanath Pratap Singh
{{ndash}} \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"\| \| 70px \| Chandra Shekhar {{small\|(1927{{ndash}}2007) MP for Ballia}} (Prime Minister) \| 21 November 1990 \| 21 June 1991 \| {{ayd\|1990\|11\|21\|1991\|6\|21}} \| Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) \| Chandra Shekhar \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"\| \| Chandra Shekhar
17 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Sitaram Kesri {{small\|(1919{{ndash}}2000) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar}} \| 21 June 1991 \| 16 May 1996 \| {{ayd\|21 Jun 1991\|16 May 1996}} \| Indian National Congress (I) \| Rao \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| P. V. Narasimha Rao
18 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Kariya Munda {{small\|(born 1936) MP for Khunti}} \| 16 May 1996 \| 1 June 1996 \| {{ayd\|16 May 1996\|1 Jun 1996}} \| Bharatiya Janata Party \| Vajpayee I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| Atal Bihari Vajpayee
rowspan="2"\| 19 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent politician}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Balwant Singh Ramoowalia {{small\|(born 1942) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh}} \| 1 June 1996 \| 21 April 1997 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|1 Jun 1996\|19 Mar 1998}} \| rowspan="3"\| Independent \| Deve Gowda \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| H. D. Deve Gowda
21 April 1997 \| 19 March 1998 \| Gujral \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| Inder Kumar Gujral
20 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent politician}}"\| \| 70px \| Maneka Gandhi {{small\|(born 1956) MP for Pilibhit}} (MoS, I/C) \| 19 March 1998 \| 23 May 1998 \| {{ayd\|19 Mar 1998\|23 May 1998}} \| Vajpayee II \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| Atal Bihari Vajpayee
colspan="11"\| Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
rowspan="2"\| 21 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent politician}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Maneka Gandhi {{small\|(born 1956) MP for Pilibhit}} (MoS, I/C) \| 23 May 1998 \| 13 October 1999 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|23 May 1998\|1 Sep 2001}} \| rowspan="2"\| Independent \| Vajpayee II \| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="3"\| Atal Bihari Vajpayee
13 October 1999 \| 1 September 2001 \| rowspan="2"\| Vajpayee III
22 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Satyanarayan Jatiya {{small\|(born 1946) MP for Ujjain}} \| 1 September 2001 \| 22 May 2004 \| {{ayd\|1 Sep 2001\|22 May 2004}} \| Bharatiya Janata Party
23 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|INC}}"\| \| 70px \| Meira Kumar {{small\|(born 1945) MP for Sasaram}} \| 23 May 2004 \| 22 May 2009 \| {{ayd\|23 May 2004\|22 May 2009}} \| rowspan="4"\| Indian National Congress \| Manmohan I \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|INC}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| Manmohan Singh
24 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|INC}}"\| \| 70px \| Mukul Wasnik {{small\|(born 1959) MP for Ramtek}} \| 28 May 2009 \| 27 October 2012 \| {{ayd\|28 May 2009\|27 Oct 2012}} \| rowspan="3"\| Manmohan II
26 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|INC}}"\| \| 70px \| Selja Kumari {{small\|(born 1962) MP for Ambala}} \| 28 October 2012 \| 28 January 2014 \| {{ayd\|28 Oct 2012\|28 Jan 2014}}
27 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|INC}}"\| \| 70px \| Mallikarjun Kharge {{small\|(born 1941) MP for Gulbarga}} \| 28 January 2014 \| 26 May 2014 \| {{ayd\|28 Jan 2014\|26 May 2014}}
rowspan="2"\| 28 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Thawar Chand Gehlot {{small\|(born 1948) Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh}} \| 27 May 2014 \| 30 May 2019 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|27 May 2014\|7 Jul 2021}} \| rowspan="4"\| Bharatiya Janata Party \| Modi I \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| Narendra Modi
31 May 2019 \| 7 July 2021 \| rowspan="2"\| Modi II
rowspan="2"\| 29 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Virendra Kumar Khatik {{small\|(born 1954) MP for Tikamgarh}} \| 7 July 2021 \| 9 June 2024 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|7 Jul 2021}}
10 June 2024 \| Incumbent \| Modi III

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}

! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait

! rowspan="2" style="width:18em" |Minister
{{small|(Birth-Death)
Constituency}}

! colspan="3" |Term of office

! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party

! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry

! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister

style="width:8em"| From

! style="width:8em"| To

! style="width:6em"| Period

colspan="11"| Minister of Social Security

| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

History

Organisation

=Think Tank=

Legislation

Cabinet Ministers

Ministers of State

See also

References

External links