National Government Schemes & Social Justice(October 2025)

1:National Government Schemes & Social Justice

1. The "Dhan-Dhaanya" Revolution: PM-DDKY

On October 11, 2025, Prime Minister Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY) at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

• Outlay: ₹24,000 crore over six years (totaling ₹1.44 lakh crore till 2031).
• Target: 100 "low-productivity" districts (mirroring the Aspirational Districts model) across all states.
• Convergence: The scheme integrates 36 central schemes across 11 ministries to provide a "single-window" solution for 1.7 crore farmers.
• Focus Areas: * Increasing adoption of Climate-Resilient seeds.
  • Expanding Post-harvest storage at the Panchayat level to reduce 20% crop loss.
  • Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses: A sub-mission with ₹11,440 crore to make India self-reliant in protein sources by 2027.

2. Shram Shakti Niti 2025: India’s First Integrated Labour Policy

The Ministry of Labour & Employment released the draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 for public feedback in October.

• The "Universal Account": Proposes a Universal Social Security Account (USSA) that is portable across states and jobs, integrating EPFO, ESIC, and e-Shram data.
• Target 2030: Aims to raise Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) to 35% by 2030 through mandatory workplace creches and flexible hybrid work models.
• The "Labour Stack": A new Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to match jobs using AI, specifically targeting Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
• Gig Worker Inclusion: Formally brings 1 crore online platform workers under the PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat) health cover.

3. "Safeguarding the Girl Child": National Consultation

On October 11-12, 2025 (International Day of the Girl Child), the Supreme Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee held its 10th National Stakeholders Consultation.

• The Theme: "Safeguarding the Girl Child: Towards a Safer and Enabling Environment."
• Key Directives: * Sex Education: The Court opined that sex education must start earlier than Class IX to inform children about puberty and "good touch/bad touch" before they reach vulnerable ages.
  • Cyber Safety: A dedicated session focused on protecting girls from AI-driven cybercrimes and non-consensual deepfakes.

4. Elderly Welfare: AVYAY & "Vriddha Mitra"

• Vriddha Mitra Toolkit: Launched on October 16, 2025, by the Department of Social Justice. It is a guide for "Ageing in Place," helping families and communities provide geriatric care at home.
• PM-SPECIAL: The government invited training partners in October to train Geriatric Care Givers, aiming to create a professional workforce for India’s rapidly aging population.

To ensure 100% completion of Pillar 2 for National News (October 2025), we must include a few critical "saturation" updates that represent the final pieces of the government’s welfare puzzle for the month.

5. Ayushman Vay Vandana: The "70 Plus" Milestone

In October 2024, the government expanded the Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) scheme. By October 31, 2025, the impact reached a critical mass.

• The News: As of late October 2025, over 7.89 lakh hospital admissions worth ₹1,741 crore were authorized specifically under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category (for seniors 70+).
• Saturation: Over 93 lakh specific "Vay Vandana" health cards have now been issued, providing a shared top-up cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for seniors, regardless of their income level.

6. PM-JUGA (Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan)

Formally launched in October 2024 as Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, this scheme reached its one-year implementation review in October 2025.

• Target: Saturation of 63,000 tribal-majority villages across 549 districts.
• The "Homestay" Innovation: A unique component was fast-tracked in October 2025—the promotion of 1,000 Tribal Homestays under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.
  • Grant: Each household is eligible for ₹5 lakh to construct two rooms, aiming to turn tribal heritage into a sustainable livelihood through tourism.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia Mission: In October 2025, the Ministry of Health reported the setting up of specialized Centers of Competence (CoC) in AIIMS facilities to handle pre-natal diagnosis for tribal populations under this Abhiyan.

7. SMILE Scheme: "BhikshaMukt Bharat" Target

The SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme issued a major update regarding its sub-scheme for the rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging.

• The Milestone: The Ministry of Social Justice identified 30 key cities to be made "Beggary-Free" by 2026.
• October Action: In October 2025, the profiling of over 2.5 lakh waste pickers and marginalized individuals was completed, providing them with PPE kits and Ayushman Bharat health insurance as part of their formalization.

8. Educational Equity: SHREYAS & YASASVI Saturation

• MoU with PW Foundation: In a unique public-private partnership (finalized in late 2025), the Department of Social Justice collaborated with the Physics Wallah (PW) Foundation to provide free structured online coaching to 15,000 aspirants from SC/OBC backgrounds.
• National Overseas Scholarship (NOS): The 2nd round of results for the 2025-26 Selection Year was finalized in October, allotting slots for Master’s and Ph.D. courses abroad for students from landless agricultural labor and traditional artisan families.

9. Ayushman Vay Vandana: The "70 Plus" Milestone

In October 2024, the government expanded the Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) scheme. By October 31, 2025, the impact reached a critical mass.

• The News: As of late October 2025, over 7.89 lakh hospital admissions worth ₹1,741 crore were authorized specifically under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category (for seniors 70+).
• Saturation: Over 93 lakh specific "Vay Vandana" health cards have now been issued, providing a shared top-up cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year for seniors, regardless of their income level.

10. PM-JUGA (Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan)

Formally launched in October 2024 as Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, this scheme reached its one-year implementation review in October 2025.

• Target: Saturation of 63,000 tribal-majority villages across 549 districts.
• The "Homestay" Innovation: A unique component was fast-tracked in October 2025—the promotion of 1,000 Tribal Homestays under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.
  • Grant: Each household is eligible for ₹5 lakh to construct two rooms, aiming to turn tribal heritage into a sustainable livelihood through tourism.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia Mission: In October 2025, the Ministry of Health reported the setting up of specialized Centers of Competence (CoC) in AIIMS facilities to handle pre-natal diagnosis for tribal populations under this Abhiyan.

11. SMILE Scheme: "BhikshaMukt Bharat" Target

The SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme issued a major update regarding its sub-scheme for the rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging.

• The Milestone: The Ministry of Social Justice identified 30 key cities to be made "Beggary-Free" by 2026.
• October Action: In October 2025, the profiling of over 2.5 lakh waste pickers and marginalized individuals was completed, providing them with PPE kits and Ayushman Bharat health insurance as part of their formalization.

12. Educational Equity: SHREYAS & YASASVI Saturation

• MoU with PW Foundation: In a unique public-private partnership (finalized in late 2025), the Department of Social Justice collaborated with the Physics Wallah (PW) Foundation to provide free structured online coaching to 15,000 aspirants from SC/OBC backgrounds.
• National Overseas Scholarship (NOS): The 2nd round of results for the 2025-26 Selection Year was finalized in October, allotting slots for Master’s and Ph.D. courses abroad for students from landless agricultural labor and traditional artisan families.

13. Shram Shakti Niti 2025: The "October 27" Deadline

The Ministry of Labour & Employment released the draft National Labour & Employment Policy (Shram Shakti Niti 2025) for public consultation on October 8, 2025.

• The Milestone: The deadline for public feedback was October 27, 2025.
• Governance Goal: The policy aims to move India from "job matching" to "employment facilitation" using the National Career Service (NCS) as Digital Public Infrastructure. It integrates EPFO, ESIC, and e-Shram into a single "Labour Stack."

14. Samajik Nyaya Charcha 2025

On October 4, 2025, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in partnership with The/Nudge Institute, hosted this national convening.

• Objective: To deliberate on "Viksit Bharat @ 2047" with a focus on digital inclusion and tech-enablement for the marginalized.
• Key Outcome: A renewed push for SMILE-B (BhikshaMukt Bharat), with the list of cities targeted for beggary-free status expanding from the initial 30 to a broader roadmap.

15. Ayushman Vay Vandana: The "₹1,741 Crore" Mark

• The Stat: Official data as of October 31, 2025, confirmed that 7.89 lakh hospital admissions had been authorized specifically for senior citizens aged 70+ under this new category.
• Financial Impact: This represented an expenditure of ₹1,741 crore in just one year of the scheme's senior-specific expansion, with Uttar Pradesh leading in card creation.

16. PM-JUGA (Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan) Status

Though launched in 2024, the "Saturation Review" in October 2025 highlighted:

• Tribal Homestays: The Ministry of Tourism officially opened the application window for the 1,000 Tribal Homestays project. Each household is eligible for a ₹5 lakh grant for construction.
• CoC for Sickle Cell: Foundation stones were laid for Centers of Competence (CoC) in various AIIMS hospitals to provide specialized pre-natal diagnosis for Sickle Cell Disease, a core target of the Abhiyan.