Tele-Law
11-Jun-2017: Tele-Law through CSCs To Mainstream Legal Aid in Rural India
The pilot to be rolled out across 1000 Common Service Centres (CSC) in Uttar Pradesh & Bihar. This initiative will also serve as an opportunity to build capacity of 1000 women Para Legal Volunteers (PLV). Training of VLEs across 1000 Common Service Centres (CSC) able to effectively operationalize the tele- law services
In its effort to make legal aid easily accessible to the marginalized communities and citizens living in rural areas, the Government of India has launched the ‘Tele-Law’. The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which anchors the Digital India programme, to provide legal aid services through its Common Service Centres (CSC) at the panchayat level, spread across the country. In the first phase, the ‘Tele-Law’ scheme will be tested as a pilot across 500 Common service Centres (CSC) in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to understand the challenges and make necessary corrections to the scheme before it is scaled up and rolled out across the country in a phased manner.
Under the scheme, a portal called ‘Tele-Law’ will be launched, which will be available across the Common Service Centre (CSC) network. This will connect the citizens to legal service providers with the help of technology enabled platforms. ‘Tele-Law’ will enable people to seek legal advice from lawyers through video conferencing available at the Common Service Centres (CSC). Additionally, law school clinics, District Legal Service Authorities, voluntary service providers and Non-Government Organisations working on legal aid and empowerment can also be connected through the CSCs anywhere and anytime, in order to strengthen access to justice for the marginalized communities. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) will provide a panel of lawyers from State capitals, who will be available through video conferencing to provide legal advice and counselling to the applicants, across the 1000 Common Service Centres (CSC). A robust monitoring and evaluation system is also being designed which will help in assessing the quality of legal advice provided and the ensuing benefit to those accessing it.
In addition to this, under this scheme, every Common Service Centre (CSC) will engage a Para Legal Volunteer (PLV), who will be the first point of contact for the rural citizens and will help them in understanding the legal issues, explain the advice given by lawyers and assist in further action required in cases as per the advice of the lawyer. Women PLVs will be encouraged and trained under the Scheme. One thousand women PLVs will work for mainstreaming legal aid services through the CSCs. The aim is to promote women entrepreneurship and empowerment and ensure women participation. The selected PLVs will also be provided with relevant training to fulfil their responsibilities effectively.
A trained PLV will be available in a CSC for ten days in a month under the Scheme. These PLVs will help the applicant connect with a lawyer through the video conferencing facility at the CSC and will keep a track of the progress of the applicants’ cases and grievances and maintain a record. They will also submit the records maintained to the District Legal Service Authority every week. The National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) will provide a panel of lawyers who will be sitting in the State capitals and will be available through video conferencing to provide legal advice/counselling to the applicant at the CSCs.
This scheme comes as a continuation to the Access to Justice Project for Marginalized Persons which is being implemented by Department of Justice and United Nation Development Programme (UNDP). The Access to Justice Project partnered with CSC-E-governance Services India Limited to mainstream legal literacy through common service centres in Jharkhand (10 CSCs in 3 districts) and then through 500 CSCs across 11 districts in Rajasthan. Under the program, 500 VLEs in Rajasthan were trained on social justice legislations such as fundamental rights, the right to information, citizen rights vis-à-vis policing, gender laws, child rights and labour laws.
Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA)
28-Jun-2017: Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan and Fuel Conservation Workshop
Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, together, inaugurated the Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA).
The Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) is a two month long mega campaign focusing on providing preventive healthcare to the auto, taxi and bus drivers of the region. SSA, an initiative of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), was inaugurated in the presence of various dignitaries including Members of Parliament, Officials of Delhi Police and other Senior Officials of the Ministry. The SSA event is a unique initiative to address the major issues being faced by public transport drivers of the region, with almost all of them being users of CNG.
The drivers in the capital region are partners in the growth story of gas used as fuel in vehicles. CNG is used in vehicles for transport, domestic use, autos etc. Approx.. 4.5 Lakh vehicles which use CNG contribute to the Rs 3000 Cr business of IGL. The new aim should be to increase this business from Rs 3000 Cr to Rs 30,000 Cr.
Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan is an initiative to provide basic health check up to the drivers. The 2 month long medical camp at various IGL stations in the Capital will provide free health checkup which includes blood test, sugar test, eye test with the help of doctors from St Stephen hospital. In cases which require operation for cataract, amongst drivers, facility for the same will also be provided. IGL is planning to provide health insurance which would also include death benefits for drivers in the Capital.
A ‘Fuel Conservation Workshop’ for drivers was also organized by Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) as a part of Saksham 2017 – the mass Oil and Gas Conservation Campaign. The campaign is also being supported by Delhi Police to disseminate the message of road safety and responsible behavior among the drivers.
A mega Health Camp was held on the occasion to provide basic preventive health care needs like measurement of height-weight, BMI and Blood pressure, Vision & Eye checkup, Blood Group testing, Counselling, Health Education & First Aid tips. The campaign would continue in form of health camps at various CNG stations of IGL till 31st August 2017.
In a special Fuel Conservation Workshop conducted by PCRA during the event, the message on fuel conservation and good driving habits was disseminated to the gathered drivers. Such workshops have already been conducted earlier by PCRA across various cities as a part of Saksham 2017. This is the third workshop being conducted, in Delhi, earlier being at Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam.
National Trust
6-Jun-2017: National Trust under M/O Social Justice & Empowerment launches ‘Inclusive India Initiative’
The National Trust under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in collaboration with key partners organised the conference “Inclusive India Initiative: Towards an Inclusive India” for intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). The ‘Inclusive India Initiative’ of National Trust is specifically catering to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities; with an objective to include these people in the mainstream and in all important aspects of social life, namely education, employment and community ‘Inclusive India’ in about changing the attitudes.
A vision document on ‘Inclusive India Initiative’ was released and a few MoUs of the National Trust signed with key partners were exchanged. Divyangjans are an integral part of our society. They need proper guidance. The National Trust is playing an important role in the welfare of Divyangjans. People should take advantage of all 10 schemes of the National Trust.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment provides Skill Development to Divyangjans through “Divyangjan Vitta Vikas Nigam” and make them self-dependent. Now, the Divyangjans are being provided scholarships for studying in India and abroad both. They are being provided Aids and Assistive devices through nationwide camps and so far more than them 5300 camps have been organised by his Ministry where Aids and Assistive devices worth Rs. 500 crores have been distributed to Divyangjans.
In the last Para Olympic Games, Divyangjans have participated exceedingly well and the Ministry of sports have launched a special Portal for future players including Divyangjan players, who will play in the coming Olympic games.
The Inclusive India initiative is an attempt to facilitate the realisation of equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities into the fabric of society. The three core focus areas of Inclusive India Initiative are Inclusive Education, Inclusive Employment and Inclusive Community Life.
In the domain of Inclusive Education, large-scale awareness campaigns would be executed on pan-India basis, making the schools and colleges inclusive for the children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Association with government and private organisations will be explored for making the infrastructure of educational institutes accessible and inclusive, by providing necessary mobility aids, assistive devices, accessible information and social support.
The initiative will engage at least 2000 corporate sector organisations; public and private, for creating awareness towards inclusive employment for persons with intellectual disabilities, during the current financial year. The efforts towards accomplishing inclusive community life can be made successful, only when the people with intellectual and development disabilities, their families, Civil Society organisations and State Government connect. The Inclusive India Initiative was born out of this very need of creating awareness among general public, ensuring that the people becomes sensitive towards the focus the focus group.
The National Trust is a statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, set up under the “National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Retardation and Multiple Disabilities” Act (Act 44 of 1999). The National Trust was envisaged with a core mission of providing opportunities for capacity development of Persons with Disabilities and their families, fulfilling their rights, facilitating and promoting the creation of an enabling environment and an inclusive society.