Chandigarh, April 26 (IANS) The three-day National Chintan Shivir of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment concluded here on Sunday with states and Union Territories agreeing on a set of time-bound, actionable recommendations to strengthen last-mile delivery of social justice schemes in line with the theme “Antyodaya ka Sankalp, Amrit Kaal ka Pratibimb – Viksit Bharat@2047”.

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, in his concluding remarks, said the three-day National Chintan Shivir had provided a serious and result-oriented platform for the Centre, states and Union Territories to reflect collectively on how social justice delivery can be made more accessible, responsive and implementation-driven.

He said the deliberations were anchored in the larger national resolve of “Antyodaya ka Sankalp, Amrit Kaal ka Pratibimb — Viksit Bharat@2047” and reaffirmed that social justice must remain rooted in dignity, accessibility and continuity for the last person in the queue.

Virendra Kumar observed that the discussions went beyond broad policy intent and focused on practical solutions in areas such as scholarship delivery, de-addiction, senior citizen welfare, accessibility, certification for persons with disabilities, and inclusion-linked support systems for vulnerable communities.

Referring to the ministry’s ongoing digital and institutional initiatives, including platforms and applications launched during the inaugural session, he underlined the importance of technology-enabled governance, process simplification, better monitoring and stronger coordination between the Centre and states/UTs to ensure that benefits reach eligible beneficiaries without delay.

The Union Minister expressed confidence that the recommendations emerging from the thematic meals, breakout sessions and group presentations would help shape a more effective implementation framework in the social justice sector.

He said the ministry would take forward the outcomes of the Chintan Shivir in close partnership with states and Union Territories, with continued emphasis on inclusion, empowerment and measurable ground-level outcomes for the poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of society.

The third day began with a yoga session too, followed by a thematic breakfast on “Jagrukta se Sulabhata – Awareness to Accessibility under DoSJE”, where participants discussed the need to move from scheme-centric thinking to a rights-based, universal design approach that treats accessibility as integral to all public infrastructure, services and digital platforms.

The states and UTs underlined the importance of sustained awareness, capacity building of engineers and architects, better use of technology and a stronger role for local bodies in making built environments, transport, ICT and public services accessible to all, including persons with disabilities.

Across the groups, participants also discussed specific issues such as inclusion of DNT communities in Census-2027, strengthening implementation of the SEED Scheme, enhancing livelihood and social security measures under PM-AJAY and other SC/OBC programmes, and comprehensive rehabilitation for transgender persons under the SMILE-TG sub-scheme.

States and UTs presented best practices and success stories on DNT land rights, scholarship delivery, transgender welfare, including Garima Grehs, protection cells and welfare boards, community-based support for senior citizens and innovations in accessibility, with a view to replication and scale-up.

–IANS

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