What are the two main components of the SMILE Scheme?

The scheme includes the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Transgender Persons and the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging.

How will the SMILE Scheme be implemented?

Implementation will be carried out through state/UT governments, voluntary organisations, Urban Local Bodies, and community-based organisations.

What specific facilities and support does the SMILE Scheme offer?

Facilities include Garima Greh for housing and support, transgender protection cells, scholarships, skill development programs, and medical support including gender affirmation surgeries.

What challenges does the SMILE Scheme aim to address?

The scheme addresses challenges such as societal stigma, discrimination, and lack of legal recognition for transgender individuals, as well as providing comprehensive support and welfare measures.

What are the two main components of the SMILE Scheme?

The scheme includes the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Transgender Persons and the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging.

What challenges does the SMILE Scheme aim to address?

The scheme addresses challenges such as societal stigma, discrimination, and lack of legal recognition for transgender individuals, as well as providing comprehensive support and welfare measures.

What are the two main components of the SMILE Scheme?

The scheme includes the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Transgender Persons and the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging.

What challenges does the SMILE Scheme aim to address?

The scheme addresses challenges such as societal stigma, discrimination, and lack of legal recognition for transgender individuals, as well as providing comprehensive support and welfare measures.

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SMILE Scheme for Empowering Transgenders And Beggars For A Brighter Future

Q: What is the SMILE Scheme?

The SMILE Scheme is a government initiative launched in 2021 to support the welfare of marginalised individuals, including transgender persons and people engaged in begging.

Neha Gupta

Author

Updated: 28-01-2025 at 6:30 AM

SMILE Scheme for Empowering Transgenders And Beggars For A Brighter Future

India is the most populous country in the world wherein various classes of people live and survive and one of those classes is the transgender community which faces a wide range of problems simply because they choose to live their lives like they want and people who beg to support their lives. To address the issues faced by the community, the government of India launched the Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise also known as the SMILE Scheme.

The SMILE Scheme aims at changing the lives of the transgender community and people engaged in begging, it is, therefore, an innovative approach towards addressing their all-around welfare.

Overview

Name of the scheme	Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE Scheme)
Launched by	Government of India
Launched in	2022
Objective	To promote welfare of the transgender individuals and people who beg to support their lives
Eligibility	Transgender and people who beg to support their lives
Application mode	Offline
Benefits	Scholarships for pursuing education, skill development programs, housing and economic support, etc.

What Is The SMILE Scheme?

The Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise also known as the SMILE Scheme is a combination of existing schemes meant for beggars’ and transgenders’ betterment. It consists of two major sub-schemes;

Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons
Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging

These sub-schemes offer various support measures such as rehabilitation, medical facilities, counselling services, education, skills development as well as economic linkages.

Objectives Of The SMILE Scheme

SMILE Scheme has its primary goal of empowering marginalised individuals particularly transgenders and beggars to live a dignified life. The scheme puts huge emphasis on:

Rehabilitation: Make use of current shelter homes or create new ones if necessary.
Medical Facilities: Providing comprehensive medical support in convergence with Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
Counselling: Offering psychological support and counselling services.
Education and Skill Development: Providing scholarships for transgender students and skill development opportunities under the PM-DAKSH scheme.
Economic Linkages: Enabling self-reliance through livelihood programs.

About 60,000 poorest people are targeted to benefit from this program according to estimates given by this govt scheme.

Components Of The SMILE Scheme

Scheme Under the SMILE Scheme	Details
Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons	The scheme provides scholarships to transgender students from class IX to PG, offers skill development through the PM-DAKSH scheme, provides healthcare packages, and helps in housing through the Garima Greh scheme
Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging	The scheme identifies people who beg to support their lives, aims to provide shelter and other necessities, and help in their transition into the society

Eligibility Criterion Of The SMILE Scheme

Interested individuals first need to fit into the eligibility criterion to reap the scheme’s benefits. The eligibility criterion is as follows:

People from the transgender community with a government-issued certificate.
Any individual who begs to support their living.
Shouldn’t be part of any other govt. scheme.

Application Process Of The SMILE Scheme

Interested and eligible individuals can apply for the sub-schemes under the SMILE Scheme by following the steps mentioned below:

Visit the official website of the SMILE Scheme.
Register using your details.
Fill in the application form for the selected sub-scheme.
Submit the application.

Required Documents

Applicants need to submit certain supporting documents to apply for the scheme. The list of documents is as follows:

Identity proof
Transgender certificate (to be given by transgenders)

Implementation Of The SMILE Scheme

The implementation will be done through state/ UT Government support; voluntary organisations; Urban Local Bodies; community-based Organizations (CBOs) etc. Key implementation features include;

Shelter Homes: Existing shelter homes and new ones for rehabilitation.
Garima Greh: Housing facilities that provide food, clothing, recreational activities, skill development opportunities, and medical support.
Transgender Protection Cells: Established in each state to monitor and ensure timely registration, investigation, and prosecution of offences against transgender persons.
National Portal and Helpline: Offering necessary information and solutions to the transgender community and people engaged in begging.

Focus On Comprehensive Welfare

The SMILE Scheme doesn’t only look at immediate relief but also focuses on long-term welfare and empowerment. Some of the notable provisions are;

Scholarships for Transgender Students: Supporting education from Class 9th to post-graduation.
Skill Development: Providing training programs under the PM-DAKSH scheme to enhance employability.
Medical Support: Health packages covering surgeries such as gender affirmation through selected hospitals.
Economic Opportunities: Accessing livelihood programs or financial assistance to start enterprises among others.

Challenges Faced By Transgenders In India

In India, transsexual individuals face several problems: societal stigma, discrimination as well as the absence of legal recognition. Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 coupled with the SMILE Scheme seeks to address these problems by offering legal protection plus comprehensive welfare measures. However, implementation gaps as well as societal attitudes remain considerable challenges.

Initiatives For Transgender Persons

The SMILE Scheme is complemented by other initiatives such as;

Ayushman Bharat TG Plus Card: Providing over 50 health benefit services to transgender persons.
Dedicated Toilets: Inclusion of transgender-friendly toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).
National Portal for Transgender Persons: Facilitating access to government services and support.

Other Schemes For Beggars In India

Apart from the SMILE Scheme, the government of India has other initiatives for improving the lives of beggars such as:

National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM): This program aims to provide skill development and employment opportunities to people so that they can become financially independent.
Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Beggars: This scheme is focused on rehabilitating the beggars of the country and helping them reform their lives.

Conclusion

It is a great step for rehabilitating and empowering impoverished communities in India. By targeting beggars and transgender people, this SMILE Scheme endeavours to include them in the social economic mainstream hence contributing towards the realisation of the developed India dream.

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