What it does: It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Manual Scavengers, the disabled, the elderly, and the victims of drug abuse.
In the year 1985-86, the erstwhile Ministry of Welfare was bifurcated into the Department of Women and Child Development and the Department of Welfare. Simultaneously, the Scheduled Castes Development Division, Tribal Development Division and the Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Division were moved from the Ministry of Home Affairs and also the Wakf Division from the Ministry of Law to form the then Ministry of Welfare
Subsequently, the name of the Ministry was changed to the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in May 1998. Further, in October 1999, the Tribal Development Division had moved out to form a separate Ministry of Tribal Affairs. In January 2007, the Minorities Division along with Wakf Unit have were moved out of the Ministry and formed as a separate Ministry and the Child Development Division has gone to the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
Though the subject of "Disability" figures in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, The Government of India has always been proactive in the disability sector. It is not only running seven National Institutes (NIs) dealing with various types of disabilities and seven Composite Regional Centers (CRCs), which provide rehabilitation services to PwDs and run courses for the rehabilitation professionals but also funds a large number of NGOs for similar services and also a National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation (NHFDC) which provides loans at concession rates of interest to PwDs for self-employment. Besides, the Union Government is a party to (i) Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and the Pacific Region - adopted in Beijing in December 1992, and (ii) The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which came into effect in May 2008.
The subject has received attention from various States Governments to varying degrees. At the Central level also disability being one of the several responsibilities of the M/o SJ&E, and being looked after by just one bureau, has resulted in inadequate attention, as most of its time and energy is spent only on implementing Ministry's own schemes, meeting their expenditure and physical targets, and organize annual time-bound activities like the National Awards for the empowerment of PwDs. In the above background, it was stated in the 11th Five Year Plan that "The 'Disability Division of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment will be strengthened by converting it into a separate Department, so that it can liaise effectively with all the other concerned Ministries/Departments and fulfil its responsibilities towards the disabled". Looking to the specialise nature of the subject on "Disability", the wide-ranging work to be done in the light of the UNCRPT, and the inadequacy of existing implementation structure, the time has now come to upgrade the existing Disability Bureau in the M/o SJ&E. The decision to create a separate Department of Disability Affairs within the M/o SJ&E was taken up by the Government, in principle on 3rd January 2012. This was also announced by the President before both houses of Parliament on 12th March 2012.
Now the two departments have been created under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment vide notification dated 12.5.2012, namely:-