🌱 Overview
"Social sector" schemes are those primarily aimed at improving human development outcomes — education, health, nutrition, and the welfare of women, children and vulnerable groups — as distinct from purely economic/infrastructure schemes. Along with the Welfare Schemes topic, this is a fast-moving current affairs area; treat the list below as a stable reference and verify specifics against the latest Budget/Economic Survey.
🎓 Education
- Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan — an integrated scheme covering school education from pre-school to senior secondary, subsuming earlier schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).
- National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 — not a scheme but a comprehensive policy framework restructuring school (5+3+3+4) and higher education, with emphasis on foundational literacy/numeracy, multidisciplinary learning, and vocational integration.
- PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) — upgrading select schools as model schools embodying NEP 2020 principles.
- National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship and various SC/ST/OBC/minority scholarship schemes supporting access and retention.
🏥 Health
- National Health Mission (NHM) — umbrella programme covering the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), strengthening public health infrastructure.
- Ayushman Bharat — the two-pillar flagship scheme comprising Health & Wellness Centres (primary care) and PM-JAY (hospitalisation insurance cover).
- Mission Indradhanush — full immunisation coverage for children and pregnant women.
- PM National Dialysis Programme, PM Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (generic medicines) — targeted affordability schemes.
👩👶 Women & Child Development
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)/Saksham Anganwadi & POSHAN 2.0 — nutrition and early childhood care delivered through Anganwadi Centres.
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao — addressing declining child sex ratio and promoting girls' education.
- Mission Shakti — umbrella scheme for women's safety, security and empowerment, subsuming earlier schemes like the One Stop Centre and Ujjwala (anti-trafficking).
- Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana — a savings scheme for the girl child's education/marriage expenses.
♿ Vulnerable Groups & Social Security
- National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) — pensions for elderly, widows and persons with disabilities from BPL households.
- PM-DAKSH — skilling scheme for SC/ST/OBC/Safai Karamchari beneficiaries.
- Scheme for Adolescent Girls, PM Vishwakarma, PM-AJAY (merger of earlier SC-focused schemes) among other targeted interventions.
🎯 Exam Angle
Prelims frequently tests which older schemes were subsumed into a newer umbrella scheme (a common trap area) and nodal ministries. Mains rewards evaluating whether social sector spending translates into outcome improvements — linking scheme design to NFHS/Human Development Index data.
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