SMILE Scheme Aims to Advance 'Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat' Through Rehabilitation
The SMILE scheme is working to strengthen India's commitment to a beggar-free nation by focusing on comprehensive rehabilitation.
The SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme represents the Government of India's targeted policy response to eliminate begging, encapsulated in the vision of a 'Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat' (begging-free India). Launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the initiative moves beyond punitive measures to address the root causes of destitution through a comprehensive rehabilitation framework. This strategy integrates survey and identification, mobilization, rescue, and shelter with long-term support including education, skill development, and livelihood linkages for persons engaged in begging. The scheme underscores a shift toward a rights-based approach, aiming to ensure dignity and social inclusion for one of the country's most vulnerable populations.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has reiterated that the Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) scheme is strengthening India's commitment towards a 'Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat', or begging-free India, through a framework of comprehensive rehabilitation (PIB). The scheme, launched by the ministry, is structured to move beyond punitive approaches to address the root causes of destitution by integrating survey and identification, mobilization, rescue, and shelter with long-term support mechanisms.
According to the ministry, the initiative focuses on a continuum of care that includes education, skill development, and livelihood linkages for persons engaged in begging (PIB). This strategy underscores a shift toward a rights-based approach, aiming to ensure dignity and social inclusion for one of the country's most vulnerable populations. The framework is designed to replace the cycle of destitution with sustainable pathways to economic independence.
The ministry's statement positions the scheme as a targeted policy response that consolidates various interventions under a single umbrella. By combining immediate relief measures such as rescue and shelter with structural investments in human capital through skilling and enterprise support, the government aims to dismantle the systemic drivers that push individuals into begging. The emphasis remains on rehabilitation over criminalization, marking a distinct policy direction for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
PIB