SMILE
India’s constitutional values — justice, equality, and dignity — demand that even the most marginalised citizen be provided the opportunity to live with honour. Yet, thousands of individuals, particularly from the transgender community or those forced into begging, often remain excluded from mainstream development narratives.
Recognising this, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) launched the SMILE Scheme to offer rehabilitation, protection, and livelihood opportunities to these vulnerable groups.
Basic Overview (Quick Facts)
| Feature | Details |
| Full Form | Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) |
| Type | Central Sector Scheme |
| Implementing Agency | MoSJE through National Coordinators |
| Duration | 2021-22 to 2025-26 |
| Core Aim | To provide welfare and rehabilitation to: The Transgender community Persons engaged in begging |
Objectives of the SMILE Scheme
The scheme is guided by two parallel and profound missions:
- Welfare and social inclusion of transgender individuals
- Rehabilitation of persons involved in begging, with the larger aim of making public spaces begging-free
The larger vision is not just to remove people from streets, but to help them reclaim their identity, skills, and dignity.
Umbrella Structure: Two Sub-Schemes
| Sub-Scheme | Target Group | Focus Area |
| 1. Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons | Transgender community | Protection, health, education, livelihood, housing |
| 2. Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging | Individuals who resort to begging due to poverty or destitution | Identification, counselling, skill training, alternative employment |
Let’s now explore each sub-scheme in detail.
Sub-Scheme 1: Transgender Welfare & Rehabilitation
This is a multi-dimensional approach aimed at correcting centuries of marginalisation. It includes:
🔰 Institutional Protection
- National Council for Transgender Persons: Acts as a policy advisory, monitoring, and evaluation body.
- Transgender Protection Cells:
- At district level under the District Magistrate
- At state level under the Director General of Police
These bodies ensure safety, redressal, and proactive grievance handling.
🏥 Health Support
- Composite Health Package in convergence with AB-PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat).
- Includes gender-affirmation surgeries, psychological support, and post-operative care in selected empanelled hospitals.
🎓 Education
- Scholarships from Class IX to Post-Graduation.
- Note: Though the Samagra Shiksha scheme does not provide direct scholarships, it highlights the educational challenges faced by transgender children due to stigma and discrimination — which this scheme tries to address.
💼 Employment and Skilling
- Skilling under PM-DAKSH (focused on marginalised groups).
- Curriculum created by:
- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
- Sector Skill Councils (SSCs)
- Training institutions involved:
- Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE)
- National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD)
🏘️ Housing and Social Support
- Garima Greh:
- A safe shelter home for transgender persons
- Provides food, clothing, recreation, counselling, legal aid, and skill development
- Promotes group living and community support
🌐 Other Key Interventions
- National Portal and Helpline: For service access, grievance redressal, and information.
- Awareness & Sensitisation Campaigns: To change social attitudes and reduce discrimination.
Sub-Scheme 2: Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging
Core Actions:
- Identification & Rescue: Mapping of beggars in major urban areas
- Counselling: Psychological and vocational counselling to understand reasons behind begging
- Skilling & Livelihood: Linkage with PMKVY, PM-DAKSH, and other employment schemes
- Shelter & Food: Short-stay homes to help transition from street to structured life
- Convergence: Coordination with municipalities, police, and social organisations
- Prevention & Enforcement: Create Beggar-free zones while ensuring dignity and legal safeguards
Conclusion: What makes SMILE significant?
The SMILE Scheme is both symbolic and strategic.
- Symbolic, because it recognises transgender persons and beggars as rightful citizens, not as invisible burdens.
- Strategic, because it leverages convergence of education, health, skilling, and housing — using existing institutions and programs — to create a comprehensive support system.
More importantly, it marks a paradigm shift in social welfare — moving from charity to empowerment, from exclusion to inclusion, from silence to recognition.
Remember: A truly developed nation is not measured only by GDP, but by how much space it creates for those pushed to the margins. SMILE is India’s attempt to bring those very individuals — transgender citizens and beggars — to the center of the policy conversation.