Press Information Bureau · UPSC Analysis
Contents
PIB Analysis - 13 June 2026
13 June 2026
Contents
01
Antyodaya in Action: Welfare Architecture for Deprived Communities
GS 1
GS 2
GS 3
02
MoRTH: Advanced Landslide Mitigation for Climate-Resilient Hill Roads
GS 3
GS 1
Article 01
Article 01
Antyodaya in Action: Welfare Architecture for Deprived Communities
Relevance: GS 1 (Society — vulnerable sections) · GS 2 (Governance, welfare schemes for vulnerable sections, social justice) · GS 3 (inclusive growth, livelihoods).
GS 1
GS 2
GS 3
Image: Antyodaya welfare delivery — tribal, Scheduled Caste and nomadic community development. [Replace src with image URL]
Key Data at a Glance
₹24,104 crPM JANMAN total outlay (Centre ₹15,336 cr + States ₹8,768 cr)
75PVTG communities targeted under PM JANMAN
47,334villages covered under PM-AJAY (597 districts)
66.23 lakhSC higher-education enrolment in 2021–22 (+44% since 2014–15)
499Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) operational
112Aspirational Districts; deepened by 500 Aspirational Blocks (2023)
Issue in Brief
- A government review marks 12 years (2014–2026) of welfare delivery, claiming a shift from fragmented schemes to saturation-based inclusion for tribals, SCs, OBCs, DNTs and minorities.
- Core philosophy is Antyodaya — the Gandhian idea of placing the last person first in dignity, opportunity and development, framed within Viksit Bharat@2047.
Static Background
- Antyodaya draws on Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's integral humanism and Gandhian trusteeship — progress measured by the weakest, not the average.
- Constitutional anchors: Articles 15(4), 16(4) and 46 (educational and economic interests of SCs, STs and weaker sections) and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules for tribal areas.
- PVTGs (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) are 75 communities identified using the Dhebar Commission framework — marked by pre-agricultural technology, stagnant population and low literacy.
Key Dimensions — Tribal Welfare
- PM JANMAN (launched 15 November 2023, Janjatiya Gaurav Divas): targets 75 PVTGs across 18 states + 1 UT (A&N), via 11 interventions by 9 line ministries; nodal Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) under PM JANMAN: 491 of 500 operational, 38,391 PVTG members trained, implemented via NIESBUD, IIE and TRIFED for forest-produce value addition.
- PM-JUGA / DAJGUA (October 2024): converges 17 ministries for tribal-majority villages in mission mode.
- Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS): 499 schools, over 1.56 lakh ST students (Classes VI–XII), with 323 under construction.
Key Dimensions — Scheduled Caste Empowerment
- PM-AJAY (2021): covers 47,334 villages in 597 districts, reaching over 4 crore SC citizens; the Adarsh Gram component uses an area-based, gap-filling approach.
- DAPSC (Development Action Plan for SCs): umbrella framework across 38 ministries and 239 schemes, earmarking dedicated SC funds.
- SHREYAS (2019) and SHRESHTA (2022): higher-education and residential schooling support — SC higher-education enrolment rose to 66.23 lakh (2021–22), and SC GER climbed from 18.9% to 25.9%.
Key Dimensions — Backward, Nomadic & Minority Communities
- PM-YASASVI (OBC/EBC/DNT scholarships), PM-DAKSH (free skilling — 2.08 lakh trained), VISVAS (interest subsidy up to 5%), SEED (DNT welfare) and PM VIKAS (2025, converging five minority schemes).
- Aspirational Districts Programme (2018): 112 districts; deepened by the Aspirational Blocks Programme (2023): 500 blocks across 329 districts.
- NAMASTE (FY 2023–24): mechanises sanitation, replacing hazardous manual cleaning; extended to waste pickers from June 2024.
Critical Analysis — Strengths
- The convergence model reduces scheme duplication and improves last-mile saturation in PVTG and aspirational geographies.
- End-to-end DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) and Aadhaar-seeding curb leakages and speed up scholarship and credit delivery.
- Disaggregated targeting (PVTGs, DNTs, Safai Karamcharis) recognises that uniform schemes miss the most isolated.
Critical Analysis — Structural Questions
- The review is a government self-assessment without independent outcome audit; field reports note gaps in housing and health access under PM JANMAN that merit verification.
- Saturation metrics capture infrastructure created, not always outcomes — learning levels, income mobility and retention beyond enrolment.
- VDVK and skilling viability depends on stable market linkages for forest produce, which remain uneven.
- Manual scavenging persists despite the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 — implementation, not legislation, is the binding constraint.
Way Forward
- Institute third-party / CAG outcome audits and publish disaggregated dashboards that go beyond input metrics.
- Strengthen forward market linkages (e-NAM, TRIFED procurement) so VDVK incomes become sustainable.
- Prioritise quality and retention in EMRS and SHRESHTA over enrolment counts; track first-generation learner outcomes.
- Fully operationalise NAMASTE mechanisation with enforced safety protocols and rehabilitation under the 2013 Act.
Prelims Pointers
PM JANMAN: 75 PVTGs, 18 states + 1 UT, 11 interventions, 9 ministries, ₹24,104 cr; nodal — Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
PVTG identification: based on the Dhebar Commission; criteria include pre-agricultural technology and stagnant/declining population.
EMRS: residential schools for Scheduled Tribe students, Classes VI–XII.
Aspirational Districts: anchored by NITI Aayog; the “3 Cs” — Convergence, Collaboration, Competition; monthly delta ranking.
Aspirational Blocks Programme: launched 2023; Sankalp Saptaah is its associated initiative.
NAMASTE = National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem; under M/o Social Justice & Empowerment with MoHUA.
Practice Mains Question
India's recent welfare architecture has shifted from scheme-based delivery to convergence-based saturation. Examine this shift with reference to tribal and Scheduled Caste empowerment, and assess its limitations.
GS Paper 2 · 250 words · 15 marks
Practice MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding PM JANMAN: (1) It targets all Scheduled Tribes across India. (2) It is implemented through 11 interventions by 9 line ministries. (3) The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry. Which are correct?
A) 1 and 2 only B) 2 and 3 only C) 1 and 3 only D) 1, 2 and 3Answer: B. PM JANMAN targets 75 PVTGs specifically, not all STs (statement 1 wrong). It runs through 11 interventions and 9 ministries, with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as nodal (statements 2 and 3 correct).
Q2. Match List I (Scheme) with List II (Primary beneficiary): A. SHRESHTA · B. PM-YASASVI · C. SEED // 1. OBC/EBC/DNT students · 2. De-notified & Nomadic Tribes · 3. SC students (residential schooling). Choose the correct match:
A) A-3, B-1, C-2 B) A-1, B-2, C-3 C) A-3, B-2, C-1 D) A-2, B-1, C-3Answer: A. SHRESHTA → SC residential schooling; PM-YASASVI → OBC/EBC/DNT; SEED → DNT/NT/SNT welfare.
Q3. The “3 Cs” associated with the Aspirational Districts Programme are:
A) Convergence, Collaboration, Competition B) Capacity, Convergence, Connectivity C) Collaboration, Credit, Competition D) Convergence, Capacity, CooperationAnswer: A. Convergence, Collaboration and Competition, monitored by NITI Aayog through monthly delta ranking.
Article 02
Article 02
MoRTH: Advanced Landslide Mitigation for Climate-Resilient Hill Roads
Relevance: GS 3 (infrastructure, disaster management, science & technology) · GS 1 (geography — Himalayan geology).
GS 3
GS 1
Image: InSAR-based landslide monitoring on Himalayan hill highways (Char Dham route). [Replace src with image URL]
Key Data at a Glance
16,788 kmNational Highways located in India's hill states
1,46,570+ kmtotal National Highway network in India
100 kmChar Dham stretch under InSAR monitoring (Uttarakhand)
₹15–30 cr/kmtypical construction cost of mountain highways
₹10–25 crrepair cost from a single moderate landslide
58landslide-prone sites already treated in Uttarakhand
Issue in Brief
- After the August 2025 Dharali–Sukhi Top (Uttarkashi) cloudburst triggered flash floods and slope failures, MoRTH is shifting hill-road policy from post-disaster repair to prediction and prevention.
- The centrepiece is InSAR-based monitoring, phased construction and slope-specific scientific mitigation across India's fragile Himalayan corridors.
Static Background
- The Himalayas are among the world's youngest fold mountains — tectonically active and prone to landslides, rockfalls, cloudbursts and GLOFs (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods).
- MoRTH (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways) manages National Highways; India's NH network exceeds 1,46,570 km, of which about 16,788 km lie in hill states.
- National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping is prepared by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), under the Ministry of Mines.
Key Dimensions — Predictive Technology
- InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar): deployed over a 100-km Char Dham stretch in Uttarakhand to detect millimetre-scale ground movement before failure.
- A real-time alert system is planned on the Parwanoo–Solan section of NH-5 (Himachal Pradesh) for landslides, land subsidence and rockfall zones.
- Survey tools include drones, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and Digital Terrain Models for early risk detection.
Key Dimensions — Engineering & Policy Reform
- Phased construction: the first ~1 year is reserved only for slope cutting and stabilisation; road-building begins only after slopes survive one monsoon.
- A Normative Construction Periods policy gives extra time for the Himalayas, North-East, Western Ghats and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- Slope-specific measures (per an IIT Delhi Expert Committee framework): soil nailing, high-tensile steel mesh, prestressed cable anchors, retaining walls and drainage systems.
- Nature-based solutions: bamboo benching and vetiver grass plantations (Meghalaya); hydroseeding and terracing demonstrated at Karnaprayag.
Key Dimensions — Institutional Partnerships
- MoUs signed with GSI, THDC India Ltd, DGRE (Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment), NIRM (National Institute of Rock Mechanics) and IIT Roorkee.
- Rockfall standards now mandate European Technical Assessment (ETA) certification, CE marking, barcode traceability and proof-testing of anchors and nets.
Critical Analysis — Strengths
- Marks a genuine paradigm shift from reactive repair to proactive, science-led prevention.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration (defence, geology, academia) embeds expertise often missing from conventional contracts.
- Phased construction directly addresses a known failure cause — building before slopes have stabilised.
Critical Analysis — Structural Questions
- Most measures are pilots (Char Dham InSAR, Parwanoo–Solan plan); scalability across 16,788 km of hill NH is unproven.
- Tension persists between fast-tracked strategic connectivity and ecological caution — aggressive hill-cutting has earlier been linked to slope destabilisation.
- Early-warning systems are only as useful as evacuation and response protocols; technology must connect to NDMA / SDMA disaster machinery.
- Maintenance capacity and drainage upkeep — the cited primary cause of instability — remain institutionally weak.
Way Forward
- Scale validated pilots with standardised protocols instead of site-by-site experimentation.
- Integrate InSAR alerts with NDMA early-warning chains and local evacuation plans.
- Mandate carrying-capacity and cumulative environmental assessment for Himalayan corridors, balancing strategic need with slope ecology.
- Institutionalise drainage management and recurring maintenance budgets, not just one-time construction works.
Prelims Pointers
InSAR: satellite radar detecting ground deformation; used for landslide and subsidence monitoring.
GSI prepares the National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping; it is under the Ministry of Mines.
Vetiver grass / hydroseeding: bio-engineering techniques for slope stabilisation.
ETA + CE marking: European certifications now mandated for rockfall-protection products.
Normative Construction Periods: extra timelines for the Himalayas, North-East, Western Ghats and A&N.
Key partners: DGRE (defence geoinformatics), NIRM (rock mechanics), THDC, IIT Roorkee / IIT Delhi.
Practice Mains Question
Building climate-resilient infrastructure in the Himalayas requires balancing strategic connectivity with ecological fragility. Critically examine recent technological and policy interventions in hill-road construction.
GS Paper 3 · 250 words · 15 marks
Practice MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements: (1) InSAR uses satellite-based radar to detect ground deformation. (2) National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping is prepared by the National Disaster Management Authority. Which is/are correct?
A) 1 only B) 2 only C) Both 1 and 2 D) Neither 1 nor 2Answer: A. InSAR is satellite radar for deformation (correct). Susceptibility mapping is by the Geological Survey of India, not the NDMA (statement 2 wrong).
Q2. (Assertion–Reasoning) Assertion (A): MoRTH adopts a phased construction approach on hill roads. Reason (R): Uncontrolled water seepage and unstable slopes are major causes of failure, requiring stabilisation before road-building.
A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A C) A is true, R is false D) A is false, R is trueAnswer: A. Both statements are correct, and slope/seepage instability is precisely why a stabilisation-first phased approach is adopted.
Q3. “Vetiver grass plantation” and “bamboo benching” for hill roads are examples of:
A) Rockfall barrier certification B) Nature-based / bio-engineering slope stabilisation C) Satellite monitoring techniques D) Tunnel boring methodsAnswer: B. They are locally available, low-cost bio-engineering measures for slope protection.
