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Contents
What is the News?
National Commission for Scheduled Castes(NCSC) launched an Online Grievance Management Portal for Scheduled Caste.
About Online Grievance Management Portal:
- The Online Grievance Management Portal will allow submission of complaints about atrocities against the Scheduled Castes. The portal also allows users to track the progress of their complaints.
- The portal was developed in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics(BISAG-N), a Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY).
About the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).
- National Commission for Scheduled Castes(NCSC) is a constitutional body. It was set up under Article 338 to safeguard the interests of the scheduled castes(SC) in India.
Evolution of the NCSC:
- Originally, Article 338 of the Constitution provided for the appointment of a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes(SCs) and Scheduled Tribes(STs). The special officer designated as the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- In 1978, the Government(through a Resolution) set up a non-statutory multi-member Commission for SCs and STs. The Office of Commissioner for SCs and STs also continued to exist.
- In 1987, the Government (through another Resolution) modified the functions of the Commission and renamed it the National Commission for SCs and STs.
- Later, the 65th Constitutional Amendment Act provided for the establishment of a high-level multi-member National Commission for SCs and STs. It replaced the single Special Officer for SCs and STs.
- This constitutional body replaced the Commissioner for SCs and STs as well as the Commission set up under the Resolution of 1987.
- Again, the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 bifurcated the combined National Commission for SCs and STs into two separate bodies namely:
- National Commission for Scheduled Castes (under Article 338) and
- National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (under Article 338-A).
Composition:
- The National Commission for SCs consists of a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and three other members.
- They are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. The President also determines their conditions of service and tenure of office.
Functions of NCSC:
- Firstly, to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the constitutional and other legal safeguards for the SCs and to evaluate their working;
- Secondly, to inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the SCs;
- Thirdly, to participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the SCs and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union or a state;
- Lastly, To present the report on working of those safeguards to the President, annually.
Source: PIB