Loading…
The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has appointed Narayan Dewasi and Swaroop Singh Banjara as Members of the Governing Body of the Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNC).
Their tenure is three years from the date of joining or until further orders, whichever is earlier; Swaroop Singh Banjara assumed charge on 17 September 2026.
DWBDNC, constituted on 21 February 2019 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, carries the welfare and socio-economic development mandate for DNT communities and implements the SEED scheme.
GS Paper 2 > Social Justice > Mechanisms and institutions for the welfare of vulnerable sections
Communities removed from the list of 'criminal tribes' when the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 was repealed on 31 August 1952; the date is observed as Vimukta Diwas. They are spread across the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
State laws enacted after the 1952 repeal to deal with repeat offenders. They dropped the branding of whole communities as criminal but retained several features of the Criminal Tribes Act, which is why DNT groups continue to seek their review.