“When Equal Opportunities Are Provided, Talent Knows No Boundaries”: Dr Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Calls Divya Kala Mela a Movement for Self-Reliance and Inclusive Nation-Building

Prelims-testable facts

• 01The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has extended financial assistance of nearly ₹1,462 crores to around 1.82 lakh Divyang beneficiaries since 2014.
• 02The National Overseas Scholarship Scheme selects 20 students with disabilities every year for higher education abroad.
• 03The NAMASTE Scheme promotes mechanised sanitation, provides PPE kits, safety training, health insurance, and financial assistance for sanitation workers.
• 04The Divya Kala Mela is a national movement that transforms confidence into capability, creativity into livelihoods, and aspiration into self-reliance for Divyangjan.
• 05The 31st Divya Kala Mela was inaugurated by Dr Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, in Kolkata on July 14, 2026.
• 06The initiative has expanded across the country from Srinagar to Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi to Guwahati, and Ahmedabad to Patna.
• 07The Divya Kala Mela provides a dedicated national platform for Divyang artisans and entrepreneurs to access markets across India and beyond.

Trap alerts

• Most people think the NAMASTE Scheme is only about assistive devices, but actually it promotes mechanised sanitation, provides PPE kits, safety training, health insurance, and financial assistance for sanitation workers.
• Most people think the Divya Kala Mela is just an exhibition, but actually it's a national movement that transforms confidence into capability, creativity into livelihoods, and aspiration into self-reliance for Divyangjan.