{
  "id": 16364169,
  "title": "Bhopal Social Justice Department Revives Social Impact Bond Plan, Eyes Skill Training And Jobs For Persons With Disabilities",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/bhopal-social-justice-department-revives-social-impact-bond-plan-eyes",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-24T19:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal/bhopal-social-justice-department-revives-social-impact-bond-plan-eyes-skill-training-and-jobs-for-persons-with-disabilities"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the Bhopal social justice department, a new initiative has been revived, aiming to provide skill training and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. This follows the department's previous attempt to implement a Social Impact Bond (SIB) almost a year ago, which faced certain shortcomings and was subsequently shelved. A senior official revealed that the government provides optional fields for departments to choose from, and the SIB had initially focused on cochlear implants for hearing-impaired youths and artificial limbs distribution for disabled individuals. However, the chosen agencies were not prepared to commit to these projects under the SIB framework. Now, the department is exploring a new approach, aiming to collaborate with an agency capable of providing vocational training to divyangs, enabling them to secure jobs. The National Skill Development Corporation was the first entity approached in this regard, with a first round of discussions already completed. Further meetings are anticipated in the near future. Sonali Ponkshe Vayankar, the principal secretary of the social justice department, emphasized that the SIB concept is promising, and the department is now focusing on skilling and self-employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The SIB concept is a pay-for-success financing arrangement, where private investors provide initial capital for social programs, and the government only repays them once predetermined outcomes are achieved. Notably, the OBC department was the first to initiate an SIB, targeting global job opportunities and placements for OBC youths. Bhopal's Master Plan 2047 has also faced objections from BJP leaders, who question the growth corridor funding and seek significant changes from the MLAs.",
  "summary": "Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The social justice department was the first state government department to roll out the Social Impact Bond (SIB) almost a year ago. It had even submitted a proposal to the finance department in this regard. But due to certain shortcomings, it could not move ahead. A senior department official said that the government gives optional fields to the departments concerned.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}