SMILE — Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (Odisha)

What is the SMILE scheme in Odisha?

SMILE: Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise; is an umbrella Central Sector scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in force from 12 February 2022. SMILE is funded entirely by the Government of India and delivered on the ground in Odisha by the Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Department, district collectors and community-based organisations.

According to the SMILE guidelines, the umbrella scheme contains two sub-schemes: the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons, and the Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging. Most readers looking for "SMILE scheme Odisha" want the transgender welfare sub-scheme, and that is where the individual, applicable benefits sit.

SMILE builds on the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and on the National Portal for Transgender Persons, which issues the certificate and identity card that unlocks every benefit below.

The transgender sub-scheme has seven components:

• Scholarships for transgender students from Class IX upwards
• Skill development and livelihood support
• Composite medical health, delivered as Ayushman Bharat TG Plus
• Housing in the form of Garima Greh shelter homes
• E-services, meaning the National Portal, helpline and publicity
• Transgender Protection Cells in each state
• Other welfare measures

Who is eligible for SMILE in Odisha?

You can claim SMILE benefits if:

• You are an Indian national and self-identify as a transgender person.
• You hold a transgender certificate and identity card issued through the National Portal for Transgender Persons. The Odisha District Magistrate is the issuing authority for applicants residing in the state.
• For the scholarship: you are a regular, full-time student in Class IX or above in a government school or a school or institution recognised by a government or a central or state board. Graduate and postgraduate degrees and diplomas recognised by UGC or AICTE are covered, as are ITI and polytechnic courses of Class XI and XII level affiliated to NCVT.
• For health cover: you hold the transgender certificate. The SMILE guidelines state that a person who already holds a certificate from the National Portal is automatically eligible for the insurance.
• For Garima Greh admission: you are aged above 18, abandoned or destitute, and preferably living below the poverty line.

You are not eligible, or you cannot apply, if:

• You do not hold a transgender certificate from the National Portal. A state identity document alone does not substitute for it.
• You are already receiving another central or state government scholarship or stipend. The SMILE scholarship stops from the date another award is accepted.
• You are repeating a class. SMILE pays a scholarship for any class only once.
• You are applying for a certificate course or any course of less than one year's duration — those are outside the scholarship's scope.
• You have already passed one stage of education and are studying the same stage again in a different subject, for example a B.Com after a B.A.
• For Garima Greh specifically, the guidelines state that residents should not be engaged in sex work or beggary.

Note that correspondence, distance and continuing education recognised by the Ministry of Education or a state government are covered by the scholarship, so a distance-mode learner is not excluded.

How much money does SMILE give?

The scholarship is paid from 1 April or from the month of admission, whichever is later, up to the month the examinations end, including holiday months. If admission is taken after the 20th day of a month, payment starts from the following month. Renewal cases are paid from the month following the last month already paid in the previous year.

The Government of India funds 100 per cent of the approved expenditure on the composite medical health component, with money routed to the National Health Authority in trust mode.

How to apply for SMILE in Odisha

1. Get your transgender certificate first. Register on the National Portal for Transgender Persons at transgender.dosje.gov.in, fill the self-declared application, and upload a photograph and address proof. The application is forwarded to the District Magistrate of your district in Odisha.
2. Collect the certificate and identity card. The card is issued digitally and can be downloaded from your portal login. Keep the registration ID and certificate serial number. The health package is claimed against them.
3. Apply for the scholarship using the same login. The SMILE guidelines state plainly that the scholarship is availed by applying on the National Portal using the login ID and password used to obtain the transgender certificate. There is no separate portal.
4. Upload the scholarship documents: passport-size photograph, transgender identity certificate, proof of age, previous year's mark sheet attested by the institution, a parent or guardian declaration that no other scholarship is being drawn, self-attested Aadhaar copy, and the institute verification form. Add a transfer certificate if you have moved institutions.
5. Let the institution verify. Your school, college or institute confirms the credibility of the certificates. No fee may be charged for this step.
6. Wait for the merit list. Selection is automatic and online, ranked on total marks in the previous academic year. Post-matric applicants are given preference over pre-matric applicants, and where two applicants have identical marks the older applicant, judged by date of birth, is preferred.
7. For health cover, walk into any Ayushman Bharat empanelled hospital in Odisha with your transgender certificate. Details are verified in real time following the standard PMJAY beneficiary identification procedure, and an Ayushman Transgender Health Card is issued after verification.

How to apply for Garima Greh admission in Odisha

1. Contact the Garima Greh directly. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment publishes a directory of shelter homes with the name and contact number of each Project Director; Odisha's Garima Greh is at Bhubaneswar.
2. Carry your transgender certificate, Aadhaar and, if you have one, a BPL or ration card. The guidelines give preference to persons living below the poverty line.
3. The Project Management Committee, chaired by the District Magistrate, approves admissions. Its members include an NGO or CBO representative, a doctor, an expert in transgender welfare, and the Garima Greh's own Project Director, who must be a person from the transgender community.

What does a Garima Greh actually provide?

Each Garima Greh is built for 25 residents across roughly 3,000 square feet, with 50 square feet of individual space per resident, a medical-cum-counselling room, a recreation area, a kitchen with a store room and a social security office. Services include three meals a day plus two tea or snack servings, library and newspapers, indoor games, yoga and meditation, weekly visits by a Medical Officer, CCTV in all common rooms and three watchmen working in shifts.

Garima Grehs are also required to act as convergence points, linking residents to EPIC voter cards, ration and BPL cards, bank or post office accounts, old-age and disability benefits, free legal aid, NSFDC skill training and PM SVANidhi-type livelihood schemes.

What happens if a SMILE scholarship is misused?

SMILE takes a hard line on false claims. If a student is found to have obtained the scholarship by a false statement, the award is cancelled immediately, the money already paid is recovered, and the student is debarred from any scholarship scheme forever. A student who discontinues the course mid-year is also liable to refund the amount. Poor conduct, irregular attendance or unsatisfactory progress can lead the sanctioning authority to withhold, suspend or cancel further payment.

Common reasons a SMILE application fails, and the fix

• No transgender certificate. This is the single most common blocker. Apply on the National Portal before anything else; a hospital will redirect you to the portal if you arrive without it.
• Another scholarship already accepted. Surrender the other award, or do not apply. Free lodging, an ad-hoc grant for books, or help with board and lodging from a state source is allowed alongside SMILE.
• Course not covered. Certificate courses and sub-one-year courses fall outside the scheme. Check the course duration before applying.
• Institute verification form missing or unattested. The application will not clear verification without it.
• Bank account not active or not Aadhaar-seeded. DBT will fail. Fix the seeding at your bank branch.
• Limited slots. The number of scholarships each year is fixed. Applicants who miss out are prioritised in the next financial cycle, so re-apply with the fresh mark sheet rather than assuming rejection.

Help and grievance redressal

• Odisha SSEPD helpline: 18003457150
• SSEPD email: ssepdsec.od@nic.in
• District Social Security Officer (DSSO) in your district handles district-level SMILE and transgender welfare grievances
• National Portal for Transgender Persons; transgender.dosje.gov.in, tracks the status of your certificate and scholarship application from your own login

SMILE is monitored by a Project Monitoring Unit in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, with third-party evaluation. No agent can charge you a fee to obtain a transgender certificate, admit you to a Garima Greh, or add your name to a scholarship list.