SYLLABUS

GS-2: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential.

Context: The Union Minister of State (I/C) for Law and Justice has approved the continuation of the Central Sector Scheme ‘Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA)’ restructured as DISHA 2.0 for a period of five years from 2026 to 2031. 

About DISHA 2.0

• DISHA 2.0 has total approved financial outlay of Rs. 255 crores for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31 under the XVI Finance Commission Cycle

• It is a restructured Central Sector Scheme of the Department of Justice aimed at fulfilling the constitutional mandate of “Access to Justice”.  

• It draws its foundation from the Preamble and Articles 14, 21 and 39A of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law, protection of life and liberty, and free legal aid to ensure equal justice.

• The scheme will be implemented from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031 with 100% funding by the Central Government. 

• Targets 3 crore beneficiaries across India by 2031.

• It is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which focuses on promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies, and supports India's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

Four Components of DISHA 2.0

• Tele-Law (Reaching the Unreached): Provides free pre-litigation legal advice through 2.5 lakh CSCs at Gram Panchayat level across 784 districts in 36 States/UTs.

• Nyaya Bandhu (Pro-Bono Legal Services) Programme:

Promotes pro-bono culture by enabling free legal assistance and court representation for eligible persons.

• Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Programme (LLLAP):

Spreads legal awareness through collaboration with ministries, PSUs, CSOs, law universities, and media.

• VIDHI Sanjeevani: A centralized digital platform for monitoring and data-driven governance.

Achievements of DISHA Scheme (2021–26)

• The erstwhile DISHA Scheme (2021–26), implemented by the Department of Justice with a financial outlay of ₹250 crore, achieved a cumulative outreach of over 2.37 crore beneficiaries across India.

• This included more than 1.13 crore pre-litigation legal advices under Tele-Law, the registration of 10,681 Pro-Bono Advocates and establishment of 109 Pro-Bono Clubs across 31 States/UTs under Nyaya Bandhu, along with outreach to over 1.24 crore beneficiaries under the Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness Programme (LLLAP). 

• These achievements laid the foundation for the expansion and restructuring of the scheme into DISHA 2.0.