Government seeks input from stakeholders to make LGBTQI+ inclusive policies; questions to enable recommendations on ration cards and banking

NEW DELHI: The government has sought inputs from stakeholders and the general public to ensure that policies and initiatives for the LGBTQI+ community are inclusive. Announcing the initiative on Sunday, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment shared some measures, including recommendations from the Food and Public Distribution Department and the Financial Services Department to ensure that queer people in a relationship can get a ration card and open a joint bank account without discrimination.
In accordance with the recommendation to all states and union territories to partner in a queer relationship are to be treated as part of the same household for the purposes of the ration card. According to officials, anyone who does not identify as male, female or transgender has the option of marking themselves as 'other' and their relationship as 'other' in the ration card application form.
To ensure that banks do not discriminate against anyone, the Ministry of Finance has issued a recommendation that there are no restrictions on members of the queer community opening a joint bank account and also appointing a person in a queer relationship as their authorized representative.
These measures followed the setting up of a committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary in April pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions of October 17 last year to define and clarify the scope of the queer community's entitlements. The committee first met on May 21 and has been conducting reviews since then, with the last meeting being held on August 22.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory to all states and union territories on the visiting rights of the queer community in prisons and on measures to maintain public order to ensure that the community is not faced with any threat of violence, harassment or coercion.
In addition, the Ministry of Health has developed guidelines for medical interventions required for infants/children with disorders of sexual differentiation (intersexuality) so that they can lead a medically normal life without complications. The Ministry is also working on guidelines to address issues related to the mental health/well-being of the queer community.