Welfare of Scheduled Castes

Central funds set aside for Scheduled Castes were earlier called the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and are now the Development Action Plan for SCs (DAPSC), spread in March 2026 across 38 ministries and departments and 229 schemes. The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, in force from 26 January 2016, added new offences such as imposing a social or economic boycott, provided for exclusive special courts and added a chapter on the rights of victims and witnesses. In August 2018 Parliament passed a further amendment inserting Section 18A: no preliminary enquiry is needed to register an FIR, and no approval is needed before an arrest under the Act; it followed a Supreme Court judgment of 20 March 2018. The Venture Capital Fund for SCs was launched on 16 January 2015 with an initial capital of ₹200 crore, and Stand-Up India on 5 April 2016.

On 23 December 2020 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a revamp of the Post-Matric Scholarship for SCs with a total investment of ₹59,048 crore, of which the Centre would spend ₹35,534 crore (60%), to benefit more than 4 crore students over five years. Central assistance, around ₹1,100 crore a year in 2017-18 to 2019-20, was to rise to around ₹6,000 crore a year. According to a Lok Sabha reply of July 2026, central assistance released rose from ₹1,930.38 crore in 2021-22 to ₹6,186.96 crore in 2025-26. In 2024-25, 48,04,208 students received scholarships, with central assistance of ₹5,562.23 crore.

Under DAPSC, each ministry earmarks funds for identified schemes benefiting Scheduled Castes, and the e-Utthaan portal captures their financial, physical and outcome data. The Post-Matric Scholarship is for students from class 11 onwards whose family income does not exceed ₹2.5 lakh a year; its cost is shared 60:40 between the Centre and States (90:10 in North-Eastern States), and the central share goes to the student's bank account by Direct Benefit Transfer after the State releases its share. PM-AJAY, launched in 2021-22, merged three earlier schemes into Adarsh Gram, grants-in-aid and hostel components; an Adarsh Gram aims to saturate 50 socio-economic indicators across 10 sectors. NAMASTE profiles sewer and septic tank workers and provides PPE kits, health insurance and capital subsidy for sanitation vehicles and equipment.

In July 2026 the Department told the Lok Sabha it had proposed continuing PM-AJAY from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with an enhanced outlay; the scheme had released ₹4,276.62 crore up to 2025-26. By June 2026, 15,387 villages had been declared Adarsh Gram, and by August 2026 47,328 villages had been selected. Actual spending under DAPSC was below the Budget Estimate in each year from 2020-21 to 2024-25: in 2024-25, e-Utthaan recorded ₹1,17,294.06 crore spent against a Budget Estimate of ₹1,65,492.72 crore. NAMASTE has also covered waste pickers since June 2024, with 3,78,547 profiled by April 2026.

₹1,96,400.37 crore allocation for welfare of SCs (Budget Estimate 2026-27). 48,04,208 Post-Matric Scholarship students (2024-25). ₹59,048 crore scholarship revamp (approved December 2020). 15,387 villages declared Adarsh Gram (June 2026). 46,248 Stand-Up India accounts of SC borrowers, ₹9,747.11 crore (November 2024). 245 SC-owned companies sanctioned ₹588.4 crore under VCF-SC, including ASIIM (March 2025). 90,942 sewer and septic tank workers profiled (April 2026). Sources: Statement 10A, Expenditure Profile 2026-27; Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Ministry of Finance via PIB.