Executive Summary:
This document presents the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's response to questions regarding the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PMAJAY) in Tamil Nadu. It addresses concerns about the exclusion of certain Scheduled Caste (SC) villages from PMAJAY benefits and reports of beneficiary duplication. The document also provides details on project proposals, funds released, and steps taken to improve the scheme's outreach over the last three years (2022-2025).
Key Points / Main Content:
* **Adarsh Gram Component:**
* Villages with at least 40% SC population and a total population of 500 are eligible under the Adarsh Gram component.
* 2918 villages in Tamil Nadu have been selected since 2018-2019, with 2914 declared as Adarsh Gram.
* **Grants-in-Aid Component:**
* Beneficiaries apply through an online portal, submitting required documents.
* Applications are verified and forwarded to banks for processing and grant release.
* This process aims to prevent beneficiary duplication.
* **PMAJAY Structure and Funding:**
* PMAJAY is a centrally sponsored scheme with three components: Adarsh Gram, Grants-in-Aid, and Hostels.
* Central assistance is released to State Governments/UT Administrations, not at the district level.
* Funding is based on Village Development Plans (VDPs) for Adarsh Gram and Perspective Plans for Grants-in-Aid.
* **Funds Released (Last Three Years):**
* Adarsh Gram Component: Rs. 614.0 crore (State-wise details in Annexure I).
* Grants-in-Aid Component: Rs. 611.81 crore (State-wise details in Annexure II).
* Hostel Component: Rs. 132.22 crore sanctioned and released for 68 hostels (State-wise details in Annexure III).
* **Scheme Outreach and Implementation:**
* National/Regional Conferences and Chintan Shivirs are organized with State/UT participation.
* Monthly reviews via meetings and video conferences are conducted with States/UTs.
* Oversight committees at Central, State, and District levels monitor implementation.
Impact Analysis:
* **State Governments/UT Administrations:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for selecting villages, generating VDPs, submitting Perspective Plans, and forwarding proposals for central assistance under the PMAJAY scheme.
* *Action Required:* Actively participate in National/Regional Conferences, monthly reviews, and committee oversight to ensure effective scheme implementation and address any challenges.
* **Scheduled Caste (SC) Communities:**
* *Impact:* Intended beneficiaries of the PMAJAY scheme through improved socio-economic conditions, access to grants-in-aid, and hostel facilities.
* *Action Required:* Engage with State Governments/UT Administrations to ensure their villages are considered under the Adarsh Gram component and apply for grants-in-aid through the online portal, providing all necessary documentation.
* **Banks:**
* *Impact:* Responsible for processing grant applications forwarded by the State Governments/UT Administrations under the Grants-in-Aid component.
* *Action Required:* Streamline the grant disbursement process to ensure timely release of funds to the beneficiaries.
* **Implementing Agencies (Hostel Component):**
* *Impact:* Receive central assistance for the construction and maintenance of hostels for SC students.
* *Action Required:* Submit proposals to the respective State Governments/UT Administrations for consideration and ensure proper utilization of funds for hostel development.
Key Entities Referenced
Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana PMAJAY: A centrally sponsored scheme for the socio-economic betterment of Scheduled Castes (SCs), consisting of three components: Adarsh Gram, Grants-In-Aid, and Hostel.
Tamil Nadu: A state in India where concerns were raised about the exclusion of SC-majority villages from PMAJAY benefits and beneficiary duplication in income generation and skill development schemes.
Adarsh Gram: A component of PMAJAY focused on the development of villages with a significant Scheduled Caste population. Villages with 40% SC population and total population of 500 are eligible as per scheme guidelines.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where a question was raised regarding the exclusion of SC people from PMAJAY in Tamil Nadu.
SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE: The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment who provided the answer to the Lok Sabha question.
Andhra Pradesh: One of the States/Union Territories which received funds under Grants-in-aid component of PMAJAY since 2022-23 to 2024-25
Grants-In-Aid: A component of PMAJAY through which beneficiaries from states including Tamil Nadu can apply for grants through an online portal. Funds are released after verification of documents.
Uttar Pradesh: One of the States/Union Territories which received funds under Grants-in-aid component of PMAJAY since 2022-23 to 2024-25
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3827
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2025
EXCLUSION OF SC PEOPLE FOR PM-AJAY IN TAMIL NADU
3827. DR. TSUMATHY ALIAS THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN:
Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that several SC-majority villages in Tamil Nadu with less than 50% SC
population have been excluded from Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana
(PMAJAY) benefits due to scheme guidelines limiting coverage, if so, the details thereof:
(b) whether issues of beneficiary duplication in various income generation and skill development
schemes have been reported in Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the total number of PM-AJAY project proposals received, sanctioned and funds released
along with the steps taken to improve project approval rates and scheme outreach during the last
three years, State and district-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE)
(a) As per the guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PMAJAY),
under Adarsh Gram component, villages having > 40% SC population and a total population >
500, as per the latest available Census data are eligible for selection in descending order of their
SC population. Since 2018-2019, in Tamil Nadu 2918 villages have been selected under the
Adarsh Gram component of Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) and
of these 2914 villages have been declared as Adarsh Gram.
(6) Under the Grants-in-Aid component of Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana
(PM-AJAY), the beneficiaries of States including Tamil Nadu, are required to apply through
online portal by submitting the necessary documents, upon verification of these documents, the
applications are forwarded to the respective banks for further process and grants are released to
the beneficiaries. This structured process ensures that there is no duplication of beneficiaries.
(c) Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) is a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme which consists of three components namely Adarsh Gram, Grants-In-Aid for the
District/State level Projects for socio-economic betterment of SCs and Hostel. Under this
scheme, the Central assistance is released by this Department to the State Government/ Union
Territory Administration and not at district level.Under Adarsh Gram component, central assistance is provided based on the villages selected and
Village Development Plans (VDPs) generated by the State Government and Union Territory
Administration. During the last three years, Rs. 614.0 crore has been released to the States/UTs
under Adarsh Gram Component. The details of state wise release is given at Annexure-I.
Under Grants-in-aid component, central assistance is provided based on the Perspective Plan
received from the State Government/Union Territory administration. During the last three years,
Rs. 611.81 crore has been released to the States/UTs under Grants-in-aid Component. The details
of state wise release is given at Annexure-II.
Under the Hostel component, central assistance is provided to implementing agencies based on
proposals received from the respective State Government/Union Territory Administration. As
per the scheme guidelines, during the last three years, proposals for 68 hostels, have been
received from States/UTs and Rs. 132.22 crore has been sanctioned and released to the
States/UTs under the Hostel Component. The details are given at Annexure-III.
To improve ‘the outreach and address implementation challenges of the scheme, National
Conferences/ Chintan Shivirs and Regional Conferences are organized, inviting participation
from States and Union Territories. Additionally, monthly reviews are conducted through
meetings and video conferences with States/UTs, along with oversight by committees at the
Central, State, and District levels to ensure their active involvement in monitoring the scheme's
implementation.Annexure-I
Annexure in r/o Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3827 on Exclusion of SC People for
PM-AJAY in Tamil Nadu
Details of funds released under Adarsh Gram component of PM-AJAY since 2022-23 to
2024-25
(Rs. in crores)
S.No. States/UTs Total Funds Released
1 Andhra Pradesh 0
2 Assam 0
3 Chhattisgarh 0
4 Delhi 0
5 Gujarat 0
6 Haryana 0
7 Himachal Pradesh 0
8 Jammu And Kashmir 10.76
9 Jharkhand 0
10 Karnataka 17.10
11 Kerala 0.12
12 Madhya Pradesh 0
13 Maharashtra 29.52
14 Manipur 0.03
15 Meghalaya 0
16 Odisha 78.20
17 Puducherry 0
18 Punjab 63.99
19 Rajasthan 0
20 Tamil Nadu 409.32
21 Telangana 0
22 Tripura 1.85
23 Uttar Pradesh 0
24 Uttarakhand 3.11
614.00
aynAnnexure-II
Annexure in r/o Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3827 on Exclusion of SC People for
PM-AJAY in Tamil Nadu
Details of funds released_under Grants-in-aid component of PM-AJAY since 2022-23 to
2024-25
S.N. States/ UTs Total amount released (Rs. in Cr. )
1 Andhra Pradesh 27.29
2 Assam 27.14
3 Bihar 65.25
4 Chandigarh 0.46
5 Chhattisgarh 0
6 Delhi 0
7 Goa 0
8 Gujarat 0
9 Haryana 5.51
10 Himachal Pradesh 2.02
11 Jammu & Kashmir 2.97
12 Jharkhand 0
13 Karnataka 29.78
14 Kerala 6.02
15 Madhya Pradesh 15.00
16 Maharashtra 28.49
17 Manipur 1.43
18 Odisha 10.97
19 Puducherry 0
20 Punjab 23.11
21 Rajasthan 0
22 Sikkim 0.55
23 Tamil Nadu 188.57
24 Telangana 11.41
25 Tripura 5.58
26 Uttar Pradesh 65.38
27 Uttarakhand 3.37
28 West Bengal 91.51
Total 611.81
oleAnnexure-IlI
Details of fund released and No. of Hostels sanctioned under the Hostel Component of PM-
AJAY since 2022-23 to 2024-25
(Rs. in crore)
2022-23 2023-24 2024-25
SL Fund No. of Fund No. of Fund No. of
No. | State/UT | released Hostels released Hostels released Hostels
1 Andhra 0 0 0 0 21.575 25
Pradesh
2 Assam 0.05 0 2.66095 Second 11.41095 7
Installment
3 Haryana 0 0 0 0 1.68 1
4 Karnataka 0 0 4.5 3 1.125 Second
Installment
5 Kerala 1.3507 Second 0 0 0 0
Installment
6 Madhya 0 0 3.75 1 3.75 Second
Pradesh Installment
7 Manipur 7 4 0 0 3.89375 Second
. Installment
8 Mizoram 0 0 0 0 3.9375 3
9 Nagaland 1.8 Second 21 Second 0 0
Installment Installment
10 Odisha 1.49 Second 4.516 3 1.5 2
Installment
11 | Rajasthan 0 0 7.5 2 0 0
12 Sikkim 0 0 3.5 Second 1.75 2
Installment
13 | Tamil Nadu 0 0 2.9125 1 1.875 3
14 | Telangana 0 0 7.5 2 0 0
15 Tripura 0 0 0 0 3.5 Second
Installment
16 UP 0 0 3.075 6 0.375 Second
Installment
17 | Uttarakhand 0 0 3.25 3 0 0
Total 11.6907 4 64.16445 21 56.3722 43
28 RE