**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer to Unstarred Question No. 1258 in the Lok Sabha regarding the implementation of legal aid and NALSA schemes. It details the progress, actions, and alignment with global initiatives for schemes like SPRUHA 2025, Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana, JAGRITI 2025, and the Human-Wildlife Conflict Victims Scheme, as of the period up to December 2025. The answer was provided on Friday, 06/02/2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **NALSA Schemes and Implementation:**
* NALSA implements schemes like SPRUHA 2025, Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana, JAGRITI 2025, and the Human-Wildlife Conflict Victims Scheme as legal aid schemes.
* Tele-Law is a program under DISHA, providing pre-litigation advice to 1.12 crore beneficiaries.
* **SPRUHA 2025 Scheme:**
* Aims to provide comprehensive legal and social support to prisoners, undertrial inmates, and their dependents, focusing on rehabilitation and reintegration.
* Addresses vulnerabilities through free legal aid, counselling, and linkage with welfare schemes.
* **Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana, 2025:**
* Launched in July 2025 to ensure timely free legal aid to defence personnel, ex-servicemen, and their dependents, particularly for property, family, consumer, and succession matters.
* Between July and September 2025, 5,219 beneficiaries were assisted through 417 Legal Aid Clinics.
* **JAGRITI 2025 Scheme:**
* Aims to strengthen grassroots legal awareness by integrating Legal Services Institutions with Local Self-Government bodies and community infrastructure.
* Between July and December 2025, established 690 District Units and 2,129 Taluk Units, and over 35,000 Permanent Legal Aid Clinics.
* Awareness was provided to 35,24,711 persons, focusing on issues like POCSO, child marriage, and domestic violence.
* **Human–Wildlife Conflict Victims Scheme, 2025:**
* Aims to address legal, social, and economic challenges faced by affected individuals in forest-fringe and tribal areas.
* Facilitates legal aid, awareness, compensation, and allied reliefs in line with Articles 21 and 48A of the Constitution.
* **Financial Allocations and Utilization:**
* Grants to NALSA: ₹200.00 Crore (Grants-in-aid) and ₹195.84 Crore (under LADCS Scheme).
* Grants Utilized by NALSA: ₹144.65 Crore and ₹194.17 Crore respectively (upto December 2025).
* **NALSA Operations:**
* NALSA coordinates, monitors, and strengthens legal aid implementation through a decentralized framework.
* Operates through 37 State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), 707 District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and 2,440 Taluk Legal Services Committees (TLSCs).
* **NALSA Objectives:**
* Addresses unequal access and delays in legal aid.
* Ensures uniform, timely, and equitable delivery of legal services, particularly to marginalized and vulnerable sections of society.
* Removes economic and social barriers in access to justice.
**Impact Analysis**
**Beneficiaries of NALSA Schemes**
*Impact:* Improved access to justice, legal aid, and social support, addressing legal, social, and economic vulnerabilities.
*Action Required:* Utilize the available resources and schemes to address their specific needs and challenges.
**Prisoners, undertrial inmates, and their dependents**
*Impact:* Comprehensive legal and social support, focusing on rehabilitation and reintegration, will allow them to reintegrate back into society.
*Action Required:* Utilize the available resources and schemes to address their specific needs and challenges.
**Defence Personnel, ex-servicemen, and their dependents**
*Impact:* Free legal aid available, especially in property, family, consumer, and succession matters.
*Action Required:* Utilize the available resources and schemes to address their specific needs and challenges.
**Individuals in forest-fringe and tribal areas**
*Impact:* Addressed legal, social, and economic challenges related to human-wildlife conflict.
*Action Required:* Utilize the available resources and schemes to address their specific needs and challenges.
**NALSA and Legal Services Institutions**
*Impact:* Expected to coordinate and implement legal aid programs effectively, ensuring that eligible beneficiaries can access justice.
*Action Required:* Work to continue implementation of programmes according to the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987 and to improve access to justice.
Key Entities Referenced
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA): Established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to coordinate, monitor, and strengthen the implementation of legal aid across the country.
Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987: The act under which NALSA was established and which governs the implementation of legal aid services and programs.
SPRUHA 2025: A NALSA scheme aimed at Supporting Potential and Resilience of the Unseen, Held-back and Affected, providing legal and social support to prisoners, undertrials and their dependents.
Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana, 2025: A NALSA scheme launched in July 2025 aimed at ensuring timely free legal aid to defence personnel, ex-servicemen, and their dependents.
JAGRITI 2025: A NALSA scheme (Justice Awareness for Grassroots Information and Transparency Initiative) to strengthen grassroots legal awareness.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1258
TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY - 06/02/2026
IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL AID AND NALSA SCHEMES
1258. ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR:
Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:
(a) the progress achieved under NALSA schemes such as SPRUHA 2025, Veer Parivar
Sahayata Yojana, JAGRITI 2025 and the Human–Wildlife Conflict Victims Scheme
during 2025-26, including the number of beneficiaries covered (over 1.12 crore persons
provided legal advice through Tele-Law), and financial utilization from the Department
of Justice allocations;
(b) the actions taken to address issues of unequal access and delays in legal aid amid reports
of federalism-related challenges; and
(c) the manner in which these initiatives align with the World Bank’s emphasis on inclusive
growth through improved access to justice and the IMF 2025 concerns regarding
strengthening social safety and judicial systems for resilient development?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW AND
JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY
AFFAIRS
(SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)
(a) The Scheme such as SPRUHA, 2025; Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana, 2025; JAGRITI 2025;
and the Human–Wildlife Conflict Victims Scheme are implemented by NALSA as legal
aid Schemes, whereas Tele-Law is a program under the Central Sector Scheme named
Designing Innovative Solution for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA) of the Department
of Justice through which 1.12 crore beneficiaries have been rendered pre-litigation advice
till date.
The NALSA SPRUHA (Supporting Potential and Resilience of the Unseen, Held-back
and Affected) Scheme, 2025 is a newly introduced initiative to provide comprehensive
legal and social support to prisoners, undertrial inmates, and their dependents, withemphasis on rehabilitation and reintegration. It addresses legal, social, and economic
vulnerabilities through free legal aid, counselling, bail and parole assistance, linkage with
welfare schemes, coordination with prison and district authorities, legal awareness, and
post-release support to reduce recidivism and promote social reintegration.
The NALSA Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana, 2025, launched in July 2025, aims to
ensure timely free legal aid to defence personnel, ex-servicemen, and their dependents,
particularly for property, family, consumer, and succession matters. Between July 2025 and
September 2025, 5,219 beneficiaries were assisted through 417 Legal Aid Clinics at Zila
Sainik Boards. During this period, 692 legal aid and outreach activities were conducted
with the support of 525 Para Legal Volunteers and 355 Panel Lawyers, reflecting rapid
operationalisation and expanding outreach.
The NALSA (JAGRITI – Justice Awareness for Grassroots Information and
Transparency Initiative) Scheme, 2025, aims to strengthen grassroots legal awareness by
integrating Legal Services Institutions with Local Self-Government bodies and community
infrastructure. Between July 2025 and December 2025, 690 District Units and 2,129 Taluk
Units were established, and over 35,000 Permanent Legal Aid Clinics were set up. A total
of 35,24,711 persons were made aware of legal aid and welfare schemes. The Scheme
focused largely on issues such as POCSO, child marriage, and domestic violence, reflecting
a strong focus on protection of women and children.
The NALSA Scheme for Victims of Human–Wildlife Conflict, 2025 aims to address
legal, social, and economic challenges faced by affected individuals in forest-fringe and
tribal areas by facilitating legal aid, awareness, compensation, and allied reliefs in line with
Articles 21 and 48A of the Constitution.
The details of funds allocated by the Government for implementation of various legal
aid services and programmes framed under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987,
during the financial year viz. 2025-26 (upto December 2025) is as under:
Rs. in Crore
Grants to NALSA Grants Utilised by NALSA
200.00 (Grants-in-aid) 144.65
195.84 (under LADCS Scheme) 194.17
2(b) and (c): The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was established under the Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987 to coordinate, monitor, and strengthen the implementation
of legal aid across the country. NALSA operates through a decentralized institutional
framework comprising 37 State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs), 707 District Legal
Services Authorities (DLSAs) and 2,440 Taluk Legal Services Committees (TLSCs) and
works in close coordination with all States and Union Territories, in the spirit of cooperative
federalism, to address issues of unequal access and delays in legal aid and to ensure
uniform, timely, and equitable delivery of legal services, particularly to marginalized and
vulnerable sections of society.
All legal aid activities and schemes formulated by NALSA are implemented in
accordance with the provisions of the Legal Services Authorities (LSA) Act, 1987.
Accordingly, all eligible beneficiaries under the Act are provided access to justice through
the various legal aid programmes and activities undertaken by NALSA which aims to
remove economic and social barriers in access to justice for marginalized communities.
*****
3