About Scheme

Background: Scheduled Castes (SCs), who constitute 16.6% of our population as per 201 Census, have historically suffered social and educational disabilities and economic deprivation arising therefrom. With a view to bring them in the mainstream by socially and to economically strengthen them, special provisions have been enshrined in the Constitution for advancement of their interests. These provisions range from measures to remove any kind of social disabilities imposed on them to ensure equality of opportunity in every sphere, to measures of positive discrimination to bring them on par with rest of the population.

Article 46 of Part IV ("Directive Principles of State Policy") of the Constitution enjoins upon the State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Article 38(2) in the same Part also enjoins upon the State to minimize inequities in income and to endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

Since Independence, the Government had taken a number of initiatives for development of SCs, which had yielded positive outcomes, and had also resulted in narrowing the gap between the Scheduled Castes and rest of the population. However, the focus of most of the welfare Schemes of SCs had been mainly centred on individual beneficiaries, rather than on the integrated development of SC pockets.