Lok Sabha Question No. 4762 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-21
Subject: Utilisation of Funds for the Empowerment of STs
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Vijay Kumar Hansdak, Dr. Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 4762

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 21/08/2025

## UTILISATION OF FUNDS FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF STS

## 4762.   SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK: DR. THIRUMAAVALAVAN THOLKAPPIYAN:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the total funds allocated and utilised for the empowerment/development of STs, particularly in proportion to their population along with the physical targets planned and achieved under various schemes since 2014, year-wise;

(b) whether the allocated funds have been fully utilised by the Union and State Governments, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether it is a fact that funds allocated for the welfare of STs have been diverted for other purposes and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government proposes to create a non-divertible and non-lapsable pool of resources exclusively for ST development; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a)  and  (b): Government  is  implementing  Development  Action  Plan  for  Scheduled  Tribes (DAPST)  as  a  strategy  for  the  development  of  Scheduled  Tribes  and  areas  having  tribal concentration in the country. Besides Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 41 Ministries/Departments are allocating certain percentage of their total scheme budget every year for tribal development under DAPST for various tribal development projects relating to education, health, agriculture, irrigation, roads, housing, electrification, employment generation, skill development, etc.  Schemes alongwith funds allocated by the obligated Ministries/Departments for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes are given at Statement 10B of Expenditure Profile of Union Budget document.

An online monitoring system has been put in place by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with web address:  https://stcmis.gov.in  for  monitoring  of  DAPST  funds.  The  framework  captures  data directly  from  Public  Finance  Management  System  (PFMS)  and  enables  MoTA  to  see  the expenditure vis-a-vis allocations of different Ministries/Departments under DAPST. State wise releases made by the obligated Ministries/Depts is also available on the STCMIS portal.

State  Governments  are also  supposed  to  earmark  TSP  funds  with  respect  to  the  total  Scheme allocation, in proportion to ST population (Census 2011) in the State. The details of allocation and expenditure for TSP by States/UTs out of their own funds are available at https://statetsp.tribal.gov.in.

Further, Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing various schemes/programmes for the welfare and development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the country. The details of these schemes and the funds released by the Ministry is given at Annexure I.

(c) to (e): For proper accounting and monitoring and to ensure their non-divertibility to any other scheme, funds allocated under DAPST are shown by all the obligated Ministries/Depts under the minor head '796' below the functional major Head/Sub-Major Heads in their 'Detailed Demands for Grants'.

Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  (MoTA)  convenes  meetings  with  obligated  Ministries/Departments from  time  to  time  to  review  the  implementation  of  guidelines,  allocation  and  expenditure  of DAPST funds. The concerned officers of all major schemes of the obligated Ministries/Departments  are  requested  to  attend  these  meetings  for  proper  and  meaningful discussions. Allocation,  expenditure,  and  implementation  of  individual  schemes  with  DAPST allocation are discussed in the review meetings. The obligated Ministries/Departments are urged to adhere to the norms prescribed by NITI Aayog for allocation of DAPST funds under the schemes which provide specific benefits to the STs and the obligated Ministries/Departments are urged to ensure full and effective utilization of the allocated funds through regular correspondence. An online monitoring system has been put in place by the Ministry with web address: https://stcmis.gov.in for monitoring of DAPST funds.

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) and part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  4762  for  21.08.2025  by  Shri  Vijay  Kumar  Hansdak  and  Dr.  Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan regarding 'Utilisation of Funds for the Empowerment of STs'

Brief details of major schemes/programmes being implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the country:

(i) Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA): Hon'ble PM launched Dharti Aaba  Janjatiya  Gram  Utkarsh  Abhiyan  on  2nd  October,  2024.  The  Abhiyan  comprises  of  25 interventions implemented by 17-line Ministries and aims to saturate infrastructural gaps in 63,843 villages,  improve  access  to  health,  education,  Anganwadi  facilities  and  providing  livelihood opportunities benefiting more than 5 crore tribals in 549 districts and 2,911 blocks in 30 States/UTs in 5 years. The Abhiyan has total budgetary outlay of Rs.79,156 Cr (Central share: ₹56,333 Cr and State share: ₹22,823 Cr).

(ii) Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN): Government has launched  Pradhan  Mantri  Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha  Abhiyan  (PM-JANMAN)  on  15th November 2023, which is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. The mission with financial outlay of around Rs.24,000 Crore aims to saturate PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and  nutrition,  road  and  telecom  connectivity,  electrification  of  un-electrified  households  and sustainable livelihood opportunities in time bound manner in 3 years.

(iii)  Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM), which has been designed through  the  merger  of  two  existing  schemes  for  the  promotion  of  tribal  livelihood,  i.e., 'Mechanism  for  Marketing  of  Minor  Forest  Produce  (MFP)  through  Minimum  Support  Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP' and 'Institutional Support for Development and Marketing of Tribal Products/Produce'.

The scheme envisages fixation and declaration of Minimum Support Price for the selected MFP. Procurement and Marketing operation at pre-fixed MSP will be undertaken by the designated State Agencies in the event of the prevailing market price of the particular MFP item falling below the stipulated MSP. Simultaneously other medium and long-term issues like sustainable collection, value  addition,  infrastructure  development,  knowledge  base  expansion  of  MFP  and  market intelligence development will also be addressed.

(iv) Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS): Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) was started in the year 2018-19 to provide quality education at par with Navodaya Vidyalaya to the  tribal  children  in  their  own  environment.  Under  the  new  scheme,  Government  decided  to establish 440 EMRSs, one EMRS in every block having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons (as per census 2011). 288 EMRS schools were initially funded under Grants under  Article  275(1)  of  the  Constitution,  which  are  being  upgraded  as  per  the  new  model.

Accordingly, Ministry has set the target to set up total of 728 EMRSs benefiting around 3.5 lakh ST students across the country.

(v) Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution :  Under the Proviso to Article 275(1) of Constitution,  Grants  are  released  to  States,  having  ST  population  for  raising  the  level  of administration in Scheduled Areas and for the welfare of tribal people. This is a Special Area Programme and 100% grants are provided to States. Funds are released to the State Governments depending on the felt needs of ST population to bridge the gap in infrastructure activities in the fields of education, health, skill development, livelihood, drinking water, sanitation, etc.

(vi)  Grant-in  Aid  to  Voluntary  Organizations  working  for  the  welfare  of  Scheduled Tribes: Under the scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary Organizations working for the welfare of Scheduled  Tribes,  the  Ministry  funds  projects  in  the  fields  of  education  and  health,  covering residential  schools,  non-residential  schools,  hostels,  mobile  dispensaries,  ten  or  more  bedded hospitals, livelihood, etc.

(vii)  Pre-Matric Scholarships to ST students :  The  scheme is applicable to students who are studying in Classes IX -X.  Parental income from all sources should not be more than Rs.2.50 lakhs per annum. Scholarship of Rs.225/-per month for day scholars and Rs.525/-per month for hostellers is given for a period of 10 months in a year. Scholarship is disbursed through the State Government/UT Administration. Funding ratio is 75:25 between Centre and States for all States except  North  East  and  Hills  States/UT  like  Himachal  Pradesh,  Uttarakhand  and  Jammu  and Kashmir where it is 90:10. For UTs without legislature sharing pattern is 100% Central share.

(viii) Post Matric Scholarship to ST students: The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to the Scheduled   Tribe   students   studying   at   post-matriculation or post-secondary levels to enable them to complete their education.  Parental income from all sources should not be more than  Rs.2.50  lakhs  per  annum.  Compulsory  fees  charged  by  educational  institutions  are reimbursed  subject  to  the  limit  fixed  by  the  concerned  State  Fee  fixation  committee  and scholarship amount of Rs.230 to Rs.1200 per month, depending upon the course of study is paid. The  Scheme  is  implemented  by  the  State  Governments  and  Union  Territory  Administrations. Funding ratio is 75:25 between Centre and States for all States except NE and Hilly States/UT of Himachal Pradesh,  Uttarakhand  and  Jammu  and  Kashmir  where  it  is  90:10.  For  UTs  without legislature sharing pattern is 100% Central share.

(ix) National Overseas Scholarship for ST students: It is a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of  Tribal  Affairs  under  which  scholarships  are  given  to  the  meritorious  Schedule  Tribe  (ST) students  for  pursuing  higher  education  in  top  1000  ranked  (as  per  latest  QS  world  ranking) Institutes/Universities  abroad.  This  scheme  is  started  from  year  1954-55.  The  Scheme  is implemented through the Indian Embassies/Missions abroad, Ministry of External Affairs. Twenty awards are given every year. ST students with annual family income not exceeding Rs.6.0 lakhs are eligible to apply for the Scholarship under the Scheme.

(x) National Fellowship &Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students:

(a) National Scholarship- (Top class) Scheme [Graduate level]: The objective of the scheme is to encourage meritorious ST students for pursuing studies in prescribed courses in any of the 265

institutions of excellence across the country like IITs, AIIMS, IIMs, NIITs, etc. identified by the Ministry. Family income from all sources should not exceed Rs.6.00 lakhs per annum. Scholarship amount includes tuition fees, living expenses and allowances for books and computer.

(b) National Fellowship for ST students: 750 fellowships are provided to ST students each year for pursing higher studies in India for MPhil and PhD. Fellowship is granted as per UGC norms.

(xi)  Support  to  Tribal  Research  Institutes  (TRIs): Ministry  extends  support  to  the  State Governments through the Scheme to set up new TRIs where it didn't  exist and to strengthen functioning of existing TRIs to carry out its core responsibility towards Research  & Documentations, Training and capacity building, promotion of rich tribal heritage etc. To preserve tribal art and culture, financial assistance is provided to TRI's to carry out various activities to preserve  and  promote  tribal  culture  and  heritage  across  the  country  through  research  and documentation,  maintenance  and  preservation  of  art  &  artefacts,  setting  up  of  tribal  museum, exchange visits for the tribals to other parts of the State, organizing tribal festivals etc. Funding under this Scheme is 100% grant-in-aid by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the TRIs on need basis with the approval of Apex Committee.

## Year-wise funds allocations by the Ministry under these schemes/programmes is as follows:

(₹ in crores)

|    | SNSchemes                                                                               | 2014- 15   | 2015- 16   | 2016- 17      | 2017- 18       | 2018- 19   | 2019- 20      | 2020- 21   | 2021- 22                  | 2022- 23       | 2023- 24   |   2024-25 (P) |
|----|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|------------|---------------|----------------|------------|---------------|------------|---------------------------|----------------|------------|---------------|
|  1 | Grants under proviso to Article 275(1) of the Constitution                              | 1126.13    | 1392.27    | 1265.811509.4 |                | 1814.99    | 2661.41799.7  |            | 923.25                    | 976.49         | 1172.1     |       1170.57 |
|  2 | Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub- Scheme/Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana# | 1039.99    | 1132.17    | 1195.021348   |                | 1345       | 1345.62816.49 |            | 781.52                    | 1351.86149.93  |            |        126.19 |
|  3 | Administrative Costs To States/UTs                                                      | --         | --         | --            | --             | --         | --            | --         | --                        | 4              | 8.41       |         16.09 |
|  4 | PM JANMAN                                                                               |            |            |               |                |            |               |            |                           |                | 100.00     |         99.68 |
|  5 | Development of PVTGs                                                                    | 180.00     | 213.54     | 339.06        | 239.49         | 250.00     | 249.99        | 140.00     | 160.00                    | 137.18         | 0.00       |         73.09 |
|  6 | NSTFDC                                                                                  | 154.97     | 176.60     | 230.63        | 270.72         | 293.32     | 285.37        | 367.90     | 272.92                    | 299.29         | 351.65     |        373.28 |
|  7 | GRANT IN AID TO VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS WORKING FOR THE WELFARE OF SCHEDULED TRIBES'    | 82.2       | 75.05      | 120           | 119.94         | 114        | 94.85         | 59.5       | 89.25                     | 109.25         | 120.84     |        175    |
|  8 | Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)                                                |            |            |               |                |            |               | 922.39     | 1297.54                   | 1970.562304.95 |            |       4053.87 |
|  9 | Post Matric Scholarship for STs                                                         |            | 857.15     |               | 1555.671463.87 | 1647.53    |               |            | 1862.651830.142257.721965 |                | 2668.83    |       2598.34 |
| 10 | Pre-Matric Scholarship (classes IX &X)                                                  |            | 228.69     | 84.17         | 294.08         | 311.5      | 439.99        | 248.9      | 394.14                    | 357.3          | 308.6      |        163.69 |

|   11 | National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students   |   46.91 |   80 |   99.72 |   99.98 |   100 |   120 |   120 |   145 |   230 |   240 |
|------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|------|---------|---------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|   12 | National Overseas Scholarship for ST students                             |    0.39 | 0.39 |       1 |       2 |     2 |  4.76 |  4.95 |     4 |     7 |     6 |

Note: - #The Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) was implemented till 2020-21, and thereafter, from 2021-22 to 2024-25, it has been implemented as the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY) (P): Provisional

| Fund released under scholarship schemes in 2014-15 (₹ in crores)   | Fund released under scholarship schemes in 2014-15 (₹ in crores)   | Fund released under scholarship schemes in 2014-15 (₹ in crores)   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                            | Name of the Scheme                                                 | 2014-15                                                            |
| 1                                                                  | Post Matric Scholarship for STs                                    | 721.01                                                             |
| 2                                                                  | Upgradation of Merit                                               | 0                                                                  |
| 3                                                                  | Pre- Matric Scholarship (Classes IX &X)                            | 200.7                                                              |
| 4                                                                  | Top Class Education for STs                                        | 18.49                                                              |
| 5                                                                  | Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship                                   | 0                                                                  |
| 6                                                                  | National Overseas Scholarship for ST students                      | 0.99                                                               |

## Year-wise No of beneficiaries under schemes/programmes is as follows:

|   SN | Schemes                                                                                   | 2014-15 2015-16   | 2016-17   | 2017-18                                                               | 2018-19   | 2019-20       | 2020-21   | 2021-22 2022-23                                                        | 2023-24   |   2024-25 (P) |
|------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------------|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------------|
|    1 | EMRSs (No of Students Enrolled)                                                           |                   |           |                                                                       |           |               | 92075     | 105463 113275                                                          | 123841    |        138336 |
|    2 | Voluntary Organizations Working for the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes (No of beneficiaries) | 885546 634119     | 944281    | 866972                                                                | 906719    | 1174913975493 |           | 101272311816561510564                                                  | (P)       |        730500 |
|    3 | NSTFDC (No of beneficiaries)                                                              | 29655 92824       | 107026    | 42369                                                                 | 70764     | 120831        | 169539    | 165101 72992                                                           | 95142     |         88758 |
|    4 | Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST students (Class IX and X) (No of beneficiaries)             |                   |           | 121331812620681129426143056814492391455356143993013777131003157929767 |           |               |           |                                                                        |           |        910043 |
|    5 | Post Matric Scholarship for ST students (Class XI and above) (No of beneficiaries)        |                   |           |                                                                       |           |               |           | 2037596205639718707311932627196702920605382005696234440722691122064437 |           |       1816293 |

|   6 | National Scholarship Scheme for Higher Education of ST Students (Top Class) (No of beneficiaries)   |   688 |   1013 |   510 |   1958 |   1983 |   1914 |   2449 |   2751 |   2828 |   5429 |   7013 |
|-----|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|--------|-------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
|   7 | National Fellowship Scheme for Higher Education of ST Students (No of beneficiaries)                |  1158 |   1405 |  2193 |   2226 |   2518 |   2552 |   2625 |   2693 |   2938 |   2975 |   2698 |
|   8 | National Overseas Scholarship for ST students (No of beneficiaries)                                 |     7 |      5 |     9 |     14 |     21 |     29 |     30 |     46 |     44 |     65 |     58 |

(P): Provisional

*****