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The Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is aimed at improving living conditions, expanding livelihood opportunities and strengthening access to essential services for Scheduled Caste (SC) communities across the country.
The scheme has recorded progress across village development, financial assistance for socio-economic projects and educational infrastructure. According to the Ministry, 18,093 villages had been declared Adarsh Grams as of September 8, 2026. More than 47,200 villages have been covered under the Adarsh Gram component, benefiting over 47.79 lakh citizens.
The Ministry has also reported the completion of 46,944 development works and the preparation of 27,032 Village Development Plans (VDPs). These plans are intended to identify gaps in basic infrastructure and services and establish priorities for village-level development.
Under the scheme’s Grants-in-Aid component, approximately Rs 1,730 crore was released directly to States between the financial years 2021-22 and 2025-26. The assistance has supported skilling and livelihood opportunities for more than 2.5 lakh individual and group beneficiaries.
In addition, 785 student hostels had been completed under the scheme as of September 2026. For 2026-27, the government has allocated Rs 61.46 crore in central assistance for two hostel projects intended to provide accommodation for 264 students.
Together, these initiatives form part of the Centre’s effort to address infrastructure gaps, improve educational access and promote the socio-economic advancement of Scheduled Caste communities.
A central component of PM-AJAY is the development of Scheduled Caste-majority villages into Adarsh Grams, or model villages. The objective is to improve basic amenities and ensure that residents have access to essential services and infrastructure.
The programme seeks to address gaps that affect everyday life in villages, including deficiencies in basic facilities and public infrastructure. Its broader goal is to reduce disparities between communities and improve living standards through planned development.
Under the scheme, villages are assessed for infrastructure and service gaps. Village Development Plans are then prepared to identify priority interventions and guide the implementation of development works.
The preparation of 27,032 VDPs provides a planning framework for identifying local needs. Such plans can help authorities determine which facilities require attention and how available resources should be directed towards improving living conditions.
The completion of 46,944 development works represents another key indicator of implementation under the Adarsh Gram component. However, the number of completed works and the number of villages declared Adarsh Grams are separate measures. The completion of individual projects does not, by itself, establish that every village has achieved the same level of infrastructure or service delivery.
The Ministry’s figures indicate the scale of the programme, while the actual impact depends on the quality of the facilities created, their accessibility to residents and their continued operation.
The Adarsh Gram approach is intended to make village development more systematic by combining local planning with targeted investment in essential infrastructure.
According to the Ministry, more than 47,200 villages have been covered under the Adarsh Gram component, benefiting over 47.79 lakh citizens across the country.
The programme focuses on Scheduled Caste-dominated villages, where infrastructure improvements and access to basic services can contribute to better living conditions and wider participation in economic and educational opportunities.
The declaration of 18,093 villages as Adarsh Grams marks a specific stage of progress within the larger number of villages covered by the programme. Coverage, completion of development works and formal declaration as an Adarsh Gram represent distinct stages and should not be treated as interchangeable indicators.
The scheme’s development framework is designed to identify local deficiencies and support improvements through planned interventions. The intention is to ensure that the benefits of infrastructure development reach communities that require targeted support.
The long-term effectiveness of these initiatives will depend on whether the infrastructure remains functional, whether residents can access the services created and whether the projects address the needs identified in the Village Development Plans.
The Grants-in-Aid component of PM-AJAY provides financial support for socio-economic development projects undertaken at the State and District levels.
The Ministry said approximately Rs 1,730 crore was released directly to States under this component from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The assistance is intended to promote livelihood opportunities, improve incomes and support skill development among Scheduled Caste beneficiaries.
The programme supports comprehensive livelihood projects that may combine training, economic activities and related infrastructure. Its objective is to help individuals and groups develop skills and improve their capacity to earn a sustainable income.
The component also seeks to address wider development gaps through infrastructure creation in Scheduled Caste-dominated villages. It includes measures intended to promote literacy and school enrolment among Scheduled Caste students, including through residential schools wherever required.
More than 2.5 lakh individual and group beneficiaries have received skilling and livelihood opportunities through the support provided under this component, according to the Ministry.
The assistance is intended to strengthen the connection between welfare interventions and economic participation. Skill development can help beneficiaries prepare for employment, while livelihood projects can support income-generating activities and improve access to economic opportunities.
However, the number of beneficiaries receiving support does not automatically indicate the number of jobs created or the extent of income growth achieved. Assessing the longer-term impact would require information on employment outcomes, enterprise sustainability, income changes and the continued participation of beneficiaries in economic activities.
The Grants-in-Aid component therefore represents both a financial support mechanism and an avenue for targeted socio-economic interventions.
Access to accommodation remains an important consideration for students who need to travel away from their homes to pursue education. For students from rural and remote areas, the availability of affordable and suitable residential facilities can influence their ability to continue their studies.
PM-AJAY includes a hostel component intended to encourage Scheduled Caste students to pursue quality education by improving access to accommodation.
As of September 2026, a total of 785 student hostels had been completed under the scheme.
For the financial year 2026-27, the government has allocated Rs 61.46 crore in central assistance for two hostel projects, one for girls and one for boys. The projects are expected to provide accommodation for 264 students.
The allocation is intended to support residential infrastructure that can help students access educational institutions and reduce some of the practical difficulties associated with studying away from home.
Hostels can be particularly important for students who live far from schools, colleges or other educational facilities. Access to accommodation may reduce daily travel requirements and provide a more stable environment for studying.
The separate provision for girls’ and boys’ hostels also reflects the need to provide residential facilities suited to different student groups.
The effectiveness of hostel infrastructure depends not only on the construction of buildings but also on their maintenance, safety, availability of essential facilities and affordability for students.
The latest allocation adds to the scheme’s existing hostel infrastructure, while the continued operation of completed facilities will remain important to ensuring that students can benefit from them.
The Ministry has introduced the PM-AJAY Mobile App and PM-AJAY Portal to improve the monitoring and implementation of the scheme.
The digital platforms are intended to move administrative processes away from paper-based workflows towards end-to-end digital processing. They facilitate the recording and monitoring of project-related information and are designed to improve access to data for officials involved in implementation.
Technology-enabled monitoring can help authorities track the progress of development works, identify delays and improve coordination between the Central Government, States and implementing agencies.
The platforms also aim to strengthen transparency and accountability by improving the availability of scheme-related information and supporting data-driven decision-making.
For a programme involving village infrastructure, livelihood assistance and educational facilities across multiple locations, timely information is important for tracking implementation and identifying areas that require attention.
Digital systems can support more consistent reporting and help officials review progress against approved plans. Their effectiveness, however, depends on the accuracy of the data entered, regular updates and the ability of implementing agencies to use the information for corrective action.
The introduction of the portal and mobile application is therefore intended to strengthen the administrative framework supporting PM-AJAY and improve the monitoring of interventions across its different components.
PM-AJAY is a 100 per cent Centrally Funded Scheme. States and Union Territories can supplement the available resources wherever additional funding is required.
The scheme follows a defined allocation framework that distributes resources across village development, institutional support, hostel infrastructure and socio-economic projects.
Under the framework, up to 50 per cent of the funds may be used for gap-filling activities in selected Adarsh Gram villages. These activities are intended to address deficiencies in essential infrastructure and services identified during village planning.
Up to 5 per cent of the funds is allocated for establishing and operating Technical Support Groups and Project Implementation Units at the Central, State and District levels. These bodies support planning, implementation and monitoring.
Up to 2 per cent is earmarked for the construction and repair of hostels, including support for Central Institutions. The remaining funds are provided as Grants-in-Aid for projects at the State and District levels.
The allocation framework is designed to distribute resources among the scheme’s major objectives rather than concentrate expenditure in a single area.
The Grants-in-Aid allocation also takes into account factors such as the Scheduled Caste population and the ratio of the State Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan to the Annual Plan in relation to the Scheduled Caste population of States and Union Territories.
These criteria form part of the mechanism used to determine the distribution of financial assistance across different jurisdictions.
The funding structure is intended to support both the creation of village infrastructure and broader interventions aimed at improving education, skills and livelihoods.
Maintenance Remains the Responsibility of Implementing Agencies
The long-term usefulness of infrastructure created under government schemes depends on its maintenance after construction.
Under PM-AJAY, the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of completed infrastructure projects rests with the concerned State Governments or implementing agencies.
This arrangement makes State-level implementation important beyond the construction stage. Roads, public facilities and other infrastructure created through the scheme need regular maintenance to remain functional and continue serving residents.
For hostel infrastructure, the Government of India also provides central assistance for maintenance, according to the scheme framework.
The continued operation of facilities is particularly important in villages where residents may rely on newly created infrastructure to access essential services. If facilities are not maintained, the intended benefits of the initial investment can diminish over time.
Monitoring the condition of completed projects, ensuring adequate maintenance budgets and clarifying responsibility for repairs are therefore important elements of sustained implementation.
PM-AJAY brings together village development, livelihood assistance and educational infrastructure under a common framework for the socio-economic advancement of Scheduled Caste communities.
The Adarsh Gram component addresses gaps in village infrastructure, the Grants-in-Aid component supports livelihood and socio-economic projects, and the hostel component seeks to improve access to education.
The latest figures reported by the Ministry show progress across these areas, including 18,093 villages declared Adarsh Grams, 46,944 completed development works, approximately Rs 1,730 crore released to States under Grants-in-Aid and 785 completed student hostels.
The scheme’s digital platforms are intended to strengthen the monitoring of these interventions, while its funding framework sets out how resources are allocated across the different components.
Taken together, the initiatives seek to address both physical infrastructure gaps and the wider barriers that can limit educational and economic opportunities.
The longer-term assessment of the programme will depend on the quality and sustainability of the projects, the effectiveness of livelihood support and the extent to which beneficiaries experience measurable improvements in their living conditions, education and incomes.
With village development plans, targeted financial assistance and residential educational facilities forming its core components, PM-AJAY remains a key government programme for supporting the socio-economic development of Scheduled Caste communities.
