The objectives of the Scheme are:
- To reduce poverty of the SC communities by generation of additional employment opportunities through skill development, income generating schemes and other initiatives.
- To improve socio-economic developmental indicators by ensuring adequate infrastructure and requisite services in the SC dominated villages.
- To increase literacy and encourage enrolment of SCs in schools and higher educational institutions by providing adequate residential facilities in quality institutions, as well as residential schools where required, especially in the aspirational districts/ SC dominated blocks and elsewhere in India.
Present position:
- State needs to submit their Annual Action Plan (AAP) in online mode through the web-portal https://pmajay.dosje.gov.in.
- Login credentials for State and District Level Officers has been sent to email of Principal Secretary of the States.
- There are two id’s for each level (State/District). One for creation of projects and another for its approval.
- De-centralised planning will be used for creation of projects.
Background:
- Over a period of time the Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach for the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes. The initiatives are aimed at social empowerment through educational development; economic empowerment through income and employment enhancing avenues and integrated development of SC majority villages; protection through effective implementation of protective legislations and eradication of occupations such as manual scavenging; and holistic development through earmarking of funds in proportion to the population of these groups.
- For the development of Scheduled Caste persons (SCs) who form the major chunk of the country’s population living below the poverty line, the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment introduced the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of “Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP)” in 1980, in order to ensure that the States/UTsprepare the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and this Scheme provided the necessary catalyst in the form of financial support from the Central Government. Under the Scheme grant is being given to the State Governments/UTs Administrations as an additive to their Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP).
Objectives of the existing Scheme:
- The main objective of the scheme is to increase the income of the target population by way of various income generating schemes, skill development and infrastructure development.
- To reduce the poverty among the target population and bring them above the poverty lines.
Scheme Components:
- Income Generating Schemes
- Boost Entrepreneurship among SCs
- Subsidy of Rs 10000/- per beneficiary or 50% of loan
- Skill Development Programmes
- Enhance Capacity Building through training
- Skill Training in line with National Framework
- Infrastructure Development
- Development Programmes in SC majority villages
- Fills critical gaps in overall development
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Up to 4 % of the total Grants-in-Aid released to the States/UTs can be utilized by the States/UTs for supervision, monitoring and evaluation of economic development schemes implemented with the support of SCA funds.
- In order to assist the State Scheduled Caste Corporation for various Administrative expenses, the States/UTs may incur up to 1% of the total SCA released to the States/UTs as part of the permissible expenditure for supervision, monitoring and evaluation.
