New Delhi: The Centre’s Department of Expenditure (DoE) has declined to implement SAMRAS—a scheme proposed by Department of Social Justice and Empowerment to build integrated hostels for students from marginalised groups—as a standalone initiative, according to a reply tabled in Parliament.
The disclosure is part of the report of the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, chaired by BJP MP P.C. Mohan, presented to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on 10 August. The reports examine the government’s action on demands for grants for FY 2026-27 of the two departments under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
SAMRAS, the Scheme for Construction of Integrated High-Capacity Hostels, was to provide facilities to students (Class 9 to postgraduate level) from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes including Denotified Tribes, Economically Weaker Sections and Persons with Disabilities—subsuming the hostel components under Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) and Prime Minister Young Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India (PM-YASASVI) schemes.
According to the report, DoE advised that it “may instead be considered as a component under an existing scheme”, citing a 6 June, 2025 memorandum “which discourages proliferation of new schemes and encourages convergence with existing umbrella schemes”. The proposal is under examination.
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Lags in scholarship, coaching initiatives
The committee also recorded that Special Police Stations for offences against SCs and STs had been set up in only seven states and Union Territories—numbering 181—more than three decades after the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 came into force. It said it was “shocked” at the finding, and found no information on Special Courts.
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment said the proposed outlay for FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31 provides for one-time assistance of Rs 5 lakh per station, cost shared with states. The committee said it had not been informed of the status of the proposal and sought a state-wise account.
On the Free Coaching Scheme for SCs and OBCs, the committee recorded that against a target of 3,500, the number of those coached stood at 223 in 2023-24; 2,136 in 2024-25; and 431 in 2025-26, while the Budget Estimate fell from Rs 47 crore to Rs 20 crore. It said the Rs 8 lakh family income ceiling “may be one of the major hurdles preventing candidates from these categories from availing the benefits”, and asked that it be re-examined. The Department said that 14 central universities were “actively imparting coaching, covering limited States”, and that it proposed to expand through state universities.
The committee’s report also drew on new data on the National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste students. The Department disclosed that 8.04 percent of candidates selected in 2025 had joined the fellowship, against 27.32 percent in 2023, and 23.33 percent in 2024. The committee had recommended increasing the number of fellowships, unchanged at 2,000 since FY 2005-06. The Department said that as “a large number of slots have remained unfilled, enhancement of slots is not considered necessary at this stage”.
On scholarships, the Department said the Post-Matric Scholarship for SC students covered 47.53 lakh beneficiaries up to 31 March this year, against an aggregate target of 57.64 lakh set by states, and a projection of 76.58 lakh. The committee, which had earlier noted a figure of 36.07 lakh, reiterated that scholarships should be disbursed within the same academic year, saying students had “again been left at the mercy of the States”.
The committee further noted that the share of the Department of Social Justice in the Union Budget had declined from 0.29 percent in 2023-24 to 0.26 percent in 2026-27, and called it “a matter of grave concern”.
PwD empowerment
In a parallel report on the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, the committee recorded that skill training under the National Action Plan for Skill Development (NAP-SDP)—a component of Scheme for Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (SIPDA)—fell to 2,264 beneficiaries against a target of 10,000 in 2025-26, as of January 2026.
Training declined from 9,333 against a target of 17,000 in 2023-24, to 836 against 15,000 in 2024-25.
The committee said that “the continued shortfall in achieving even 25 percent of the set targets is a matter of serious concern”, and that the Department’s reply “does not adequately indicate how the proposed Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana will address the deficiencies”.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)