The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has released its 2025–26 review, outlining the scale and focus of its ₹13,611 crore social sector outlay across Scheduled Castes (SCs), OBCs, senior citizens, and transgender persons.
Education and skilling remain central, with over 34 lakh SC students supported through Post-Matric Scholarships, alongside targeted schemes such as PM YASASVI and SHREYAS. This reflects a continued emphasis on human capital development as the primary route to social mobility.
Alongside this, the Ministry has expanded interventions focused on dignity and protection in vulnerable occupations and communities. The NAMASTE scheme has scaled up safety measures for sanitation workers, while SMILE targets rehabilitation for transgender persons and individuals engaged in begging. The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has also seen wide outreach across identified vulnerable districts.
However, the review flags implementation constraints at the state level, particularly delays in proposal submission, which continue to affect full utilisation of allocated funds.
Key Empowerment Metrics (2025-26)
Educational Reach: 34 lakh+ SC students supported via scholarships; specialized funding for overseas studies provided under SHREYAS.
Skill Development: 37,650 SC individuals successfully trained under the PM-DAKSH scheme for market-ready employment.
Sanitation Safety: NAMASTE scheme distributed 39,872 PPE kits to sewer workers, prioritizing mechanized cleaning.
Drug Demand Reduction: 6.3 crore participants actively engaged in the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan across 272 vulnerable districts.
Senior Citizen Care: 2.44 lakh elders provided with assistive devices under the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana.
Financial Oversight: The e-Anudaan Portal and I-MESA social audits have been implemented to ensure transparency in NGO grants and institutional spending.
What is the "NAMASTE" Scheme?
NAMASTE (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) is a central initiative aimed at ensuring zero fatalities in sanitation work across India. It works by providing sanitation workers with training, safety gear, and access to capital to purchase mechanised cleaning equipment.
The goal is to transform "sewer workers" into "sanitation entrepreneurs," effectively ending the practice of hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. For the Ministry of Social Justice, NAMASTE is a primary tool for restoring dignity and safety to one of India’s most marginalized labor forces.
Policy Relevance
Strengthens Targeted Welfare Delivery: Large-scale schemes focus on specific vulnerable groups (SCs, sanitation workers, transgender persons, elderly), improving inclusion precision.
Links Education to Employability: Skilling programmes like PM-DAKSH aim to convert educational access into labour market outcomes.
Improves Dignity in Informal Work: Initiatives such as NAMASTE shift sanitation work toward mechanisation and safety, addressing structural vulnerabilities.
Builds Digital Accountability Systems: Platforms like e-Anudaan and I-MESA strengthen transparency and monitoring in welfare spending.
Highlights Implementation Gaps: Fund utilisation constraints due to state-level delays point to last-mile governance challenges.
Follow the Full Report Here: MoSJW Annual Report and Program Highlights 2025-26