PM-AJAY: 18,093 Villages Declared Adarsh Grams So Far

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 16 October 2026 set out the progress of the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), the scheme that works for the social, economic and educational advancement of Scheduled Caste communities. As on 8 September 2026, 18,093 villages had been declared Adarsh Grams under it.

The Adarsh Gram component

An Adarsh Gram is a village where basic services reach everyone, the minimum needs of all sections are met and gaps between groups are narrowed. Scheduled Caste-majority villages are taken up and their missing infrastructure and services filled in. The figures so far:

Grants-in-Aid and hostels

The scheme has three components: turning Scheduled Caste-dominated villages into Adarsh Grams, Grants-in-Aid for socio-economic projects run by States and districts, and the building and repair of hostels. Roughly Rs 1,730 crore went directly to the States under the Grants-in-Aid component between 2021-22 and 2025-26, reaching more than 2.5 lakh individual and group beneficiaries with skilling and livelihood support. Under the hostel component, 785 student hostels had been completed by September 2026. For 2026-27 the Centre has set aside Rs 61.46 crore for two hostel projects, one for girls and one for boys, which will house 264 students.

How the money is split

• Up to 50 per cent of funds may be used for gap-filling work in the selected Adarsh Gram villages
• Up to 5 per cent for Technical Support Groups and Project Implementation Units at the Central, State and district levels
• Up to 2 per cent for building and repairing hostels, including for Central institutions
• The rest goes as Grants-in-Aid for district and State projects

PM-AJAY is a 100 per cent centrally funded scheme, though States and Union Territories may add their own resources. Grants-in-Aid shares are worked out from the Scheduled Caste population of a State and the ratio of its Scheduled Caste Sub Plan to its annual plan. Once a project is built, the State government or the implementing agency maintains it.

Going digital

The Ministry has launched the PM-AJAY mobile app and the PM-AJAY portal, moving the scheme from paper files to end-to-end digital processing in real time. Officials said this is meant to sharpen monitoring, widen access to information and make the delivery of welfare more transparent and accountable.