Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: Laws, Institutions and Schemes

Who are the vulnerable sections?

The syllabus asks for "welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections". Vulnerable groups include Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes, women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, minorities, transgender persons, and migrant and informal workers. This lesson covers SCs and STs. The next two lessons cover the others.

According to Census 2011, SCs make up 16.6% of India's population (about 20.1 crore) and STs 8.6% (about 10.4 crore). Punjab has the highest SC share among states (about 32%). Mizoram and Lakshadweep have the highest ST shares (over 90%). Madhya Pradesh has the largest ST population in absolute terms. No SCs are notified in some north-eastern states and UTs, and no STs are notified in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry.

Constitutional framework

• Identification: Article 341 (SCs) and Article 342 (STs). The President notifies the lists for each state after consulting the Governor. Only Parliament can change a list by law.
• Equality and reservation: Articles 15(4), 16(4), 16(4A) (reservation in promotion) and 46 (DPSP: promote the educational and economic interests of weaker sections, especially SCs and STs, and protect them from social injustice).
• Abolition of untouchability: Article 17.
• Political representation: Articles 330 and 332, which reserve seats in the Lok Sabha and assemblies (extended to 2030 by the 104th Amendment). Panchayats and municipalities have reservation under Articles 243D and 243T.
• Administration of tribal areas: Article 244 with the Fifth Schedule (Tribes Advisory Councils, Governor's powers) and the Sixth Schedule (autonomous district councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram).
• Commissions: NCSC under Article 338 and NCST under Article 338A, created by splitting the earlier commission through the 89th Amendment (2003).
• Article 275(1) provides grants for tribal welfare and for raising the level of administration in Scheduled Areas.

Key laws

Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, originally the Untouchability (Offences) Act, renamed in 1976. It punishes the practice of untouchability.

SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. It defines atrocities and provides for special courts, special public prosecutors, compensation and relief, and denial of anticipatory bail (Section 18).

• The 2015 amendment added new offences, such as garlanding with footwear and social boycott, and set up exclusive special courts.
• In *Subhash Kashinath Mahajan* (2018) the Supreme Court diluted some provisions, allowing preliminary inquiry and anticipatory bail.
• Parliament then passed the 2018 amendment, inserting Section 18A to restore the bar on anticipatory bail and remove the requirement of a preliminary inquiry. The Supreme Court upheld it in *Prathvi Raj Chauhan* (2020).

Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013. It bans manual scavenging and hazardous manual cleaning of sewers, and provides for rehabilitation. *Safai Karamchari Andolan v Union of India* (2014) ordered compensation for sewer deaths. The NAMASTE scheme (2023) aims at mechanised sanitation and safety for sanitation workers.

PESA 1996 and Forest Rights Act 2006. The Forest Rights Act recognises individual and community forest rights of forest-dwelling STs and other traditional forest dwellers (who must show three generations, i.e. 75 years, of residence). The gram sabha is the authority that initiates the process of determining rights. The Act was central to the *Niyamgiri* decision (2013), in which the Supreme Court asked gram sabhas to decide whether bauxite mining affected their religious and cultural rights.

Institutions

Major schemes

• Post-Matric Scholarship for SCs, the largest scheme for SC students. The 2020 revision fixed the Centre's share at 60%.
• PM-AJAY (Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana) merged three schemes, including the Adarsh Gram Yojana for SC-majority villages.
• SHREYAS for higher education, including overseas scholarships.
• Stand-Up India (2016): bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools in tribal areas, on the lines of Navodaya Vidyalayas.
• Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (2018) under PM Van Dhan Yojana, run by TRIFED. They add value to minor forest produce. MSP for MFP is also provided.
• PM-JANMAN (2023) for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), of which there are 75 across 18 states and one UT. It covers housing, roads, water and health.
• Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (2024) for the saturation of tribal villages.
• Tribal Sub-Plan / Development Action Plan for STs, and the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP, now DAPSC), which earmark budget shares.

Performance and issues

Gains. Literacy among SCs and STs rose sharply after independence, though gaps persist (Census 2011 literacy: SC about 66%, ST about 59%, against the all-India figure of about 73%). Representation in public employment and legislatures has also improved.

Problems:

• Low conviction rates under the Atrocities Act.
• Delays in scholarship disbursal.
• Land alienation and displacement of tribals by mines and dams.
• Rejection of FRA claims (large-scale rejections led to Supreme Court proceedings in 2019).
• Persistence of manual scavenging.
• Inadequate use of earmarked funds.
• "Creamy layer" debates within SCs and STs.

In *State of Punjab v Davinder Singh* (2024), a seven-judge bench held that sub-classification of SCs is permissible for reservation.

Practice: Mains question

*"Despite constitutional safeguards, SCs and STs continue to face social and economic exclusion." Evaluate the effectiveness of legal and institutional mechanisms. (250 words)*

Key committees and concepts

• Lokur Committee (1965) proposed criteria for identifying STs: primitive traits, a distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the wider community, and backwardness. These criteria are still used, though critics call them outdated and stigmatising.
• Xaxa Committee (2014) studied the socio-economic, health and educational status of tribal communities. It highlighted displacement, the weak implementation of PESA and FRA, and the need for tribal self-rule.
• Bhuria Commission (2002–04) was the second Scheduled Areas and STs Commission under Article 339. The first, the Dhebar Commission (1960–61), created the category later known as PVTGs.
• Denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes (DNTs) were "notified" as criminal under the colonial Criminal Tribes Act 1871 and denotified in 1952. The Idate Commission (2017) recommended a permanent commission for them. The SEED scheme (2022) supports their economic empowerment.

Inclusive growth: beyond welfare

Welfare schemes treat symptoms; the long-term solution is economic empowerment.

• Land rights: implement land ceiling surplus distribution and secure forest rights.
• Entrepreneurship: the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) and public procurement policies earmark 4% of central public sector purchases for SC/ST-owned MSEs.
• Quality education: EMRS schools and scholarships.
• Social reform: inter-caste marriage incentives (the Dr. Ambedkar Scheme for Social Integration through Inter-Caste Marriages).