Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has evaluated the impact of its flagship education and skill development schemes aimed at improving educational outcomes, employment opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for marginalised communities across the country.

The Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) has been evaluated by the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, covering all three components of the scheme, namely Adarsh Gram, Grants-in-Aid and Hostels. The evaluation assessed the relevance, effectiveness and outcomes of the scheme across multiple States and found that PM-AJAY is aligned with national development priorities and has contributed to improvements in basic infrastructure, educational access and socio-economic conditions of Scheduled Caste communities. As per the evaluation report, access to the hostel component of PM-AJAY has led to increased continuation rates in higher secondary and college education, particularly for girls, by addressing challenges such as long commuting distances and unsafe travel.

As on December 2025, a total of 911 hostels for 74,749 beneficiaries have been sanctioned under PM-AJAY. State-wise details of hostels sanctioned, completed and beneficiaries covered are given at Annexure-I.

The impact of the Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA) has been assessed through a third-party evaluation conducted by the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR). The evaluation indicates improved student retention, reduced dropout rates, higher pass percentages, enhanced educational aspirations and a reduction in caste and gender gaps among Scheduled Caste students. The third-party evaluation covered 41 districts across six geographical regions of the country.

As on December 2025, the evaluation reported 15,816 beneficiaries nationwide during 2023-24, of which 4,135 students (26 per cent) were covered under Mode-I, and 11,681 students (74 per cent) under Mode-II of SHRESHTA. While the evaluation does not provide State/UT-wise outcome indicators, the number of private residential schools under Mode-I and the number of school and hostel projects run by NGOs/VOs under Mode-II, along with beneficiary details, are given at Annexure-II and Annexure-III respectively.

The impact of the Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur Kushalata Sampann Hitgrahi Yojana (PM-DAKSH) has also been assessed. Evaluation findings indicate strong relevance and learning effectiveness, with over 90 per cent of beneficiaries reporting alignment of training with career goals, local labour market needs and achievement of intended learning outcomes. The evaluation highlights significant non-material gains such as improved confidence, self-esteem and social recognition, particularly among women and marginalised groups. Sustainability outcomes are also positive, with most beneficiaries continuing to use acquired skills, expecting long-term income growth, reinvesting in development and demonstrating the ability to maintain improvements independently.

[This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Ramdas Athawale, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.]

Annexure-I
State-wise hostels sanctioned under PM-AJAY (2007-08 to December 2025)

Sl. No.	State/UT	Total No. of Hostels Sanctioned	No. of hostels completed	No. of beneficiaries
1	Andhra Pradesh *	33	5	3265
2	Assam	44	36	2924
3	Bihar *	19	16	1890
4	Chhattisgarh	48	46	2420
5	Gujarat	17	17	3270
6	Haryana	17	14	1860
7	Himachal Pradesh *	9	7	1125
8	Jammu And Kashmir	5	4	400
9	Jharkhand	21	16	1450
10	Karnataka	45	35	3136
11	Kerala	9	9	730
12	Madhya Pradesh	87	77	6650
13	Maharashtra*	59	55	5273
14	Manipur	24	16	2155
15	Mizoram	3	0	450
16	Nagaland	9	0	1350
17	Odisha *	177	169	14834
18	Puducherry	4	2	500
19	Punjab	15	15	1226
20	Rajasthan	105	101	4475
21	Sikkim	6	4	600
22	Tamil Nadu	50	47	4641
23	Telangana	11	4	1500
24	Tripura	8	5	520
25	Uttar Pradesh	32	24	2734
26	Uttarakhand*	6	2	350
27	West Bengal	48	48	5021
	Total	911	774	74749

 

 

S.No	State/UTs	Private Residential School Selected during 2021-22	No of Beneficiaries	Private Residential School Selected during 2022-23	No of Beneficiaries	Private Residential School Selected during 2023-24	No of Beneficiaries	Private Residential School Selected during 2024-25	No of Beneficiaries	Private Residential School Selected during 2025-26	No of Beneficiaries
1	Andhra Pradesh	14	103	5	202	8	438	11	682	11	807
2	Bihar	6	226	2	198	5	115	4	112	03	86
3	Chhattisgarh	6	50	5	130	7	231	8	324	9	354
4	Gujarat	1	1	6	22	1	29	1	31	1	36
5	Haryana	1	3	10	51	15	293	11	668	21	1028
6	Himachal Pradesh	1	9	8	35	4	56	4	72	3	82
7	Jharkhand	6	73	3	85	4	60	3	72	2	36
8	Karnataka	8	51	0	34	1	45	2	69	2	90
9	Kerala	1	2	16	195	11	278	9	272	8	224
10	Madhya Pradesh	5	62	8	183	12	267	11	295	13	325
11	Maharashtra	4	25	5	97	5	120	4	127	2	88
12	Orissa	17	98	3	183	6	128	4	90	3	82
13	Punjab	0	0	2	17	3	39	4	44	2	25
14	Rajasthan	5	60	27	236	25	783	31	1263	40	1527
15	Tamil Nadu	4	40	21	198	16	292	14	312	11	265
16	Telangana	0	0	1	25	1	53	0	32	0	8
17	Uttar Pradesh	12	247	10	432	17	830	19	1373	23	1500
18	Uttarakhand	2	24	6	47	3	53	5	60	4	48
19	West Bengal	0	0	2	12	0	10	0	4	0	4
20	A & N Island	0	0	1	2	0	2	0	1	0	1
21	Puducherry	0	0	1	7	0	8	0	4	0	3
22	Assam	1	7	1	14	0	5	0	3	0	3
23	Tripura	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	95	1085	143	2405	144	4135	145	5910	158	6622(as on 15.01.2026)

Annexure-II*
Mode-I: Private Residential Schools and beneficiaries under SHRESHTA (last five years)

S.No	State/UTs	Number of Projects 2021-22	No of Beneficiaries	Number of Projects 2022-23	No of Beneficiaries	Number of Projects 2023-24	No of Beneficiaries	Number of Projects 2024-25	No of Beneficiaries	No of NGO 2025-26	No of Beneficiaries
1	Andhra Pradesh	6	1050	6	255	5	509	5	472	5	0
2	Gujarat	1	200	1	141	1	0	1	98	1	0
3	Haryana	1	100	1	191	1	0	1	92	1	0
4	Karnataka	13	1700	13	853	14	1115	14	1054	14	158
5	Madhya Pradesh	5	1000	5	337	3	280	3	175	3	100
6	Maharashtra	38	3800	38	3997	37	2862	34	1624	34	845
7	Orissa	12	1800	12	1081	11	1094	11	578	11	287
8	Rajasthan	20	2300	15	1738	15	1616	15	1448	15	0
9	Tamil Nadu	2	400	2	445	2	0	2	0	2	0
10	Uttar Pradesh	22	3700	22	2796	22	2881	22	1920	22	499
11	Uttarakhand	1	200	1	37	1	131	1	100	1	0
12	West Bengal	5	1100	5	225	5	308	5	168	5	185
13	NCT of Delhi	5	500	5	1026	5	752	5	542	5	89
14	Assam	6	700	6	574	6	0	6	0	6	0
15	Manipur	1	200	1	0	1	25	1	0	1	75
16	Telangana	2	300	2	230	2	108	2	100	2	0
17	Meghalaya	2	300	2	148	2	0	2	0	2	0
	Total	142	19350	137	14074	133	11681	130	8371	130	2238 (as on 15.01.2026)

Annexure-III

Mode-II: NGO/VO school & hostel projects and beneficiaries under SHRESHTA (last five years)

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S.M

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