Since inception of the SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) sub-scheme “Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging” on 23.10.2023, a total of 31,055 persons have been identified as engaged in the act of begging, out of which 9,855 persons have been rescued and rehabilitated under the sub-scheme. The State/UT-wise details where the sub-scheme is being implemented is placed at Annexure.

Yes, a third party evaluation of the scheme has been conducted by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad. In order to strengthen scheme’s outreach, implementation and fund utilisation, necessary modifications have been made in the Standing Finance Committee memorandum based on the findings and recommendations of the third-party evaluation study report for continuation of the scheme in the next Financial Commission cycle (2026–27 to 2030–31).

Annexure

State/UT-wise list of Survey/Identification and Rehabilitation

S.No.	States/UTs	Survey/Identification Total	Rehabilitation Total
1	Andhra Pradesh	2569	653
2	Arunachal Pradesh	140	99
3	Assam	1840	605
4	Bihar	476	375
5	Chandigarh (UT)	499	352
6	Delhi NCT (UT)	3318	372
7	Gujarat	1141	453
8	Himachal Pradesh	27	1
9	Jammu & Kashmir (UT)	1143	510
10	Karnataka	875	88
11	Kerala	674	178
12	Madhya Pradesh	1772	1291
13	Maharashtra	1601	1025
14	Manipur	64	0
15	Mizoram	16	0
16	Nagaland	107	22
17	Odisha	784	288
18	Puducherry (UT)	485	178
19	Punjab	128	6
20	Rajasthan	79	0
21	Tamil Nadu	9145	1590
22	Telangana	580	53
23	Uttar Pradesh	3592	1716
Total		31055	9855

This information is given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri  B.L. Verma, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

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SM/HK

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