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PM-AJAY: Over 18000 Villages Declared Adarsh Grams and 785 Hostels Completed
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News18•17-10-2026, 13:30
PM-AJAY: Over 18000 Villages Declared Adarsh Grams and 785 Hostels Completed
- •A total of 18,093 villages have been declared Adarsh Grams under the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana or PM-AJAY, covering over 47,200 villages across the country.
- •The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment reported that 785 student hostels have been completed under the scheme to support education for Scheduled Caste students.
- •The scheme features three core components focusing on model village development, grants-in-aid for socio-economic projects, and the construction and repair of hostels.
- •About Rs 1,730 crore was released directly to states under the grants-in-aid component from 2021-22 to 2025-26, benefiting over 2.5 lakh individuals and groups with skilling and livelihood opportunities.
- •The government launched the PM-AJAY mobile application and portal to ensure end-to-end real-time digital processing, transparency, and improved monitoring of welfare interventions.
Key Questions Answered
The scheme seeks to advance the socio-economic and educational empowerment of Scheduled Caste communities through infrastructure development, livelihood promotion, education, and improved access to basic services by developing SC-dominated villages into model villages known as Adarsh Grams.
A total of 18,093 villages have been declared Adarsh Grams under the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana, with more than 47,200 villages covered overall, benefiting over 47.79 lakh citizens across the country.
The scheme consists of three components: the development of SC-dominated villages into Adarsh Grams, grants-in-aid for socio-economic projects at the state and district levels, and the construction and repair of student hostels.
