Union budget's 'new way' of sidelining social justice: Govt 'against' empowering SCs, STs

By Umesh Babu*

The Union budget of the year 2024-25 is Rs. 48,20,512 crore out of which only Rs. 1,65,493 crore (3.43%) against the due Rs 7,95,384 crore is allocated for Scheduled Caste and only Rs. 1,32,214 crore (2.74 %) for Scheduled Tribes against the due amount of Rs. 3,95,281 crore as per Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) of 1975 and 1979. The Union budget grossly failed to allocate the budget as per the policy and it shows that the Union government is totally against the due empowerment of SCs and STs.

The money for direct benefit schemes for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is blatantly diverted to corporate. In this union budget, the Centre government siphoned the budget to irrelevant sectors (against the mandate of SCSP and TSP) like telecommunication, semiconductor, large-scale electronics, and transport industries, fertilizer import, chemical productions etc. from the SC/ST fund. We are highlighting a few of the examples that show how blatantly the government has diverted the budget and violated the Indian Constitution.

Reality of caste-based inequalities: Negligible budget to rehabilitate manual scavengers and their families

No budget allocated for the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) in the last two financial years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
Shockingly low amount of Rs. 1 lakh for the entire year 2024-25 to National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC), agency responsible for financing loans and providing financial assistance to the Safai Karamcharis across India.
In 2022-2023 the Union budget allocated for SRMS was 70 crores out of which only 11.1 crore was utilized with a lapse of about 58.9 crore. A similar lapse of more than 50% of the budget can be seen from the year 2020 onwards.
Huge budget of Rs 236.99 crore is given to schemes like National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) which is a token arrangement to give money to corporations without rehabilitating existing manual scavengers.

Diverting SC/ST budget to corporates: Dalits and Adivasis unlikely beneficiaries

Allocated Rs. 1,543 crore from SC fund and Rs. 597 Cr from ST fund amounting to a total of Rs. 2,140 crore from the SC/ST welfare fund for schemes like Compensation to Service Providers for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure.
The Modified Program for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India diverts Rs. 573 crore from SC fund and Rs. 462 crore from ST fund with a total Rs. 1,035 crore.
Rs. 508 crore from SC fund and Rs. 410 crore from ST fund diverted to large scale manufacturing companies under Production linked Incentive for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing.
A grand total of Rs. 22,052.15 crore given to importers and manufacturers which has no relation to development of SCs/STs through schemes like Subsidy for Import and Indigenous Manufacturing of Urea and Other Fertilizers Phosphorus and Potassium”. Rs. 14,356 crore diverted from SC fund and Rs. 7,696.15 Cr diverted from the ST fund.

Schemes like VISVAS, NAMASTE, SEEDS, PM DAKSH Yojana, SHREYAS, SMILE are only fairy tales of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman. We are shocked to see that there is no budget allocation for the Development Action Plan for SCs, with no way to plan and implement the schemes. While there was expectation of a new scheme for the protection and livelihood of Dalit and Adivasi women from the finance minister, it is shocking that no scheme has been introduced for their benefit in the new budget.

On behalf of Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) and People’s Media Advocacy and Research Centre (PMARC), Sewerage and Allied Workers Forum (SSKM), Indian Sanitation Studies Collective (ISSC) we request the Government of India to take strong action and allocate the budget as per the SCSP and TSP.

----

*Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM)

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

Search This Blog