New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) A total of Rs 7,981.47 crore has been disbursed to over 75 lakh scheduled caste (SC) beneficiaries in FY26, the government informed on Friday.

The funds were disbursed as part of schemes run by Department of Social Justice and Empowerment focused on the educational empowerment of marginalised students belonging to Scheduled Castes, an official statement said.

Notable increases have been seen across key scholarship programs. Expenditure rose year‑on‑year, with a 21 per cent increase under the Pre Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others, an 11.23 per cent increase under the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs, a rise of 13.5 per cent under Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC students.

Further, expenditure under the Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA) Scheme for SCs saw a 16 per cent increase compared to FY25.

Further, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) disbursed Rs 223.47 crore of concessional finance to 29,448 beneficiaries in FY2025–26, nearly 97 per cent of whom were women, the statement noted.

The average loan size increased to Rs 77,000, a 16.67 per cent rise over the previous year. With an authorised share capital of Rs 785 crore and paid-up capital of Rs 720 crore, the Corporation has achieved cumulative loan disbursement of Rs 3340.67 crore, benefiting over 6.08 lakh individuals.

NSKFDC has been operational since October 1997, focusing on the socio-economic upliftment of Safai Karamcharis, waste pickers, manual scavengers, and their dependents through concessional finance and support interventions.

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment oversees the implementation of various Acts and welfare schemes also aimed at the upliftment of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), senior citizens, victims of alcoholism and substance abuse, transgender persons, persons engaged in begging, Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNTs), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), the statement noted.

—IANS

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