Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment · National · ✓ Verified entry
PM-AJAY consolidated three previously separate SC-focused schemes — Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana (hostel construction), Special Central Assistance to the SC Sub-Plan, and Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (model village development) — into one convergent programme for better fund utilisation.
To reduce SC student dropout via hostel access, and to close infrastructure and livelihood gaps in villages with a significant SC population.
SC students (for the hostel component, via their institution) and SC-concentrated villages/gram panchayats (for the village development component) — eligibility and application route differ by component.
Girls' hostels funded 100% by the Centre; boys' hostels funded on a 45:45:10 Centre:State:Institution basis. Village development component funds infrastructure (roads, drainage, community facilities) in villages with 50%+ SC population.
Institutions apply for hostel funding through the state Social Justice department; village-level components are routed through the Gram Panchayat and district administration.