Chandigarh, December 31:
The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, has made significant efforts to uplift the living standards of Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, and Minority Communities in the year 2024.
Providing more details, Dr. Baljit Kaur, Minister of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, stated that the Punjab Government has implemented various schemes to enhance the educational, social and economic status of these communities.
Dr. Baljit Kaur stated that under the Post Matric Scholarship for SC Students scheme, a provision of ₹245.00 crore has been earmarked for scholarships for the year 2024-25. She further informed that an amount of ₹92.00 crore has been released from the 2024-25 budget provisions for the payment of 40% of the pending fees for Scheduled Caste students for the years 2017-18 to 2019-20. This amount has been allocated for government institutions and for students from Punjab studying in institutions in other states. She also mentioned that the scholarship scheme for 2024-25 aims to benefit 2.60 lakh students, with nearly 2.38 lakh students newly registered under the scheme on the portal.
She added that under the Ashirwad Scheme, ₹229.93 crore has been distributed to 45,083 beneficiaries, including 29,411 from Scheduled Castes and 15,672 from Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections. To make the Ashirwad Scheme more efficient and transparent, applications are now accepted online. Poor families can apply for benefits under this scheme on the portal http://ashirwad.punjab.gov.in.
The Minister highlighted that ₹593.69 lakh was sanctioned for the construction of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhawan in Tarn Taran and ₹200 crore for the renovation of Ambedkar Bhawans in six districts during 2024–25.
She added that Scheduled Caste students in classes 1 to 10, the government has allocated ₹39.69 crore under the Free Textbook Supply Scheme.
Dr. Baljit Kaur stated that the Punjab Government is striving to bring transformational changes in the lives of Scheduled Caste communities through village development initiatives. Under the Model Village Component of the Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana, ₹39.98 crore received as a central share from the budget provision for 2024–25 has been released.
Cabinet Minister highlighted that to empower youth, loans and subsidies amounting to ₹6.62 crore have been disbursed to 382 beneficiaries under self-employment schemes through the Punjab Scheduled Castes Development and Finance Corporation. Additionally, ₹2.36 crore in loans has been distributed to 87 beneficiaries under self-employment schemes through the Punjab Backward Classes and Development Corporation.
