Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution

What are Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution?

Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution is the oldest continuing central funding route for Scheduled Tribe development in India. Article 275(1) of the Constitution provides for grants-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund of India to states that need assistance, and its first proviso specifically authorises sums for schemes of development that promote the welfare of Scheduled Tribes or raise the level of administration in Scheduled Areas.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs administers this money as central assistance to state governments. It is a 100% central grant, states do not put in a matching share for approved projects. Unlike a scholarship or a pension, there is no beneficiary list and no application window for citizens. State governments frame project proposals, the Ministry appraises them, and funds flow to state treasuries.

Main features

• Constitutional grants-in-aid, paid to states, not to individuals or NGOs.
• 100% central funding for approved projects; both capital and recurring costs can be covered.
• 10% of the annual allocation is reserved as an incentive for good performance and for innovative Scheduled Tribe development schemes.
• Sanctions are project-wise, cleared by the Ministry's Project Appraisal Committee (PAC).
• Funds have historically supported Eklavya Model Residential Schools, tribal hostels, link roads, drinking water schemes, health facilities and Forest Rights Act implementation.

Who is eligible for Grants under Article 275(1)?

Eligible recipients:

• State governments and union territory administrations with Scheduled Tribe populations, acting through their Tribal Welfare or Social Welfare departments.
• States with notified Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule, where raising the level of administration is an explicit constitutional purpose of the grant.

Who cannot apply:

• Individuals and tribal families cannot apply. There is no personal cash benefit, no beneficiary registration and no portal where a citizen can file a claim under Article 275(1). Anyone offering to "register you" for an Article 275(1) grant is running a scam.
• NGOs and voluntary organisations are not eligible under this head. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs funds NGOs through a separate Scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary Organisations working for the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes: covered in its own guide on this site.
• Private firms, contractors and societies cannot receive grants directly. They can only be engaged by a state government through its normal tendering process for a sanctioned project.
• Districts and agencies cannot approach the Ministry directly. Every proposal must be consolidated and forwarded by the state nodal department.

What documents are required for an Article 275(1) proposal?

How to apply for funds under Article 275(1)

Grants under Article 275(1) follow an institutional route. The steps below are what a state government does — there is no parallel citizen process.

1. The State Tribal Welfare Department collects proposals from districts, Integrated Tribal Development Agencies and line departments, based on gaps in Scheduled Areas and tribal-majority blocks.
2. The state prepares a project proposal with a detailed project report and cost estimate in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs format, covering justification, physical targets, cost and completion schedule.
3. The state submits the consolidated proposal to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, along with utilisation certificates and progress reports for projects already sanctioned.
4. The Ministry examines the proposal and places it before the Project Appraisal Committee (PAC), which approves, modifies or returns it and fixes the sanctioned amount.
5. On approval, the Ministry releases funds to the state, usually in instalments linked to physical progress and to receipt of utilisation certificates.
6. The state executes the project through its own departments or agencies and reports physical and financial progress to the Ministry.

If you want a project taken up in your village, a hostel, an approach road, a drinking water scheme, the practical route is to get the demand recorded by your Gram Sabha and pursued through the block and district administration so it enters the state's proposal.

How much money is available under Article 275(1)?

There is no fixed per-state or per-project entitlement. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs allocates state-wise amounts each financial year and sanctions individual projects on merit through the PAC. Sanctions vary widely in size: Gujarat's tribal development department records a single 2019 PAC approval of Rs 14,963.88 lakh for seven projects, including a tribal university, three educational institutions, road construction and community infrastructure.

Ten per cent of the annual allocation is held back as the performance and innovation incentive, which states can access for pilots and new models rather than routine construction.

How Article 275(1) differs from other tribal schemes

Article 275(1) is a funding channel, not a benefit scheme. That distinction matters when you are looking for help:

• For school education, look at Eklavya Model Residential Schools, which Article 275(1) originally seeded.
• For village infrastructure in tribal-majority villages, look at Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.
• For forest produce livelihoods, look at the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and the Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce mechanism.
• For individual scholarships, look at the pre-matric, post-matric, national fellowship and overseas scholarship schemes for ST students.

Each of those has a real citizen application. Article 275(1) does not.

Where to get information and raise issues

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs, State Grants page: tribal.nic.in/sg.aspx
• Your State Tribal Welfare Department, which holds the sanction letters and project lists for your state.
• Right to Information requests to the state department are the usual way citizens obtain project-wise sanction and expenditure details.

No fee is payable to anyone in connection with Article 275(1) funds, and no official will ask a citizen to pay or register for this grant.