Scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary and other Organizations Working for Scheduled Castes

What is this scheme?

The Scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary and other Organizations Working for Scheduled Castes is a programme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Under it, the Ministry gives grant-in-aid, generally up to 90% of the approved cost; to registered voluntary organisations that run welfare projects for Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. The organisation meets the remaining share, and in deserving cases the government's share can go higher.

The purpose is to reach SC beneficiaries through the on-ground presence of non-profit organisations, which often work in areas or communities that government offices find hard to serve directly. Instead of paying individuals, the scheme strengthens the schools, hostels and training centres that serve SC students and families.

Main features

• Administered by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Grant-in-aid, usually up to 90% of approved cost, to NGOs.
• Funds education, hostel and skill-development projects for SC beneficiaries.
• SC individuals benefit from services, not from a direct cash grant.

Who is eligible for this scheme?

Who can apply (organisations):

• Registered voluntary organisations, societies, trusts and non-profit bodies working for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, typically registered for a minimum period under the Societies Registration Act, a Trust Act or an equivalent law.
• Organisations with a valid NGO-DARPAN unique ID, audited accounts and the capacity: staff, premises and experience: to run the proposed project.

Who cannot apply for money:

• An individual cannot apply for a personal grant under this scheme. SC students and families are beneficiaries of the funded services, not applicants for cash. Personal scholarships and stipends are provided under separate schemes.
• Organisations without proper registration, without an NGO-DARPAN ID, or without audited accounts and demonstrated capacity are not eligible.
• For-profit entities are outside the scope; the grant is meant for non-profit service delivery to SC communities.

This distinction matters because many SC families expect a direct benefit. This particular scheme does not pay individuals — it pays the organisation running the school, hostel or training centre the family uses.

What kind of projects are funded?

Grant-in-aid under this scheme typically supports SC welfare projects such as:

• Residential and non-residential schools for SC children.
• Hostels that let SC students continue their education away from home.
• Vocational and skill-training centres to improve employability.
• Other welfare services approved under the scheme guidelines that raise the educational and social status of Scheduled Castes.

What documents does an NGO need?

How to apply for the grant

1. Confirm the organisation is registered as a society, trust or non-profit and holds a valid NGO-DARPAN unique ID from NITI Aayog.
2. Prepare a project proposal describing the SC welfare project; school, hostel, training centre or similar, with the number of beneficiaries, staff and a full budget.
3. Apply online through the Ministry's e-Anudaan / NGO grants portal, attaching the registration certificate, audited accounts, annual report and proposal.
4. The proposal is examined by state authorities and the Ministry, with inspection and recommendation feeding into the sanction.
5. On approval, the grant-in-aid is released in instalments; the organisation runs the project and submits utilisation certificates and progress reports.

How SC individuals benefit

Members of Scheduled Caste communities do not apply under this scheme. Instead they benefit by enrolling in the schools, staying in the hostels, or joining the training centres that funded organisations run, usually free or heavily subsidised. To find such a facility, contact the State Social Welfare or SC/ST welfare department, or the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Grant ceilings and the precise list of admissible items are set by the Ministry's current guidelines. Because the detailed guideline pages were not accessible to an automated client at the time of writing, organisations should confirm the latest cost norms, contribution share and application window on socialjustice.gov.in before applying.

How to check your application status

Since this is a grant-in-aid to an organisation and not an individual cash benefit, status tracking happens through the applying NGO's own login, not through a beneficiary-facing tracker.

• Log in to the e-Anudaan / NGO grants portal with the credentials the organisation used to submit the proposal. The dashboard shows the proposal's current stage: submitted, under scrutiny at the state level, recommended, sanctioned, or returned for corrections.
• Check the NGO-DARPAN profile as well. If the DARPAN unique ID linked to the proposal is inactive or its details are outdated, the grant proposal can stall in scrutiny without a clear rejection being issued.
• Contact the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment directly if the portal does not reflect movement for a long period. There is no dedicated helpline for this scheme, so organisations should use the Ministry's general contact channels on socialjustice.gov.in and reference the proposal or application ID.
• Follow up with the state nodal department (the State Social Welfare Department or SC/ST welfare department) that examines and recommends proposals before they reach the Ministry. Many delays happen at this state scrutiny stage rather than at the Ministry, so a call to the state office can clarify where the file actually is.
• Track utilisation certificate and progress report submissions separately once a grant is sanctioned. Release of the next instalment depends on the previous utilisation certificate being accepted, so an organisation waiting on funds should confirm its UC has actually been received and approved, not just submitted.

Because SC individuals are not applicants under this scheme, there is no personal application number for a beneficiary to track. A student or family wanting to know if a particular hostel or training centre is currently funded should ask the institution directly or check with the state welfare department.

Common reasons for rejection

Proposals under this scheme are turned down or held up for reasons that are specific to how grant-in-aid to organisations is scrutinised, not the generic mistakes an individual applicant makes.

• No valid NGO-DARPAN unique ID, or a lapsed one. Every central grant application is matched against the NITI Aayog NGO-DARPAN database. If the ID is missing, expired, or the organisation's details on DARPAN do not match the application, the proposal is rejected at the first scrutiny stage. Fix: renew or complete the DARPAN profile before submitting, and keep its details identical to the grant application.
• Registration period too short or registration lapsed. The scheme expects the organisation to have been registered as a society, trust or equivalent for a minimum period and to hold current, unexpired registration. A newly formed organisation, or one whose registration has lapsed and not been renewed, is rejected on eligibility grounds. Fix: renew registration well before applying and attach the current certificate, not an old one.
• Audited accounts missing, outdated, or not matching the organisation's declared income and expenditure. Proposals are frequently returned when the audited financial statements are more than a year or two old, are unsigned by the auditor, or show discrepancies with the annual report. Fix: submit the most recent audited accounts and ensure the annual report's figures are consistent with them.
• Weak or vague project proposal. A proposal that does not clearly state the number of SC beneficiaries, the project's location, staffing plan and a realistic, itemised budget is a common ground for rejection or repeated queries from the scrutiny committee. Fix: write the proposal with specific beneficiary numbers, a named project site, and a budget broken down by admissible cost heads, rather than a general description of the organisation's mission.
• No demonstrated capacity or track record. Committees look for evidence the organisation can actually run the school, hostel or training centre it proposes, such as existing premises, qualified staff or a history of similar work. An organisation applying for a project far larger than its current scale, with no supporting evidence, is often rejected. Fix: apply for a project scaled to the organisation's demonstrated capacity, or show concrete arrangements (premises secured, staff identified) that support a larger proposal.
• Adverse state recommendation. Because state authorities examine and recommend proposals before the Ministry sanctions them, a proposal can fail simply because the state department did not recommend it, for reasons ranging from area saturation (too many similar projects already funded nearby) to unresolved complaints against the organisation from an earlier grant cycle. Fix: engage with the state nodal department during scrutiny and resolve any pending compliance issues from previous grants before applying again.
• Pending or unsettled utilisation certificate from an earlier grant. An organisation that received a grant previously but has not submitted or had approved the utilisation certificate for it is generally not considered for a fresh grant or the next instalment. Fix: clear all outstanding UCs and progress reports from prior grants before submitting a new proposal.