Union Budget 2026: Marginal hike in allocations for Social Justice Dept., Tribal Affairs Ministry

The Ministries implement welfare schemes for marginalised sections such as the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Denotified Tribes (DNTs), and Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

According to Budget documents, the Social Justice Department’s allocation for 2026-27 is ₹13,687.59 crore and the Tribal Affairs Ministry has been allocated ₹15,421.97 crore. The allocations have increased by 16.69% and 42.47% respectively compared with their respective Revised Estimates (RE) for the current fiscal. In comparison with the BE, the amounts have increased by 0.56% and 3.32% respectively.

Allocation has been increased for the Social Justice Department mostly to implement the scholarship scheme for SCs, STs, OBCs, and the scheme to provide employment, livelihood, and housing for denotified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes. The Tribal Affairs Ministry has received an increase in allocation largely to implement the Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) scheme for tribal students.

Fillip for SEED scheme

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment’s Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED) received an increase in allocation of over 64% compared with the RE. The allocation has increased from ₹61.56 crore to ₹101 crore.

The allocation for the Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana for senior citizens was increased by nearly ₹100 crore. The allocation for extending post-matric scholarships for SCs was increased by ₹360 crore, while the allocation to give scholarships for OBCs, DNTs, and Extremely Backward Classes saw an increase of ₹820 crore.

The allocation for the Tribal Affairs Ministry’s EMRS scheme was increased to ₹7,150.01 crore for 2026-27, up from ₹4,900 crore in the RE. The allocation to provide post -and pre-matric scholarships for ST students was also increased.