Context (PIB): A total of 1398 villages of all 30 districts of Odisha have been covered under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) component of PM-AJAY for the upliftment of the SC community.
PM- AJAY is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme.
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
It has been framed after merging the three schemes, namely:
Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY)
Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP)
Babu Jagjivan Ram Chatrawas Yojana (BJRCY)
Components of PM-AJAY
The scheme has three components, which are as under-
Development of SC-dominated villages into an ‘Adarsh Gram’ component.
Grants-in-aid for District/State-level Projects for SCs.
Construction of Hostels in Higher Educational Institutions’component.
Development of SC-dominated villages into an “Adarsh Gram”
To ensure the integrated development of SC-majority villages to have adequate infrastructure.
Grants-in-aid for District/State-level Projects
Financial support intending to improve the socio-economic conditions of SC communities.
Comprehensive Livelihood Projects such as Skill development, financial assistance towards loans taken by beneficiaries for acquisition/creation of assets required for livelihood generation, etc.
Construction of Hostels
In higher educational institutions (Top-ranked as per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of the GOI) and schools, funded by the Centre/State/UT Governments either fully or partially.