Landscape of India's spending on SC/ST’s development and entrepreneurship

This article is authored by Lakshmi Venkataraman Venkatesan, founding and managing trustee, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust.

As a nation that aspires to become a $5 trillion economy, we need to ensure that growth is inclusive, taking along all sections of society, particularly those who were historically left behind. While the past three decades have seen a promising upswing in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) is welfare expenditure from 0.06% of the Union Budget of 1995 to 6% in 2024-25, money alone is not enough to bring in equity. The allocation of ₹2.9 lakh crore this year shows intent, but inclusion means that we need to tackle systemic exclusions, enhance access to credit, and build supportive networks for SC/ST entrepreneurs…..read more