• Rajendra Pal Gautam, Tarun Sagar

A Budget is not merely a collection of numbers. It is the most truthful document of any government because it clearly shows who the government cares for and who it chooses to ignore. For Dalits and Adivasis of this country, the Union Budget has always been a test of India’s commitment towards social justice. Sadly, the Union Budget 2026–27 again proves that the BJP’s NDA Union Government is not serious about justice for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). In fact, through its budget priorities and spending patterns, the present Union Government is steadily pushing SCs and STs to the margins of development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly speaks about “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas” and participatory inclusive governance, while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivers long speeches on welfare and empowerment, neither they want citizens to be together, nor do they work for their development, and with this budget they have miserably lost the trust of the citizens from the most marginalised communities in India. Their words have collapsed as we see the actual allocations and how the money is planned and spent. The problem is not only about the total amount shown in the name of SCs and STs, but about the reality that very little of it is meant for schemes that actually target Dalit and Adivasi welfare. What is presented as a budget for SCs and STs is, in reality, a budget that dilutes their rights and diverts their rightful share.

In FY 2026–27, the government has allocated 1,96,400.37 crore for SCs and141,089 crores for STs. But the shocking reality is that only a small portion of this amount is allocated to targeted schemes. Out of the SC allocation, only around 75,077 crores is for schemes that are actually SC-focused. Similarly, out of the ST allocation, only around62,093 crore is meant for schemes that directly target tribal welfare, which is mere 4.5% and 3.7% of the total amount, respectively. The rest is simply pushed into broad and generic schemes, which are not designed to address caste-based and tribal exclusion. This is not social justice. This is a budget trick. It is like showing money in the name of Dalits and Adivasis on paper while denying them real benefits on the ground.

The budget analysis also exposes another serious injustice. A large portion of the schemes listed under SC and ST allocations are not even relevant to their development needs. Many of them are generic schemes meant for everyone, and many are schemes that can be called obsolete because they do not create real welfare impact for SC and ST communities. The data clearly indicates that in FY 2026–27, only 41% of relevant schemes are actually targeted towards SC and ST welfare, while 42% fall under general schemes, and another 17% are pushed into obsolete schemes. This shows that the government is more interested in managing optics rather than making sure that Dalit and Adivasi families receive direct and meaningful support through focused welfare measures.

What makes this injustice even worse is that the funds that are allocated are also not being properly utilised. From FY 2020–21 to FY 2024–25, utilisation of funds under SC and ST schemes has declined, indicating the government’s lack of seriousness. Most worrying is the fact that in FY 2024–25, only 75% of SC funds were utilised. Even this utilisation has not necessarily benefited targeted schemes, because spending is often routed through non-targeted programmes.When the government can spend money quickly on publicity, political programmes, grand announcements, and election-friendly schemes, why can’t it spend money on Dalit students, tribal hostels, scholarships, livelihoods, and safeguard measures? This is not simply an administrative delay. This is institutional discrimination.

The Government of India’s allocation of 125 crore for the National Overseas Scholarship (NOS),5 crore less than the previous year’s allocation, exposes a stark gap between rhetoric and reality in its commitment to social justice. Despite being fully aware that in the 2025–26 academic year, over 60% of selected students from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other marginalised communities were denied funding, the government chose not to strengthen the scheme financially. Of the 106 candidates officially selected, only 40 received award letters, leaving 66 deserving students in uncertainty, with their academic futures stalled. The Ministry’s justification of a so-called “fund crunch” is not merely an administrative failure but a moral indictment, especially when this scholarship carries the ideological legacy of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who believed education to be the most powerful instrument of emancipation.With this reality, how can the Union government reduce the budget from 130 crore to125 crorethis year? By underfunding the National Overseas Scholarship, the government has effectively converted a transformative scheme into a lottery of exclusion, undermining both constitutional values and the aspirations of India’s most marginalised youth.

The Union Budget’s approach to Dalit and Adivasi welfare exposes a deeply regressive pattern of resource allocation, where massive sums are parked in schemes that are structurally disconnected from the lived realities of SC and ST communities. Thousands of crores are allocated under the SCSP–TSP banner to subsidies such as indigenous urea (14,584.96 crore), nutrient-based subsidies for Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) fertilisers (6,804.83 crore), telecom service provider compensation (2,539.93 crore), infrastructure maintenance (2,535.18 crore) and Road Works under Road Wing (`10,150 crore). These allocations are justified in the name of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, despite the well-documented fact that less than 20% of the SC and ST populations are land-owning cultivators. As a result, these subsidies overwhelmingly benefit dominant and general farming communities, while Dalit and Adivasi households—largely landless agricultural labourers—remain excluded.

Under the SCSP–TSP framework, the proposed Development Finance Corporation has been reduced to a hollow, misleading structure rather than a genuine instrument of social justice. The loan conditions have been made deliberately stringent, effectively excluding a large section of SC and ST communities from accessing institutional credit. At the same time, the income eligibility limits have been reduced so much that no one can be eligible to utilise the schemes under the Development Finance Corporation, ignoring the ground reality of rising unemployment, informal work, and economic distress faced by marginalised households. The entire scheme has been kept intentionally vague and ambiguous, allowing the system to evade transparency and accountability. Most critically, no actual budgetary allocation has been made for this Corporation, exposing the government’s intent to weaken the constitutional mandate of SCSP–TSP through token announcements instead of meaningful financial support and development-oriented action.

On one hand, Top Class Education for SCs & STs is meagrely allocated 120 Crores, National Means cum Merit Scholarship is allocated just70 Crore, and National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub Centre is allocated just 54.01 Crore. Whereas, a similar contradiction is visible in higher education funding: large grants flow to IITs (2,235 crore), UGC (964.34 crore), Central Universities (1,742.50 crore), and NITs/IIESTs (`1,398.71 crore) under SCSP–TSP, yet campuses remain sites of systemic discrimination, harassment, and institutional violence against SC and ST students. Most of these funds are absorbed into infrastructure and capital works that remain socially and academically inaccessible to Dalit and Adivasi youth, while there is not a single comprehensive central legislation ensuring their protection, dignity, and justice within higher education institutions.

This budgetary design raises a fundamental question: if SCSP–TSP resources neither reach landless Dalit–Adivasi communities nor secure safe and enabling spaces in universities, when will Dalit and Adivasi students and households receive their rightful share—not just on paper, but in lived outcomes and constitutional justice?

Dalits and Adivasis do not want charity. We want rights. We want dignity. We want justice. Targeted schemes exist because SC and ST communities face targeted exclusion. The solution is not to hide our rightful share inside generic schemes where accountability is weak and outcomes are unclear. The country needs strong and focused programmes in education, skill development, entrepreneurship, scholarships, hostels, health care, nutrition, atrocity prevention, legal support, and social security. But instead, targeted schemes are starved, and what is shown in the Budget is either too minimal or practically ineffective for real empowerment.

This budget approach embodies a dangerous mindset. It creates visibility without accountability. Money is shown in the name of SCs and STs, but is scattered across schemes that are not designed for them. This allows the government to claim progress while shunning actual results. It also makes certain that the most oppressed remain dependent and vulnerable. This is not just poor planning. It shows a deeper casteist attitude, where Dalit-Adivasi empowerment is seen as an encumbrance rather than a constitutional responsibility.

The biggest reason why such injustice continues is the absence of strong legal protection for SCSP and TSP. The SC Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan were meant to ensure that Dalits and Adivasis get a fair and proportional share of development funds. But without legislation, the government treats these allocations as optional and flexible. This is why we demand a strong Central legislation for SCSP and TSP, and its implementation in every state, so that SC and ST budgets cannot be diverted, diluted, or merged. Social justice cannot be left to the Finance Minister’s personal preferences. It must be protected through law, with strict accountability, monitoring, and outcome-based evaluation.

Today, I directly ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman: Why are you afraid of targeted schemes for SCs and STs? Why is the Dalit-Adivasi budget being diverted into useless and obsolete schemes? Why is utilisation declining year after year? Why are the constitutional rights of the most oppressed communities being reduced to bookkeeping adjustments? If the government has truly accepted Babasaheb Dr. BR Ambedkar’s vision, then it must show it through budgets, not speeches.

The Union Budget must become an instrument of justice, not discrimination. It must end the practice of false allocation and diversion. It must ensure real spending on real targeted welfare programmes. We demand social justice budgeting, full utilisation of SC and ST funds, and SCSP-TSP legislation at the Centre and in all states. Dalits and Adivasis will no longer accept symbolic welfare. We will continue to fight democratically and constitutionally until justice is ensured in every rupee meant for our communities.

(The article is jointly written by Rajendra Pal Gautam National Chairman, SC Department, All-India Congress Committee & Tarun Sagar Senior Research Analyst, Office of the National Coordinator, (SC, ST, OBC & Minority Departments), All-India Congress Committee)