PIB Tracker10,446 people off the street, and a scheme that trains for what comes next
SMILE-Beggary has released ₹45.59 crore since October 2023 and rehabilitated 10,446 people including 2,824 children — with adults routed into trades and self-help groups, and children into schooling and family reintegration.
What happened
- ₹45.59 crore has been released under SMILE-Beggary since 23 October 2023.
- ₹40.04 crore of that went to implementing authorities and cities.
- 10,446 persons have been rehabilitated as on 31 July 2026.
- These comprise 7,622 adults and 2,824 children.
- Children get care, education and family reintegration; adults get vocational training and SHG and bank linkage.
For Prelims
- SMILE: Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise — the umbrella scheme; the Beggary sub-scheme began 23 October 2023.
- The numbers: ₹45.59 crore released; 10,446 rehabilitated — 7,622 adults and 2,824 children.
- The other SMILE component: welfare and rehabilitation of transgender persons.
- Legal background: begging is dealt with by State anti-beggary laws; the Delhi High Court in 2018 struck down provisions criminalising begging in Delhi.
- Approach: rehabilitation and livelihood, not penal action — the scheme frames begging as destitution.
- Delivery route: implementing authorities and cities, with SHG formation and bank linkage.
- Children: handled through care, education and family reintegration under juvenile justice principles.
For UPSC: A rare card on extreme urban destitution. Use it for the decriminalisation of begging and the 2018 Delhi High Court ruling, rehabilitation versus penal approaches, SHG-based livelihood restoration, and children in street situations.
What it is NOT: 10,446 rehabilitated over nearly three years is a small number against the scale of urban destitution — and the reply reports releases and rehabilitations, not retention or relapse.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS2.12 · GS2.10 · Linkage L3
Anchor
Treating begging as destitution rather than as an offence changes what the state is obliged to provide.
Substantiation (data)
₹45.59 crore released since October 2023 and 10,446 people rehabilitated — 7,622 adults and 2,824 children — as on 31 July 2026.
Exemplification
Adults are trained in carpentry, tailoring, sanitation services and e-rickshaw operation and linked to SHGs; children go to schooling and family reintegration instead.
Problematisation
The scheme runs alongside State anti-beggary laws that still criminalise the same people, and no relapse or retention data is reported.
Way-forward
Harmonise State anti-beggary laws with the rehabilitative approach, and publish follow-up outcomes at one and three years.
Position
A welfare scheme cannot rehabilitate people whom another law is still arresting.
Deploys into: Welfare of vulnerable sections + government interventions (GS2.12, GS2.10) · decriminalisation of begging, rehabilitation versus penal approaches, and children in street situations.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment · 2026-08-11 · PRID 2297830 · PIB source ↗