Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment press release · 25 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMILE SCHEME

PRID2245076 MinistryMinistry of Social Justice & Empowerment Released25 March 2026 Reading5 min

Posted On: 25 MAR 2026 4:05PM by PIB Delhi Since inception of the SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) sub-scheme “Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging” on 23.10.2023, a total of 31,055 persons have been identified as engaged in the act of begging, out of which 9,855 persons have been rescued and rehabilitated under the sub-scheme. The State/UT-wise details where the sub-scheme is being implemented is placed at Annexure. Yes, a third party evaluation of the scheme has been conducted by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad. In order to strengthen scheme’s outreach, implementation and fund utilisation, necessary modifications have been made in the Standing Finance Committee memorandum based on the findings and recommendations of the third-party evaluation study report for continuation of the scheme in the next Financial Commission cycle (2026–27 to 2030–31). Annexure State/UT-wise list of Survey/Identification and Rehabilitation S.No. States/UTs Survey/Identification Total Rehabilitation Total 1 Andhra Pradesh 2569 653 2 Arunachal Pradesh 140 99 3 Assam 1840 605 4 Bihar 476 375 5 Chandigarh (UT) 499 352 6 Delhi NCT (UT) 3318 372 7 Gujarat 1141 453 8 Himachal Pradesh 27 1 9 Jammu & Kashmir (UT) 1143 510 10 Karnataka 875 88 11 Kerala 674 178 12 Madhya Pradesh 1772 1291 13 Maharashtra 1601 1025 14 Manipur 64 0 15 Mizoram 16 0 16 Nagaland 107 22 17 Odisha 784 288 18 Puducherry (UT) 485 178 19 Punjab 128 6 20 Rajasthan 79 0 21 Tamil Nadu 9145 1590 22 Telangana 580 53 23 Uttar Pradesh 3592 1716 Total 31055 9855 This information is given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri B.L. Verma, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today. ***** SM/HK (Release ID: 2245076) Visitor Counter : 550 Read this release in: Urdu , हिन्दी Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMILE SCHEME Posted On: 25 MAR 2026 4:05PM by PIB Delhi Since inception of the SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) sub-scheme “Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging” on 23.10.2023, a total of 31,055 persons have been identified as engaged in the act of begging, out of which 9,855 persons have been rescued and rehabilitated under the sub-scheme. The State/UT-wise details where the sub-scheme is being implemented is placed at Annexure. Yes, a third party evaluation of the scheme has been conducted by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad. In order to strengthen scheme’s outreach, implementation and fund utilisation, necessary modifications have been made in the Standing Finance Committee memorandum based on the findings and recommendations of the third-party evaluation study report for continuation of the scheme in the next Financial Commission cycle (2026–27 to 2030–31). Annexure State/UT-wise list of Survey/Identification and Rehabilitation S.No. States/UTs Survey/Identification Total Rehabilitation Total 1 Andhra Pradesh 2569 653 2 Arunachal Pradesh 140 99 3 Assam 1840 605 4 Bihar 476 375 5 Chandigarh (UT) 499 352 6 Delhi NCT (UT) 3318 372 7 Gujarat 1141 453 8 Himachal Pradesh 27 1 9 Jammu & Kashmir (UT) 1143 510 10 Karnataka 875 88 11 Kerala 674 178 12 Madhya Pradesh 1772 1291 13 Maharashtra 1601 1025 14 Manipur 64 0 15 Mizoram 16 0 16 Nagaland 107 22 17 Odisha 784 288 18 Puducherry (UT) 485 178 19 Punjab 128 6 20 Rajasthan 79 0 21 Tamil Nadu 9145 1590 22 Telangana 580 53 23 Uttar Pradesh 3592 1716 Total 31055 9855 This information is given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri B.L. Verma, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today. ***** SM/HK (Release ID: 2245076) Since inception of the SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) sub-scheme “Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging” on 23.10.2023, a total of 31,055 persons have been identified as engaged in the act of begging, out of which 9,855 persons have been rescued and rehabilitated under the sub-scheme. The State/UT-wise details where the sub-scheme is being implemented is placed at Annexure. Yes, a third party evaluation of the scheme has been conducted by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad. In order to strengthen scheme’s outreach, implementation and fund utilisation, necessary modifications have been made in the Standing Finance Committee memorandum based on the findings and recommendations of the third-party evaluation study report for continuation of the scheme in the next Financial Commission cycle (2026–27 to 2030–31). Annexure State/UT-wise list of Survey/Identification and Rehabilitation <table align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#ccc" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="Table" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td> S.No. </td> <td> States/UTs </td> <td> Survey/Identification Total </td> <td> Rehabilitation Total </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 1 </td> <td> Andhra Pradesh </td> <td> 2569 </td> <td> 653 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2 </td> <td> Arunachal Pradesh </td> <td> 140 </td> <td> 99 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 3 </td> <td> Assam </td> <td> 1840 </td> <td> 605 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 4 </td> <td> Bihar </td> <td> 476 </td> <td> 375 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 5 </td> <td> Chandigarh (UT) </td> <td> 499 </td> <td> 352 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 6 </td> <td> Delhi NCT (UT) </td> <td> 3318 </td> <td> 372 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 7 </td> <td> Gujarat </td> <td> 1141 </td> <td> 453 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 8 </td> <td> Himachal Pradesh </td> <td> 27 </td> <td> 1 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 9 </td> <td> Jammu & Kashmir (UT) </td> <td> 1143 </td> <td> 510 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 10 </td> <td> Karnataka </td> <td> 875 </td> <td> <span st

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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMILE SCHEME

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