The government reported on 3 August 2026 that 47,328 villages have been selected nationwide under the Adarsh Gram component of the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), including 435 in Telangana. Of the works identified for these villages, 46,642 development works have been completed so far, benefiting 47,59,399 people.
About PM-AJAY's Adarsh Gram Component
- Integrated Village Development: Villages with a significant SC population are selected for saturation of 50 monitorable socio-economic indicators across 10 sectors — education, health, housing, drinking water, sanitation, electricity and connectivity.
- Community-Led Planning: Development is driven through Village Development Plans prepared by the community, with gaps filled through convergence with other Central and State schemes or direct PM-AJAY interventions.
- Parent Scheme: Adarsh Gram is one of three components of PM-AJAY, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the socio-economic upliftment of Scheduled Castes.
- Significance: Its convergence-based model lets the scheme leverage the funding and delivery mechanisms of other government schemes, improving resource efficiency in closing development gaps in SC-dominated villages.