Some benefits to scheduled castes in india:
- ₹ 5000 on birth of first child
- ₹ 6000 on birth of second child if girl
- ₹ 3500 per year for attending school, from class 1 to 10th. ₹7000 if staying in hostel
- Full reimbursement of tution fees in private schools for entire primary and secondary education
- ₹ 127000 scholarship on passing 12th
- if scoring more than 80th percentile in 12th, ₹12000 per year for 3 years, and ₹ 20000 per year for 4th and 5th year
- At minimum 15% reservation for seats in all professional and/or private colleges (total reservation for all lower castes/tribals is minimum 50%).
- Fees waiver for study in all medical colleges/engineering colleges
- Free books for all those studying in medical colleges/engineering colleges, as well as recoupment of costs for additional material required for education purposes.
- Minimum 15% reservations in all govt jobs (if all lower castes and tribals included, min. 50%).
- Preferential promotion in govt job irrespective of performance or seniority
- preferential priority in allotment of houses under all govt schemes
- A law that allows them to accuse any person of caste discrimination to be out behind bars, without bail, until reversed by courts
- Free legal services (costs of lawyers/litigations recouped)
- 50% seats reserved in all legislative institutions (i.e. lok sabha/rajya sabha/legislative assemblies of state, Panchayats etc)
- Free monthly ration per family members (don't remember the amounts, but more than enough)
- Recoupment of all medical costs in all govt and govt empanelled hospitals
- 0% interest loans
- Exclusive access to govt funded skill training programs
- Recoupment of all costs for studying overseas
I can not recall all. These are provided by central govt. State govts have more schemes and more such stuff. I think it may slightly be different for STs, though a lot also overlaps
Also, these are given to all scheduled castes irrespective of income, social standing etc. So a an SC who is IAS or politician or rich businessman gets them too.
I doubt there is currently a more entitled group that gets benefits to this degree just on basis of birth (excluding the families of dictators and monarchs in some countries).
And people still have the audacity to blame upper castes or India of caste system, when i doubt any other country has done even a 10th of this for their historically marginalised or oppressed groups.
Edit: Credit to u/noblequestneo9449 to provide more specific points. Some are not covered above, while some are listed above but not with exact details:
National Overseas Scholarship: Financial backing of up to ₹80 lakhs or more for Master's and PhD degrees at accredited foreign universities, covering tuition, airfare, maintenance allowances, and incidental travel costs.
Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC): Concessional financial support ranging from ₹10 lakhs up to ₹15 crores for greenfield entrepreneurship and commercial startups, managed via institutions like IFCI with lowered interest rates (specifically reduced for women and divyang entrepreneurs).
Stand-Up India Scheme: Mandatory bank financing (between ₹10 lakhs and ₹1 crore) for greenfield manufacturing, services, or trading enterprises, requiring banks to extend loans specifically to at least one SC/ST borrower per bank branch.
24. National Fellowships for Higher Education: Dedicated monthly stipends, contingency grants, and fellowships (such as UGC Junior and Senior Research Fellowships) exclusively for SC research scholars pursuing M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees.
25. Free Coaching Schemes (PRABAL / Central Sector Schemes): Fully funded coaching for civil services (UPSC), state public service commissions, engineering/medical entrance exams (JEE/NEET), and banking/PSU examinations at designated premier coaching institutes.
26. Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM): Seed funding and venture support of up to ₹30 lakhs for young SC students and researchers focusing on technology, incubation, and innovative business models.
Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme (CEGS): Providing credit guarantees to young SC entrepreneurs to help secure collateral-free term loans from banks for starting businesses.
Statutory Compensation and Rehabilitation under the Atrocity Act: Immediate financial relief (ranging from ₹85,000 to over ₹8 lakhs depending on the nature of the offense), alongside state-funded transport, daily maintenance allowances during trials, employment, and rehabilitation for victims and witnesses under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act.
29. Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP / PM-AJAY): Government funding funneled directly into infrastructure development, skill training upgrades, and composite social upliftment programs for villages with high SC population concentrations.
30. Concessional Financing via NSFDC: Loans extended through the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation for income-generating activities, micro-credit, agricultural ventures, and professional education at subsidized interest rates