NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told Parliament this week that 9,855 persons engaged in begging had been rescued and rehabilitated across the country since the launch of its flagship Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) scheme in October 2023. The data, placed before the Lok Sabha on March 10, in response to a question raised by Left MP Raja Ram Singh, offers the first consolidated picture of the programme’s reach and its limits.
Singh had asked the government to state the number of persons identified and rehabilitated and the steps taken to prevent them from returning to begging. The ministry’s reply revealed that 31,055 persons had been identified through surveys conducted under the scheme. Of these, less than one in three, that is 9,855, have been rehabilitated. This figure includes 2,480 children.
The SMILE scheme runs a dedicated sub-scheme for the comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging. It works through district administrations, urban local bodies and municipal corporations, often in partnership with NGOs. Beneficiaries receive vocational training in trades, such as tailoring, carpentry, cooking, gardening, sanitation work, security services and e-rickshaw driving. They are also organised into self-help groups and linked to banks and other government welfare programmes.
The 2011 Census recorded 4,13,670 beggars in India—2,21,673 men and 1,91,997 women. The 31,055 persons identified under SMILE represent less than eight per cent of that figure.
The government also acknowledged that it did not know what happens after rehabilitation. The ministry could not provide answer whether the 9,855 rehabilitated persons remain employed.