Centre Directs Bankers Committees to Record Benefits Provided to Scheduled Caste Beneficiaries

The Centre has directed State Level Bankers’ Committees (SLBCs) and Union Territory Level Bankers’ Committees (UTLBCs) to maintain detailed records of benefits provided to Scheduled Caste (SC) beneficiaries under various government schemes. The Department of Financial Services under the Union Finance Ministry has asked the committees to include scheme-wise and bank-wise data on the number and percentage of SC beneficiaries in their periodic review meetings. The move follows concerns raised by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) over gaps in beneficiary data reporting.

According to the government’s announcement on October 7, 2026, the committees have been instructed to share the information regularly with the NCSC and submit an action-taken report to the Department of Financial Services by October 9. The directive aims to improve monitoring of government welfare programmes and help authorities assess whether financial assistance is reaching the intended beneficiaries.

The schemes covered by the reporting exercise include the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Stand-Up India, the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), PM SVANidhi and credit support programmes for micro, small and medium enterprises. These initiatives provide eligible individuals and businesses with access to institutional credit, financial assistance and support for self-employment and entrepreneurship.

The NCSC had raised concerns that existing reports did not adequately reflect the share of Scheduled Caste beneficiaries receiving assistance under various government schemes. Following the Commission’s intervention in September, the Department of Financial Services issued directions on October 5 to improve the reporting mechanism.

Under the new instructions, bankers’ committees will be required to provide a clearer picture of beneficiary coverage across individual banks and government programmes. The information is expected to help authorities identify gaps in access to credit and assess the implementation of welfare initiatives. The department has also asked the committees to use existing data available with banks and implementing agencies to compile the required information. This approach is intended to streamline reporting and avoid creating an additional data-collection system.

The move is part of the Centre’s broader efforts to strengthen financial inclusion and improve accountability in the implementation of government schemes. Better beneficiary records could help policymakers identify areas where awareness, outreach or access to institutional credit needs improvement. The impact of the directive will depend on the accuracy and consistency of the data submitted by banks and on how effectively the findings are used to address gaps in scheme implementation.

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