Tribal Sub-Plan in Rajasthan: An Assessment of the Institutional Framework, Budgetary Perspectives and Implementation Status

Financial

The Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) strategy was initiated in 1974 by the Planning Commission of the Government of India (GoI) for the overall development of STs. The Commission issued guidelines to all States and Union Territories to design tribal development programmes with a focus on both area-based and individual-based approaches, ensuring that plan allocations under TSP are at least proportional to the share of STs in the total population. The Government of Rajasthan (GoR) also issued guidelines for the implementation of the Tribal Sub-Plan, along with the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan. As per the 2011 Census, the tribal population in Rajasthan constitutes approximately 13.5% of the total population. Therefore, allocations and expenditure under TSP should ideally be around 13.5% of the State’s total plan budget. Actual allocations and expenditures have not fully aligned with the prescribed norms, which has influenced the pace of socio-economic progress among tribal communities. As a result, outcomes in areas such as education, health, livelihoods and access to rights continue to evolve, shaped by the implementation of the sub-plan along with broader structural factors. In response, several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttarakhand, introduced legislative frameworks for sub-plans. With the discontinuation of the Plan and Non-Plan classification of budget expenditure after 2017, these frameworks required adaptation to the revised budgeting structure. The Government of Telangana addressed this transition through a new Act for sub-plans, enacted in 2017. Similarly, the Government of Rajasthan enacted the “Rajasthan State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Fund (Planning, Allocation, and Utilization of Financial Resources) Act, 2022” to further strengthen the planning, allocation, and utilization of resources under sub-plans. The present paper examines the socio-economic status of tribal communities in Rajasthan, with a focus on the design and functioning of the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). It reviews the existing strategies, institutional mechanisms and implementation guidelines underpinning the TSP framework. Further, the paper analyzes trends in budgetary allocations and expenditures during the financial year 2010–11 to 2025–26, and assesses the status of TSP within the planning and budgeting process. Based on this analysis, the paper highlights areas for improvement and concludes with policy suggestions to enhance the effectiveness of TSP implementation.

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