Lucknow — During the third day of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly’s Monsoon Session, State Minister (Independent Charge) for Backward Class Welfare and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Narendra Kashyap, provided a detailed account of his departments’ roles under the “Vision Developed India 2047” framework. He stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, both departments have formulated clear strategies and action plans to fulfill the resolution of making Uttar Pradesh a developed state.
Significant Gains in Disability Empowerment
Minister Kashyap highlighted the significant work done by the Department for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities over the last eight years in the fields of rehabilitation, pensions, education, skill development, and employment.
- Pension & Financial Aid: As of June 2025, 1,132,240 persons with disabilities have benefited from the sustenance grant (pension), which was increased from Rs 300 to Rs 1,000 per month by the Yogi government. The expenditure for this scheme reached Rs 8,841 crore in this period, a nearly five-fold increase compared to the Rs 1,581 crore spent by the previous government. Furthermore, the number of beneficiaries under the Leprosy Pension Scheme has grown from 4,765 to 12,692, with the monthly grant now at Rs 3,000.
- Aids and Appliances: In the past eight years, Rs 327.5 crore has been spent on providing modern aids and appliances, a significant jump from the Rs 29.4 crore spent over five years by the previous administration. The grant limit per beneficiary has also been increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000.
- Educational Rehabilitation: The department has established 25 Bachpan Day Care Centers, 28 Integrated Special Schools, and two State Disability Universities to support educational rehabilitation. The annual education budget has been increased from Rs 53 crore to Rs 118 crore to expand access to education.
Boosting Backward Class Welfare with Scholarships and Grants
Turning to the Backward Class Welfare Department, Minister Kashyap emphasized that with over 52% of the state’s population belonging to the OBC category, achieving a “Developed Uttar Pradesh” is impossible without their socio-economic upliftment.
- Scholarships and Fee Reimbursement: In the 2024-25 fiscal year, 3,222,499 students received scholarships and fee reimbursements. Over the last eight years, a total of 20,753,457 students have benefited from a total of Rs 13,535.33 crore, which is Rs 4,197 crore more than the amount spent by the previous government. The department aims to provide scholarships and fee reimbursement worth Rs 80,000 crore to over 7 crore OBC students by 2047.
- Marriage Grant Scheme: Under the “Shadi Anudan Yojana,” Rs 1,221 crore has been spent over eight years to assist 610,483 daughters from poor OBC families with their marriages. This is a substantial increase from the 275,311 beneficiaries and Rs 344 crore expenditure under the previous government. A proposal to increase the grant amount from Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000 is under consideration, with a target of assisting 2.4 million daughters by 2047 with an expenditure of Rs 14,400 crore.
- Computer Training: The Computer Training Scheme has provided CCC and O-Level training to 139,698 OBC youths in the past eight years, helping thousands secure government and private sector jobs. The plan for 2047 is to train 1.1 million youths with an expenditure of Rs 3,850 crore.
Focus on Hostels and Commission Empowerment
Minister Kashyap stated that the maintenance and construction of new OBC hostels will remain a priority until 2047 to ensure free housing facilities for a growing number of students. He also mentioned efforts to strengthen the State Backward Class Commission and secure constitutional recognition for it, similar to the National Backward Class Commission.
Concluding his address, Minister Kashyap recited a poem, saying:
“We are those lamps that burn in storms, We are those flowers that bloom on stones. Our struggle is our identity, We fight against storms and win the battle for our rights.”
