SUPPORT FOR MARGINALIZED INDIVIDUALS FOR LIVELIHOOD AND ENTERPRISE (SMILE) SCHEME

SUPPORT FOR MARGINALIZED INDIVIDUALS FOR LIVELIHOOD AND ENTERPRISE (SMILE) SCHEME

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing the SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) Scheme, which includes the sub-scheme “Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging”, aimed at achieving the objective of Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat (Begging-Free India) through comprehensive rehabilitation measures.

The SMILE Beggary sub-scheme is currently operational in 181 selected cities across the country. As on 31 January 2026, a total of 30,257 individuals have been identified as engaged in the act of begging, and 8,129 individuals have been rehabilitated in different cities.

With regard to transgender welfare under the SMILE scheme, 23 Garima Grehs are presently being supported by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment across 17 States/UTs. Out of these, 6 Garima Grehs were newly approved and opened during 2025–26.

No roadmap has been proposed at present to establish at least one Garima Greh in every State capital within the next five years.

All SMILE-funded Garima Grehs have been geotagged. Under the SMILE Beggary sub-scheme, details of rehabilitation centres and shelter homes are collected, registered and monitored through the SMILE-Beggary National Portal (https://smile-be.dosje.gov.in).

No beneficiaries from the begging community or from the transgender community have so far been certified under PM-DAKSH during 2024–25.

[This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri B. L. Verma, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.]