Scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary Organisations Working for the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes

The Central Sector Scheme “Scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary Organisations Working for the Welfare of Scheduled Tribes” was launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. The prime objective of the scheme is to enhance the reach of welfare schemes of the Government and fill the gaps in service-deficient tribal areas, in sectors such as education, health, drinking water, agro-horticultural productivity, social security, etc. through the efforts of voluntary organizations, and to provide an environment for socioeconomic upliftment and overall development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs). Any other innovative activity having a direct impact on the socio-economic development or livelihood generation of STs may also be considered through voluntary efforts.

1. Broad Sector-wise indicative categories of projects for which grant-in-aid will be considered are as follows:
   Sectors*Category of Projects**Education1. Running and maintenance of Non-Residential Schools/ Residential Schools /Hostels.Education2. Sponsoring tribal girls from the North Eastern States viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and from Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep for study in reputed educational institutions.Health3. Running/maintenance of hospitals/dispensaries with 10 or more beds.Health4. Mobile DispensaryLivelihood5. Enhancement of livelihood and income generation opportunities through infrastructure support and capacity building in sectors like agriculture, fishery, dairy and animal husbandry, water conservation, and organic/natural farming.2. In addition to the above, during natural calamities, disasters, or pandemic, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs may provide emergency health services including the provision of food and water through NGOs in the affected area for which norms may be decided in consultation with IFD with approval of Minister, Ministry Tribal Affairs.
2. Priority will be given to programmes/projects that benefit Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), LWE-affected districts, and tribal populations in remote or difficult areas.
3. Under the scheme, grants are given to Organizations as per norms fixed for different projects given in Annexure-1, subject to the ceilings for recurring and non-recurring grants.

• The applicant organization should be a registered voluntary organization (VO) /non-governmental organization (NGO) engaged in the conduct and promotion of social welfare of STs.
• The applicant organization (NGO) should be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860/State Society Registration/Public Trust or Institutions either under a statute or as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or any other act.
• The applicant organization must register with the NGO-Darpan portal of NITI Aayog (www.ngodarpan.gov.in).
• The organization should have experience of at least three years in running activities similar in the size and objectives of the project, for which the grants are sought.
• The organization making an application for seeking grants would itself implement the projects without passing the grants to any different entity for managing the project.
• The organization will agree to comply with the terms and conditions and sign a MoU with the Ministry as in Annexure 2.
• The organization will open an Aadhaar-linked bank account in its name under the joint operation of the President and Secretary or their authorized signatories, in an authorized scheduled bank in respect of the grant in line with the instructions issued by the Government of India from time to time.
• The organization should have PAN and TAN Numbers in its name and should have filed Income Tax Returns (ITR) for at least the last three years.
• The organization needs to be registered under section 12A of the Income Tax Act.
• The organization should not be facing bankruptcy nor facing inquiries or investigations for economic offences by CBI/ED/CBIC or any other Union/State Government agencies.
• The organization should have the sound financial capacity to partially co-finance the project, as grants from the Ministry would be restricted to supporting the core activities only that have been defined in Anexure-1.
• The organization shall submit details of its trustees, promoters, beneficial owners, and Management Committee along with PAN and Aadhaar number in the format given before the grant is considered.
• The organization should not have been blacklisted by NITI Aayog/Union/State Ministries or Government organisations.
• A minimum of at least 75 beneficiaries shall be the requirement for the commencement of the project. However, in exceptional cases, with due justification by the Tribal Welfare Department of the State Government, a project with a minimum of 25 ST students may be considered by the Ministry with the approval of Minister, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, for commencement of an educational project.

Online

Application Processes:

Step 01: All grant proposals from new as well as ongoing NGOs shall have to be submitted through the NGO portal of the Ministry. Physical proposals will not be entertained.
Step 02: The applicant organization must first get itself registered on the NGO-Darpan Portal (www.ngodarpan.gov.in) of NITI AAYOG.
Step 03: After obtaining NGO-Darpan registration, the applicant organization shall register through the NGO portal (www.ngo.tribal.gov.in) of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and make an online application by providing complete information about the project for which grants are sought along with uploading the required documents.
Step 04: An organization running multiple projects of the same nature of categories, in a district may file a single application for all such similar projects for which a grant is being sought. The same may be considered in the Ministry on the recommendation of the Principal Secretary or Officer in charge of the Tribal Welfare Department of the State concerned.
Step 05: NGOs will maintain details of expenditure on the Receipt, Expenditure, Advance, Transfer (REAT) Module of PFMS and would be required to refund any bank interest earned as per provisions of the latest General Financial Rules (GFR) of the Government of India
Step 06: NGOs can upload any query/grievance through the communication module of the NGO portal, which will be replied to online through the same module. If the grievance is related to the district or state, the same will be transferred by the Ministry to the authority concerned through the portal. The District and State authorities are required to redress the grievance online and also update the same online.
The State Government would be requested to ensure that the information of the State and District level Officer is updated on transfer or change of charge. He will also ensure that all grievances pertaining to the district and state are resolved. The helpline and details of the resource person will be displayed on the portal of the State Tribal Welfare Department (TWD).
Note: The Ministry's NGO Portal will be opened for 90 days from 15th July to 30th September or as notified by the Ministry to enable the NGO to submit its application for Grants in Aid. The dates for opening and closing of the portal will be notified separately by the Ministry. This is applicable to both ongoing and new projects.

Scrutiny and Inspection at the State Level:

Step 01: The online applications will get directed to the account of the State/UT Tribal Welfare Department which in turn will get the projects inspected through a District Level officer. The ministry will provide Login ID and Passwords to users at the State level. The Ministry will also provide a facility to the State for making officers at the district level the authorized users and the State would provide a Login ID and Password to him. It will be the responsibility of the officer authorized at the District level to inspect and scrutinize the proposed project.
Step 02: The authorized district level Officer will upload comments about the project on the portal after inspection, upload the Inspection form, duly signed and stamped, and forward the required documents to the State as stipulated by the Ministry.
Step 03: The projects forwarded by the District Level Officer will be examined by the State Government/UT Administration.
Step 04: The State Committee for Support of Voluntary Efforts (SCSVE under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary/Officer in-charge of the Tribal Welfare Department/Social Welfare Department will make specific recommendations about the application of the NGO within the timelines stipulated by the Ministry. If a project is not recommended by the State Committee, the reasons will be indicated. The minutes of the meeting will be uploaded on the NGO portal in the format given by the Ministry.

Screening and Approval at the Ministry Level:

Step 01: Based on eligibility criteria and availability of funds, new projects duly inspected and forwarded by district administration and recommended by the State Level Committee, will be scrutinized by the NGO division, headed by the Deputy Secretary/Director. The short-listed new projects may be subjected to further assessment by an independent agency which may include field-based prefunding appraisal. Detailed notes will be drawn while making recommendations for approval or rejection of the project proposal by the NGO division, also keeping in mind the budget available under the scheme.
Step 02: Constitution of Project Appraisal Committees at the Ministry level: All projects after screening shall be placed before the Project Appraisal Committee (PAC) under the Chairpersonship of Joint Secretary, Tribal Affairs for final recommendation. The PAC while appraising projects, will keep in mind the availability of funds and budget available under the scheme and may prioritize only those projects which are most needed.
Step 03: The new project recommended by the Project Appraisal Committee will be eligible for grants subject to final sanction by the Minister of Tribal Affairs.
Step 04: If a new project is not commenced or operationalized after approval by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, it will be treated as a new project when it is considered for sanction of grants next year. However, the verification process except for state government recommendation in such cases will be waived subject to the applicant organization justifying the reasons for not running the project in spite of the approval of the Ministry. If the project is not run/operational in successive years then the organization has to apply as a new project following the due procedure.

Procedure for Renewal of Application for the Ongoing Projects:

Step 01: The organization would be required to submit its application for ongoing projects for continuation in the subsequent financial year.
Step 02: The ongoing project of the Organization would be eligible for grants subject to the provisions of GFR and instructions/guidelines issued from time to time by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, on receipt of the following documents:
a. Online application in the prescribed proforma has been filed on the portal b. Utilization certificate of the grant last released, in the format prescribed under GFR-12-A.
c. Audited accounts for the previous year indicating the expenditure incurred on each sanctioned item vis-a-vis the grant sanctioned.
d. Budget estimates for the financial year for which grant-in-aid is required e. Filing of Expenditure Statement in REAT Module.
Step 03: The ongoing project applications filed online by the organizations will be made available to the State concerned. The Principal Secretary/officer in charge of the State Tribal Welfare Department would ensure that the documents submitted by the NGO have been examined at the State Level. He would also get the field verification done through the District Collector or District Welfare Officer, or any other authority at the district /state level, who will upload the Inspection report, duly signed and stamped, on the portal. The Inspecting Officer would be asked to specifically examine if there is any change in name, constitution, location of project, number of beneficiaries, whether there is any complaint against the Organization/Project or any reference from the Ministry for Inspection.
Step 04: Applications for ongoing projects can be forwarded to the Ministry by the Principal Secretary/Officer in charge Tribal Welfare Department without seeking the approval of the SCSVE.
Step 05: If there is any change in project specifications like location, the nomenclature of the project, increase in the number of beneficiaries under the project, the change will be considered by the Ministry on the specific recommendation of the Principal Secretary/Officer in charge of the TWO of the State subject to availability of funds. The recommending authority will also have to certify that the project has sufficient infrastructure to cater to the increased number of beneficiaries recommended.
Step 06: In case of non-recommendation of the ongoing project for the current year, reasons for not recommending the project should be mentioned by the State Govt. In case, the State is recommending the project for the current year but the project was not recommended in the previous year(s), reasons would be given for not recommending it in previous years.
Step 07: Funds will normally be released by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on the recommendation of the State Government. Such releases will be as per the instructions issued by the Ministry of Finance from time to time and provisions of the latest GFR.