SC/ST Budget Allocations Across South Indian States (2024-25)

Analysis of dedicated, proportional, and total allocations as percentage of state budgets

Comparing all allocation types across the five South Indian states as percentage of their total budgets.

Key Insights

1 Tamil Nadu leads with the highest percentage allocation (21.97% total), surpassing all other states
2 Telangana follows with 15.07% total allocation, showing strong commitment through dedicated schemes
3 Karnataka's allocation has improved to 8.94%, up from previously reported 6.33%
4 Tamil Nadu has the highest proportional allocation percentage (18.35%) among all states

SC/ST Population vs Allocation Comparison

#	State	SC/ST Population % (2011 Census)	SC/ST Budget Allocation % (2024-25)
1	Tamil Nadu	21.11	21.97
2	Kerala	10.55	8.1
3	Karnataka	24.09	8.94
4	Andhra Pradesh	21.94	8.26
5	Telangana	24.53	15.07

Summary Table of Performance

State	Population %	Budget %	Performance
Tamil Nadu	21.11%	21.97%	Best performer
Telangana	24.53%	15.07%	Good performer
Karnataka	24.09%	8.94%	Moderate
Andhra Pradesh	21.94%	8.26%	Needs improvement
Kerala	10.55%	8.10%	Moderate

✅ States that Performed Well

🟢 Tamil Nadu

SC/ST Population: 21.11%
Budget Allocation: 21.97%
Insight: Tamil Nadu has exceeded its population share in allocations, showing exceptional commitment to SC/ST welfare.
The state demonstrates leadership in proportional allocations (18.35%), indicating effective mainstreaming of SC/ST welfare across departments.
This represents a significant improvement over previous budgetary approaches.

🟢 Telangana

SC/ST Population: 24.53%
Budget Allocation: 15.07%
Insight: Although still below its population share, Telangana shows strong commitment with the second-highest allocation percentage.
The use of a dedicated SDF Act and strong flagship schemes like Dalit Bandhu contributes to this strong performance.
The state has relatively balanced dedicated (7.76%) and proportional (7.31%) allocations.

⚖️ Moderate Performers

🟡 Karnataka

SC/ST Population: 24.09%
Budget Allocation: 8.94%
Insight: Improved allocation from previously reported 6.33%, but still has a significant gap of ~15% from population share.
The state has focused more on proportional allocation (7.53%) rather than dedicated schemes (1.41%).
Recent updates from official SCSP/TSP documents show a more accurate and improved allocation picture.

🟡 Kerala

SC/ST Population: 10.55%
Allocation: 8.10%
Insight: Closer alignment than many southern states, within ~2.5% of its population share.
While Kerala could improve, it's relatively balanced, especially given its smaller ST population.

🟡 Andhra Pradesh

SC/ST Population: 21.94%
Allocation: 8.26%
Insight: Substantially underallocated (gap of ~14%). AP has an SCSP/TSP Act, but needs stronger implementation and tracking mechanisms.

⚖️ Final Insight

Tamil Nadu demonstrates exceptional performance by exceeding its SC/ST population proportion in budget allocation. Telangana maintains strong commitment with substantial allocations. Karnataka has shown improvement in its reported allocations, while all states still show varying degrees of budget-to-population alignment, highlighting the ongoing need for robust SCSP/TSP implementation across South India.

Data Sources

Tamil Nadu

Telangana

Karnataka

Data analysis by ChatGPT • Interactive dashboard by Claude AI

Concept and research curated by TamilVoicer