Nearly 10,000 rehabilitated under SMILE beggary sub-scheme; 21 Garima Grehs operational: Govt

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) As many as 31,055 individuals have been identified and 9,935 rehabilitated under the beggary sub‑scheme of the SMILE programme, the government said on Monday.

As many as 21 Garima Grehs are operational across 17 states with three more sanctioned in August 2025, according to an official statement.

Garima Greh shelter homes provide safe, dignified accommodation to transgender persons who face homelessness as a result of family rejection or social stigma.

Each home offers food, medical care, recreational facilities, and on-site skill-building support, and is run by Community Based Organisations (CBOs) with financial assistance from the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE).

SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) launched in 2022, is India’s first unified national framework to identify, rescue and rehabilitate marginalised people, and to provide healthcare, education, counselling, skill development and long‑term economic independence.

The government said that health coverage worth Rs. 5 lakh per year is provided to every transgender person under Ayushman Bharat TG Plus, covering gender‑affirming care, hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery at empanelled hospitals.

For 2021‑2026, Rs. 390 crore was allotted by the government for the SMILE scheme.

“SMILE represents a decisive shift in how India approaches the welfare of its most marginalised citizens — not through isolated schemes targeting single problems, but through a converged architecture that addresses identity, health, education, livelihood, and shelter in one coherent framework,” the statement said.

The SMILE scheme also offers scholarships for transgender students from Class IX through post‑graduation.

The SMILE sub-scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging, is aimed at achieving the Government’s objective of Bhiksha Vritti Mukt Bharat (Begging-Free India) through comprehensive rehabilitation measures.

On a pilot basis, 18 Entrepreneurship Development Programmes have been launched nationwide to train 1,800 transgender persons in business planning, market assessment, regulatory compliance, financial access, and linkages to incubation centers or banks, the statement noted.

–IANS

aar/pk