Government welfare initiatives in Punjab: Taking an account of beneficiaries’ awareness profile

The main focus of the present paper is to assess the level of awareness of various Government schemes for the welfare of the Scheduled castes people in rural Punjab. Welfare of Scheduled Castes has been the main objective of State governments. For this, various schemes have been introduced by the through its constitutional provisions. In this regard, the central and state governments are trying to improve the economic, educational and social status of these depressed classes. Not only government but various voluntary organisations are also included in the task. But in spite of it, it can't be denied that these sections are not able to achieve a status, equal to that or other social classes. The awareness programmes is also aimed at bringing up the status of Scheduled Castes. It was found that Scheduled Castes are not aware about the different welfare schemes meant for them. On the whole; the present paper is based on primary survey and finds a general lack of awareness about the basic welfare schemes among the scheduled castes.