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File No. CS-SWE-022 · Central Scheme · Ministry of Tribal Affairs

Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana — VBKY

A planning framework that directs government scheme funding toward tribal-dominated blocks based on gaps the local community itself identifies — closing development gaps in education, health, roads and livelihoods.

Note: VBKY works by coordinating and directing existing scheme funding into identified tribal blocks, rather than being a scheme individuals apply to directly. This page explains how it works and how communities can engage.

What this scheme offers

Launched in 2014, Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana takes a place-based, convergence approach to tribal development rather than funding new standalone projects. In each selected tribal-dominated block, a local "Vision Document" is prepared — identifying specific gaps in infrastructure and services as seen by the community and local officials, covering education, health, drinking water, roads, electricity, and livelihood opportunities. Central and state government schemes are then coordinated and directed to close these identified gaps within a defined timeframe, rather than tribal communities having to separately navigate dozens of individual scheme applications. The approach recognises that tribal areas often fall behind not from a lack of schemes, but from poor coordination and low awareness of what's available — VBKY tries to fix the coordination problem directly.

Who this scheme is for

  • Residents of blocks identified as tribal-dominated (typically requiring a significant Scheduled Tribe population share) and selected for VBKY convergence planning.
  • Benefits reach individuals and households through the specific schemes coordinated under the local Vision Document — housing, water, roads, health and livelihood schemes — not through VBKY as a direct individual benefit.

How communities can engage

  1. Contact your District Tribal Welfare Office to find out whether your block is covered under VBKY and to see the local Vision Document, if one exists.
  2. Participate in Gram Sabha meetings where community priorities feeding into the Vision Document are typically discussed.
  3. Once specific schemes are identified for your block (housing, water, roads, livelihood support), apply to those individual schemes through their normal application processes — this site has pages for many of them (PMAY-Gramin, Jal Jeevan Mission, PMGSY, Van Dhan Yojana).
  4. Raise any gaps you feel are missing from your block's development plan through your Gram Panchayat or the District Tribal Welfare Office.

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