This study examines how personal well-being (PWB) and self-efficacy (SE) are interconnected among marginalized students from OBC, SC, and ST communities in India’s rural and tribal regions. Given the socio-economic and infrastructural challenges these students face, understanding the psychological elements that influence academic outcomes is essential for designing culturally responsive educational support (Newland et al. in J. Soc. Serv. Res. 40, 642–661 (2014)). Using a sample of 291 students, this study uses statistical approaches such as Pearson correlation, regression, and ANOVA to investigate how well-being promotes SE and academic achievement. The study found a substantial positive correlation (r = .322, p < .001) between PWB and SE (Newland et al. in J. Soc. Serv. Res. 40, 642–661 (2014); Tobia, V., et al.: J Happiness Stud (2018)). The research also emphasizes how caste and class level impact the association between well-being and self-efficacy, revealing a modest effect (r = .254, p < .001) (Tobia, V., et al.: J. Happiness Stud. (2018); Varni, J.W., et al.: (2007)). Regression results indicate that well-being is a strong predictor of self-efficacy, accounting for approximately 10.4% of the observed variation (Singh Singh Indian J Psychol Educ 3, 59–66 (2013)). This shows that culturally sensitive interventions, including psychological and emotional support, may aid in the development of self-efficacy and academic performance, particularly among students from marginalized backgrounds (Newland et al.: J. Soc. Serv. Res. 40, 642–661 (2014); Rutter in Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 57, 316–331 (1987)).