President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, graced the PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) Meet in the Sports Ground of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, President’s Estate today. In a first of its kind initiative , the President invited the Members of 75 PVTGs for a visit to the Rashtrapati Bhawan for an extensive interaction with and apprised them about the various Schemes and Initiatives of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

The PVTG members were also given a tour of the Amrit Udyan and the Rashtrapati Bhawan during the day.

The Mal Pahariya of Bihar, the Siddi of Gujarat, the Irula of Kerala, the Sahariya of Rajasthan, the Baiga Pardhauni of Madhya Pradesh, and the Budigali of Odisha gave scintillating performances at the venue, raising the spirits of the gathering.

Addressing the gathering, the President said that she was happy to meet the members of all 75 PVTGs together. She welcomed them at Rashtrapati Bhavan. She noted that many of them have come out from their villages for the first time. She said that each one of them is a representative of their community. She urged them to share their experiences with their community-members and inform them about the welfare schemes of the government.

The President urged the members of PVTGs to give utmost importance to education. She said that for the students of PVTG community, special provision of seats has been made in Eklavya Model Residential Schools. Apart from this, seats are also reserved for them in the National Fellowship and Overseas Scholarship Scheme. She also urged women of PVTG to take advantage of various schemes, including Tribal Women Empowerment Scheme.

The President said that under the Tribal Sub-Plan, 41 Ministries and Departments of the Government of India share part of their budget for the welfare of tribal communities, including PVTGs. She was happy to note that 'Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission' has been launched by the Government for the development of PVTGs.

The President said that the campaign announced in the current budget to eradicate Sickle Cell Anemia by the year 2047, is a very important step.

The President said that for the past few years, talented people from the tribal community are being honoured with Padma Awards for their remarkable contributions in various fields. She wished that more than 10 crore people of tribal society, including about 28 lakh people of PVTG society, should develop their talents and contribute their best for the society and country.

The President also felicitated guests from each PVTG Community.

Complete press release : https://presidentofindia.nic.in/press-release-detail.htm?2470

On the occasion , Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, stated that we are honoured today to be in the august presence of the  President, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, who is a proud embodiment of the extraordinary potential of the Scheduled Tribes of the country

He also said that our focus is to include PVTGs as beneficiaries as much as possible while implementing schemes for tribal development and welfare. Under the leadership of the  Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, not only provides the tribal communities with the opportunity to use the resources for their development through its  various schemes, but also creates awareness about these schemes for their better tomorrow. In this endeavour, we are efficiently undertaking management of the schemes  for this community’s holistic development, he added.

Shri Arjun Munda also added that government has worked with the intention of reform, perform and transform in the last nine years. He also remarked that government has worked for the citizen  standing at the margins of the society by forming citizen centric policies and programmes , with an effort to bring them to the forefront.

He said that today more than 400 EMRS schools have been opened in the tribal areas and more than one lakh ten thousand students from tribal society are getting quality education in these schools.

Shri Harsh Chauhan, Chairperson, NCST,  Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State Tribal Affairs, Shri Bishweswar Tudu, Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs, and Shri Ramsinh Rathwa, Chairman, TRIFED attended the special occasion with their gracious presence.

A group photo session was also held after the President felicitated two guests from each PVTG community.

In the evening, the PVTG guests enjoyed High Tea and Dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhawan's Sports Ground.

75 PVTGs were represented by nearly 1350 tribe members who took part in the historic event today.

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