“The needs of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups have been neglected for too long. Due to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s resolve to uplift this community, the Government has been spearheading projects and making concerted efforts to work for its development and welfare. The inputs from these visits will be highly essential in planning the implementation of the PM-PVTG Development Mission” said Shri Arjun Munda while chairing “Discussion on field visits of Officers deputed to PVTG areas” yesterday at National Tribal Research Institute. Shri Arjun Munda reviewed the presentations of all the Officers, guiding them to empower the concerned communities through his guidance and directions.

On the occasion Shri Arjun Munda also said that today’s deliberation has clarified the gaps in infrastructure and development in these PVTG dominated areas and will be the focus of the Ministry, during the implementation of the PM-PVTG Development Mission Scheme. We must give impetus to Hon’ble PM’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas ,Sabka Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas’ through our work.” He also urged the officers to be the “Palak Adhikari” of the respective PVTGs that they were assigned to adding that this was a unique experience to know India first hand.

Shri Anil Kumar Jha, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, stressed on the need to undertake more such continuous field visits to understand the ground reality of the PVTGs. He said, “We need local solutions, in consultation with the real stakeholders- PVTGs for their own development and to tackle the real and specific challenges and gaps.”

In order to give special attention to the issues related to conservation and development of PVTG communities, the Hon’ble Minister of Tribal Affairs had directed to depute Officers to conduct field visits to PVTG habitations in order to acquaint with the conditions of PVTG communities and ground level assessment for the perspective plan in consultation with the concerned State Government/UT Administration officers.

Accordingly, officers of the Ministry, NESTS, TRIFED and NSTFDC were each assigned a specific PVTG Community for visit and reporting on their socio-economic cultural status..

Over 50 Officers have completed the visit, of which 7 presented their experiences and key findings to the Minister.

5. The Officers focused broadly on the following issues:
   5. Occupation/means of livelihood
   5. Access to basic services such as drinking water, electricity, education, healthcare.
   5. Availability of basic infrastructure facilities such as housing, road connectivity, cultivable land, etc.
   5. Culture and traditions of the community.
   5. Specific needs and challenges of the community, along with some recommendations.

The discussion proved to be an eye-opener for all, allowing the exchange of experiences, suggestions, and ideas towards the goal of inclusive growth and overall welfare for the PVTG Community.

On February 1, 2023, Government of India announced a Mission “Pradhan Mantri PVTG Mission” for the welfare of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in the Union Budget 2023-24. A fund of Rs 15,000 crore for the next three years has been allocated for the socio-economic development of the group.

The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Mission will be launched as part of ‘Reaching The Last Mile- Leaving No Citizen Behind’ as there are 75 PVTG groups spread across 18 ststes and the UT of Andaman & Nicobar Island in India that will benefit from this scheme. Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission has been initiated to saturate the PVTG families and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity and sustainable livelihood opportunities

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