Union Minister for Tribal Affairs; Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Arjun Munda briefed the media in New Delhi today, on the 10-year achievements of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. He gave a detailed overview on how the Government is tirelessly working Tribal welfare, in a ‘Whole-of-Government Approach’.

Shri Munda emphasized that the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is committed to reach the Tribal population living in the remotest corners of the country and ensure their multi-dimensional development, while protecting their culture, traditions and heritage.

The Minister thanked the Prime Minister for his vision to ensure health security, sustainable livelihood, skill development and capacity building of tribal population by using modern technology, without hurting their self-respect. Shri Munda noted that the tribals who were neglected since independence, have now got a bright opportunity to become a part of the country’s mainstream. He cited the unprecedented instance of a tribal woman becoming the President of the country as an example of the Government’s commitment to tribal welfare, while protecting their pride.

Recounting the 10-year achievements of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Munda laid down facts and figures detailing a comparative profile of tribal development during the last decade vis-à-vis the decade before that. The facts and figures are as follows:

• Budget of Tribal Affairs Ministry witnessed a three-fold increase to over Rs. 12,461 crores in last 10 years, while the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST) fund allocation saw a jump of 5.5 times to reach Rs. 1.17 lakh crores during the period.
• The Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) Scheme budget allocation in last 10 years reached Rs. 5,943 crores, with a 21-times jump. Over 1,32,275 tribal students were enrolled in 402 functioning schools as of 2023-24 vis-à-vis 34,365 students in 2013-14. Over 40,000 teachers to be recruited over the next 3 years, out of which 10,000 have already been recruited.
• Over 30 lakh Tribal students received various scholarships under the Ministry every year and over Rs. 18,000 crores worth of scholarships have been distributed in last 10 years.
• 3958 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been sanctioned, which would benefit 11.83 lakh Tribal entrepreneurs. Further, 87 Minor Forest Products have been included within Minimum Fair Price (MFP).
• Total land coverage under Forest Rights Act 2006 has tripled to 181 lakh acres by 2023-24, as compared to 55 lakh acres in 2013-14.
• In last 10 years, States with PVTG population were allocated over Rs. 25,000 crores under more than 5000 multi-disciplinary tribal development schemes.
• Over Rs. 2216 crore have been released for more than 14,000 approved rural development schemes under PM Aadi Adarsh Gram Yojana in last 3 years.
• Over 148 lakh toilets were built under Swachh Bharat Mission and 2.55 lakh Anganwadis established in tribal dominated areas, in the last decade.
• Over 200 NGOs working in areas of Tribal Health, Education and Livelihood received over Rs. 900 crores under over 250 welfare schemes, in last 10 years.
• Over 9000 camps organized in 120 Tribal dominated districts in first 75 days of launch of PM-JANMAN Mission. More than 13 lakh people enrolled under various schemes.
• Over 1 crore Tribals have already been screened under the Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission. The target for next three years is to screen 7 crore tribals in areas having high incidence of the disease. 

 

Shri Munda also informed about the path-breaking partnerships that the Ministry has entered into for Tribal Development with ISRO, AIIMS Delhi, IIT Delhi, IIM Calcutta and IISc Bengaluru. “The initiative represents a concerted effort to leverage technology and expertise for the holistic development of tribal communities, promising transformative results in the days ahead”, he added. The initiatives are:

 

• Bhagwan Birsa Munda chair for tribal health and tele-medicine established at AIIMS-Delhi; a network of AIIMS across the country to ensure Health security for Tribals.
• Establishment of training in Semi-conductor technology for tribal students at IISc, Bengaluru facility.
• Collaboration with ISRO to establish V-SAT Stations for improving mobile and internet connectivity in remote locations with tribal population.
• Bhagwan Birsa Chair established at IIT Delhi for a country-wide ecosystem for tribal entrepreneurship.

(Link for detailed Press Release on the above initiatives: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2012496)

 

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