Over the past 12 years, under the visionary leadership of the Hon'ble Prime Minister, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has scripted an unprecedented decade-and-more of tribal empowerment, expanding the EMRS network to 499 functional schools, disbursing over ₹22,000 crore in scholarships to nearly 30 lakh tribal students annually, launching landmark missions such as PM-JANMAN and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan with a combined outlay of over ₹1 lakh crore, and tripling the Ministry's annual budget from ₹4,295 crore to ₹13,000 crore, all in steadfast pursuit of a Viksit Bharat where no tribal community is left behind.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India, is going to organise the National Conclave on Strengthening of Integrated Tribal Development Agencies and Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDAs/ITDPs) on 3rd June 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The National Conclave will bring together Principal Secretaries, Commissioners of Tribal Welfare Departments, Directors of Tribal Research Institutes, Project Officers of ITDAs/ITDPs, senior officials of the Central and State Governments, experts and practitioners from across India. Representatives from 26 States and 4 Union Territories are expected to participate.

For years, one of the biggest gaps in India’s development story was not the absence of welfare schemes, but the challenge of delivering them effectively in remote tribal regions. Across large parts of tribal India, citizens often travelled long distances for basic services such as Aadhaar updates, caste certificates, pension approvals, healthcare enrolment or banking access. In many forest and hilly districts, a simple administrative task could require multiple visits to block or district offices, resulting in lost wages, delays and exclusion from welfare systems.

The ongoing Jan Bhagidari Abhiyan, being organised from 18^th – 25^th May 2026 across tribal regions, is attempting to solve a long-standing governance challenge: how to physically take government services closer to citizens living in geographically difficult and underserved areas. At the center of the campaign is a simple operating principle: “Sabse Door, Sabse Pehle” - Those farthest away must be reached first.

Governance Moving Closer to the Citizen: Unlike conventional awareness drives, this campaign has been designed around direct field-level engagement. Across 30 States and Union Territories, district administrations, Tribal Welfare Departments, Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs), healthcare workers, volunteers and community institutions are conducting outreach camps directly in tribal villages and remote habitations. The approach is simple but important: instead of expecting citizens to travel to administrative offices, governance systems are travelling to the villages. For many remote communities, this reduces both the financial and logistical burden of accessing welfare services.

The Scale of the Outreach: The scale of mobilization has been substantial. According to campaign data compiled so far, the outreach effort has already been recorded:

• More than 57,000 outreach camps and field activities,
• Over 90 Lakh direct tribal beneficiaries’ engagements,
• 1.52 Lakh MGNREGA facilitation interventions,
• 2.27 Lakh Aadhaar service interventions,
• 1.76 Lakh Ayushman Bharat enrolments,
• 1.09 Lakh Ration card facilitation activities,
• 98,000+ caste certificate assistance cases,
• Nearly 1.19 Lakh Sickle Cell Disease screening activities,
• and more than 70,000 pension-related service interventions.

Many additional interventions linked to Jan Dhan Yojana, Kisan Credit Cards, Poshan Vatikas, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, PM Matru Vandana Yojana and PM Vishwakarma are also being undertaken simultaneously.

Awareness and Community Participation: Another important feature of the campaign is its emphasis on grassroots awareness and public participation. Field reports indicate that the outreach drive has also included:

• 37,000+ awareness hoardings and IEC installations,
• 21,000+ selfie points across camps and outreach locations,
• and ~20,000 wall paintings in tribal habitations.

These activities help improve awareness regarding welfare schemes and encouraging greater community participation, especially in areas where information gaps often prevent eligible citizens from accessing government benefits. The campaign has also included Jan Sunwais, village-level interaction sessions and awareness activities involving local volunteers and community institutions.

Beyond Welfare Delivery: Janjatiya Garima Utsav is also attempting to move beyond a purely welfare-centric approach. Across states, tribal dance festivals, handicraft exhibitions, youth engagement programmes, entrepreneurship showcases, and digital inclusion workshops are being organised alongside service delivery camps. This broader approach reflects an effort to position tribal communities not merely as beneficiaries of government schemes, but also as contributors to local economies, cultural preservation and emerging livelihood ecosystems. The inclusion of entrepreneurship and digital outreach components is especially relevant as tribal regions increasingly become part of larger conversations around financial inclusion, skilling and local economic development.

An Important Administrative Shift: Janjatiya Garima Utsav does not claim to solve every challenge facing tribal India. Structural issues relating to healthcare, livelihoods, education, connectivity and institutional capacity remain substantial and will require sustained long-term intervention. However, the campaign does point towards an important administrative shift. It recognises that governance in remote geographies cannot rely only on schemes announced from capitals. Effective delivery requires physical outreach, local facilitation and continuous engagement at the village level. For years, welfare systems often depended on citizens repeatedly approaching the administration for support. Campaigns like Janjatiya Garima Utsav are attempting to reverse that model by taking governance closer to the citizen.

The National Conclave on 3 June, 2026: The conclave will focus on strengthening the institutional systems responsible for tribal development delivery across the country, including governance reforms, convergence mechanisms and technology-enabled service delivery.

As part of the inaugural session, the Hon'ble President will virtually inaugurate the Training Fab established at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. This facility has been developed with the support of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to provide tribal students with access to advanced training and hands-on exposure in semiconductor fabrication and emerging technologies, thereby preparing them for opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing strategic sectors.

The Hon'ble President will also inaugurate 75 Space Labs established across Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) in different parts of the country. These Space Labs are supported by BPCL and designed to ignite scientific curiosity and innovation among tribal students through experiential learning in astronomy, space science, robotics and emerging technologies. The initiative is expected to create new pathways for tribal youth to engage with STEM education and pursue careers in science and technology.

During the National Conclave, the Ministry will also launch the film "Sabse Door Sabse Pehle", showcasing the transformative impact of Janjatiya Garima Utsav and the Government's sustained efforts to ensure inclusive development and empowerment of tribal communities across the country.

The deliberations will focus on four thematic areas: Institutional Framework and Human Resources; Fund Flow and Financial Architecture; Monitoring, Evaluation and Information Technology; and Convergence and Scheme Delivery. The discussions are expected to culminate in a National Roadmap for strengthening ITDAs and ITDPs, which constitute the primary field-level institutions for implementation of tribal development programmes in the country.The Conclave forms part of the Ministry's broader efforts to strengthen governance, improve service delivery mechanisms and accelerate socio-economic development in tribal-majority regions through evidence-based policy interventions and institutional reforms.

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