Union Budget 2024: FM Nirmala Sitharaman launches ‘Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan’ for tribal welfare

The programme would cover 63,000 tribal villages, helping five crore tribal people aims to achieve saturation coverage in villages and aspirational districts.

Published on: Jul 23, 2024, 19:11:37 IST

By HT News Desk

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan to improve the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities in the country. The minister also increased the budgetary allocation for the Tribal Affairs Ministry by nearly 70 per cent, during the budget presentation.

Funds of ₹13,000 crore has been allocated by the government this year to the tribal affairs ministry compared to ₹7,605 crore in the previous financial year, said Minister Sitharaman. (ANI)

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The programme which would cover 63,000 tribal villages, benefiting five crore tribal people, aims to achieve saturation coverage in villages and aspirational districts(districts affected by poor socio-economic indicators) majorly inhabited by tribal families, Sitharaman was quoted by PTI as saying.

Funds of ₹13,000 crore have been allocated by the government this year to the tribal affairs ministry compared to ₹7,605 crore in the previous financial year.

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To provide quality education to tribal students in remote areas, funds worth ₹6,399 have been allocated to establish Eklavya model residential schools or EMRS.

Established in the year 1997-98, EMRS aims to make it possible for ST students from remote areas to reach out for better educational and employment opportunities. According to the official website of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, each school has a capacity of 480 students from classes 6 to 12.

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Budgetary allocation for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Minorities" has been increased from ₹2,959.43 crore in 2023-24 to ₹6,611.69 crore in 2024-25, reported ANI.

Financial support for Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY) under which funds are provided to states and UTs with notified ST populations has been increased from ₹300 crore in 2023-24 to ₹1,000 crore in 2024-25. PMAAGY funds are utilised for the development and welfare of tribal people, in an attempt to bridge the gaps in different sectors such education, health, agriculture, skill development, and employment-cum-income generation.

However, falling from ₹230 crore in 2023-24 to ₹165 crore in 2024-25, the budgetary allocation for the "National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students" has decreased.

(with PTI inputs)

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