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Tribal Rights
The central government has increased the budget for the Union Tribal Ministry by over 45 per cent compared to the last year, allocating more funds to bridge infrastructure gaps in tribal-dominated areas across the country. For 2025-26, the ministry has been allocated Rs 14,925.81 crore, up from Rs 10,237.33 crore in 2024-25. Eklavya Model Residential Schools, which provide quality education to tribal students, will receive Rs 7,088.60 crore, up from Rs 4,748 crore last year. The budget for the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission, which ensures year-round income-generating opportunities for tribals, has been increased from Rs 152 crore to Rs 380 crore. The government has allocated Rs 335.97 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY), compared to Rs 127.51 crore last year. Under PMAAGY, funds are provided to states and union territories with Scheduled Tribe (ST) populations to improve education, healthcare, agriculture, skill development and employment ...
A parliamentary standing committee has expressed concern over the lack of funds disbursed to key states under the Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) scheme during 2022-23. No allocations were made to states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which have significant tribal populations, making the Committee to question how planned developmental work was carried out in the absence of resources. The parliamentary panel report on Social Justice and Empowerment for demand for grants by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs emphasised the need to avoid the pitfalls of previous programmes, citing underutilisation of allocated funds, delays in submission of utilisation certificates by states and procedural inefficiencies. The report was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. "The Committee note that during the period 2020-21 to 2022-23, the budgetary allocation made under Development of particularly vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVT
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) on Thursday said that its members would stage non-violent demonstrations on June 24 to press for its demand for a Union territory for Kuki-Zo people of Manipur. The ITLF, in a statement, said that they would also protest autonomous district council elections, which the tribal outfit alleged created divisions among the Kuki-Zo people. "We request everyone to join in great numbers in order to demonstrate our political demands," it said. Rallies will be taken out in Pherzwal, Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts, where total shutdown will be imposed on the day. "We have demanded separation from Manipur, and so far, there has been no settlement to our political demands," it said, urging people not to participate in the ADC polls.
Veteran BJP leader Jual Oram, who holds the distinction of being the country's first Tribal Affairs minister, assumed the responsibility again on Friday and said tribal education and health will be the top priorities of the Modi government. The 63-year-old leader made his way to the Lok Sabha for the fifth time after defeating BJD candidate and former Indian Hockey captain Dilip Tirkey by 1,38,808 votes on his home turf Sundargarh in Odisha. "This is the third time I am taking charge of the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry. I pray to Lord Jagannath, and I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this responsibility," Oram told reporters after taking charge. He said tribal education and health will be the Modi government's top priorities. "The biggest issue in the tribal areas of the country is education. I thank PM Modi for working on the issue. I told PM Modi this when I met him in the first Modi government. He asked what one thing is the most important for tribals. I said education.
Crammed into a tiny room and learning for about five to six hours may not be what children look forward to. But it's obvious that the seven-odd children, aged between 3 and 10, are really happy to be sitting inside the spanking new anganwadi at the Nagarhole Gadde Hadi, a settlement consisting of about 60 families of the Jenu Kuruba tribe in the forests of Nagarhole in Karnataka. The children are aware that it's a privilege that no one before them had enjoyed the anganwadi is the only pucca construction in that forest settlement. The 12x12 room suddenly popped up in July last year, after years of cajoling, possibly because the election is round the corner, said anganwadi worker J K Bhagya. "We even got a toilet. Before this we were operating from a shed," she added, pointing to a bamboo structure with a tarpaulin for the roof next door. These few and far between sops for votes' are the reason why the Jenu Kuruba community, which is fighting the government for decades for even the
The Congress on Monday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "failed" to protect the rights of tribal communities in Chhattisgarh and asked whether he will ever meaningfully commit himself to tribal welfare. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to Prime Minister Modi ahead of his rally in Bastar. "The dealings of the BJP here (Bastar) have shown that their friendship with corporate cronies runs much deeper than their sense of duty to the people," he said. "We hope that the PM can shed some light on why he has failed to protect the rights of tribal communities in the state," Ramesh said. He claimed that the dense, biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Aranya forest, considered the "lungs of the state" are under threat from the BJP and their "favourite crony", Adani Enterprises. "When the Congress Party was in power, we had 40 coal blocks in this forest cancelled by the Union Coal Ministry to protect the sacred forest. Since the BJP has returned, they have reversed th
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which came into effect on Monday, will not be implemented in most tribal areas in Northeastern states, including those granted special status under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution. According to the law, it is not going to be implemented in all Northeastern states where Inner Line Permit (ILP) is required for a visit by people of other parts of the country. The ILP is in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. The tribal areas, where autonomous councils were created under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution, were also exempted from the purview of the CAA, officials said quoting from the rues of the law that were notified on Monday. Such autonomous councils are in existence in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. These include Karbi Anglong, Dila Hasao and Bodoland Territorial Council areas in Assam, Garo Hills in Meghalaya and tribal areas in Tripura. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, ..
At least 26 combatants and an unconfirmed number of bystanders were killed in a gunbattle between warring tribes in Papua New Guinea, police said Monday. A tribe, their allies and mercenaries were on their way to attack a neighboring tribe when they were ambushed Sunday in Enga province in the South Pacific nation's remote highlands, Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Acting Superintendent George Kakas said. Police Commissioner David Manning later described the clash as a gunbattle between warring tribes. An unconfirmed number of villagers also were killed. Police reinforcements were sent to the scene of the battle, Manning said. At this point, it's not clear exactly how far we have moved into the conflict there, Manning told Australian Broadcasting Corp. But the intent is to regain control or have a significant presence in that conflict area and then work...our way through our procedures in dealing with this type of incident. Kakas initially said 53 combatants had died. But secur
Terming the ruling BJD in Odisha as anti-tribal, opposition BJP alleged that the state government rolled out special packages for tribals only to woo them ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections. The BJD's programmes for adivasis are a poll gimmick to mislead the one-crore tribal population in the state, Opposition chief whip Mohan Charan Majhi told reporters here on Tuesday. They were actually planning to grab tribal land for corporate houses by amending the Odisha Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (by Scheduled Tribes) Regulation. However, the government failed in its bid in the wake of strong protests from different quarters, Majhi claimed. The Odisha Cabinet on Monday withdrew its earlier decision on tribal land transfer to non-tribals. The BJP leader also mocked the cabinet's approval of a new scheme Laghu Bana Jatiya Drabya Kraya (LABHA) to assure minimum support prices for minor forest produces. With the elections approaching, the state govern
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the BJP wants to confine tribal people to forests and deprive them of education and other opportunities. Addressing his first public meeting in Assam as part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi claimed the Congress recognises the rights of 'adivasis' over resources as first dwellers. "We call you advisasi which means the first dwellers. The BJP calls you vanvasi, which means people who live in forests," Gandhi said. He alleged the BJP, which leads a coalition government in the state, wants to confine the tribals to the forests, and deprive their children of the opportunities to go to schools and universities, learn English and run businesses. "We want what is yours should be returned to you. Your water, land, forest should be yours," Gandhi said, addressing the gathering of predominantly tribal people in the island district of Majuli. The Yatra, led by Gandhi, commenced from Manipur on January 14 and will culminate on March 20 or 2