 "tribal ministry")
Union Budget 2024 to be tabled in the Parliament by the Narendra Modi government in the later half of July, expected to have more than Rs 5 trillion worth of plans for the tribal community, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram said on Wednesday.
In an interview to news agency ANI, Oram said that an overall 7.5 per cent of the budget has been kept for the tribal community, citing contributions from each ministry as they all have a tribal welfare component.
“We have a budget of more than Rs 5 trillion for the tribal community that can be spent on their welfare projects,” the newly inducted union minister said.
In the interim budget announced on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had allocated Rs 1.3 trillion to the tribal affairs ministry, a massive 70 per cent boost compared to the financial year 2023-24.
What projects are underway for tribal welfare?
According to Oram’s statement, the Centre is working to constitute 740 Eklavya Model schools. The initiative is aimed at boosting the educational infrastructure for the tribal students.
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“We have funds of more than Rs 1.50 trillion available for the project,” the tribal minister added.
A 2021 data released by the Centre shows that of the 620 sanctioned Eklavya Model schools, 367 schools are functional across India.
Oram also spoke about the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) - Aajeevika initiative aimed at increasing the income of the tribal population. “We have provided MSPs on more than 87 products (under the scheme),” he said.
He also said that the Centre has worked to make 3,958 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra operational. The scheme, launched in 2018 by Prime Minister Modi, is aimed at providing support to the tribal community through their knowledge of forests and forest related products.
He further mentioned National Education Society (NEST), a body constituted to improve the education quality for the tribal students.
What is the tribal population in India?
According to the Census 2011, the tribal population constitutes about 8.9 per cent of the total population of India. They remain one of the most alienated groups in the population when it comes to receiving the benefits of government’s policies.
A report released by the World Inequality Database in March, flagged that India’s income inequality at present is higher than observed during the inter-war colonial period. The report that said in 2022-23, 22.6 per cent of national income went to just the top 1 per cent.
Poverty levels among tribal communities
According to the 2018 report of the ‘Expert Committee on Tribal Health’, 90 per cent of its population resides in rural areas, concentrated in ten states and in the North-East. The report also says that two third of them (based on Census 2011) are heavily dependent on the agriculture sector for their livelihood.
Among the scheduled tribes (STs), the Centre says that their population living below the poverty line in rural areas has declined from 62.3 per cent in 2004-05 to 45.3 per cent in 2011-12. The same in case of urban areas has declined from 35.5 per cent in 2004-05 to 24.1 per cent in 2011-12.
