The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry is in the process of setting up a Human Development Index (HDI) for the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) to assess their social and economic situation following implementation of various welfare programmes for them across the country.
HDI is a statistical tool used to measure the overall achievement in social and economic dimensions of the targeted beneficiaries. There are around 28 lakh PVTGs in the country, as per the latest data shared by the States.
"The index will concentrate on the PVTG population which is estimated to be around 28 lakh. The aim is to understand how government schemes have benefited the PVTGs to uplift their lifestyles and livelihood. The research work will also look into the areas where improvement is required. The index will be an ongoing process," Arjun Munda , Union Tribal Affairs Minister said at a media briefing on Wednesday. He was sharing various initiatives undertaken by his government for the welfare of the tribal people in the country in the last nine years.
"Various welfare measures have been taken in the last nine years aimed for the uplift of the sector.
Munda said under the PVTGs Mission, 15,000 crore rupees will be spent in three years, focusing on improving basic facilities in the far-flung villages such as clean drinking water, sanitation, improved access to education, health, road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities. He said, there are one lakh 12 thousand tribal-dominated villages in the country and the government has set a target to develop 36,000 villages as a model village.
Setting up Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission has been another significant achievement of the Modi Government. He said adding that it will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.
Similarly, under Eklavya Model Residential Schools, in the next three years, 38,800 teachers and support staff will be recruited centrally for the 740 EMRS serving 3.5 lakh tribal students. By March 2026, in 740 such schools (480 students each), more than 3.5 lakh tribal students will have quality education. On Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh GramYojna , he said that it aims at integrated development of 36,428 villages with more than 500 tribal population and 50% or more ST persons.
"These villages are located in 458 districts, 2361 blocks and 24775 Gram Panchayats covering 332 parliamentary constituencies and 1.02 cr households and ST population of 4.2 crore. Convergence has been planned with 58 schemes of Central Government having Schedule Tribe Component & State Government Schemes to bridge various gaps. Around Rs. 7400 crore has been allocated under the program for 5 years while Rs 2000 crore has been released to states," he added.
Under Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM), steps has been taken to enhance livelihood by providing forward and backward linkages by setting up Van Dhan Vikas Kendras / Van Dhan Producer Enterprises apart from assisting the States to make procurement of Minor Forest Produce at Minimum Support Price.