Lok Sabha Question No. 2334 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-01
Subject: Welfare of Tribal
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Ganesh Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- †2334

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 01/08/2022

## WELFARE OF TRIBAL

## †2334.  SHRI GANESH SINGH:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has made any plan for the welfare of the tribal population of the country;
- (b) if so, the annual expenditure and the beneficiaries details, State-wise;
- (c) whether there is a provision to provide employment to skilled tribal youth; and
- (d) if so, the details of the employment provided during the last 3 years, State/ district-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SMT. RENUKA SINGH SARUTA)

(a) to (d): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the Nodal Ministry for overall policy planning and coordination  of  programmes  for  development  of  STs.  The  programmes  and  schemes  of  the Ministry  are  intended  to  support  and  supplement  the  efforts,  primarily  of  other  Central Ministries, the State Governments and partly of voluntary organizations via financial assistance and to fill critical gaps within institutions and programmes, taking into account the situation of STs. The primary responsibility for promoting the interests of Scheduled Tribes rests with all the Central Ministries.

Besides, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 41 Central Ministries / Departments have been obligated by NITI Aayog for earmarking certain percentage of their total Scheme allocation every year as STC funds for tribal  welfare and development including employment generation. STC funds are  spent  by  different  Central  Ministries  /  Departments  under  their  schemes  for  various development  projects  relating  to  education,  health,  agriculture,  irrigation,  roads,  housing, drinking water, electrification, employment generation, skill development, etc. for accelerated socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes.

The details of the schemes presently being implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for the integrated socio-economic development and welfare of the Scheduled Tribes in the country are given at Annexure 1 .

The State-wise  Central  STC  fund  expenditure  to  State  Government  &  Other  State  Agencies including Ministry of Tribal Affairs during last three years is at Annexure 2 .  The State-wise beneficiaries under all the scheme is not centrally maintained by the Government.

## Annexure 1 referred to in reply to part (a) to (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. †2334 for 01.08.2022

## Brief  details  of  Schemes/Programmes  being  implemented  by  the  Ministry  of  Tribal Affairs in the country:

- (i) Grants  under  Article  275(1)  of  the  Constitution :  Under  the  programme  of  Proviso  to Article  275(1)  of  Constitution,  Grants  are  released  to  26  States,  having  ST  population  for raising the level of Administration in Scheduled Areas and for the welfare of tribal people. This is a Special Area Programme and 100% grants are provided to States. Funds are released to the States  Governments  depending  on  the  felt  needs  of  ST  population  to  bridge  the  gap  in infrastructure  activities  in  the  fields  of  education,  health,  skill  development,  livelihood, drinking water, sanitation, etc.
- (ii) Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) : The scheme of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) was introduced in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education exclusively to  ST  children  with  in  objective  to  provide  quality  middle  and  high-level  education  to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in remote areas in order to enable them to avail of reservation in high and professional educational courses and get jobs in government and public and private sectors.  In  the  Union  Budget  of  2018-19,  Government  announced  that  'The  Government  is committed to provide the best quality education to the tribal children in their own environment. To realize this mission, it has been decided that by the year 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an Eklavya Model Residential School.  Eklavya  schools  will  be  on  par  with  Navodaya  Vidyalayas  and  will  have  special facilities  for  preserving  local  art  and  culture  besides  providing  training  in  sports  and  skill development." It was a component of Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution. In terms of the aforesaid Budget announcement, a scheme was formulated and the same was appraised and approved by EFC. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in its meeting held on 17.12.18, inter-alia approved the revamping of the EMRS Scheme.
- (iii) Grant-in  Aid  to  Voluntary  Organizations  working  for  the  welfare  of  Scheduled Tribes : Under the scheme of Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary Organizations working for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes, the Ministry funds projects in the fields of Education and Health, covering residential  schools,  non-residential  schools,  hostels,  mobile  dispensaries,  ten  or  more  bedded hospitals, etc.
- (iv) Strengthening  Education  among  ST  Girls  in  Low  Literacy  Districts :  Scheme  is exclusively for ST girls in 54 districts identified in the country, where the ST population is 25% or  more  and  ST  female  literacy  rate  is  below  35%  or  its  fractions,  as  per  2001  Census.  The scheme is being implemented through Voluntary Organisations/Non-Governmental Organisations and aims at enhancing the literacy rate of tribal girls, bridging the gap in literacy levels between the general female population and tribal women and reducing drop-outs at the elementary level by creating the required ambiance for education.
- (v )  Pre-Matric  Scholarships to  ST students: The scheme is applicable to students who are studying in Classes IX -X. Parental income from all sources should not be more than Rs.2.50 lakhs per annum. Scholarship of Rs.225/-per month for day scholars and Rs.525/-per month for hostellers  is  given  for  a  period  of  10  months  in  a  year.  Scholarship  is  disbursed  through  the

State Government/UT Administration. Funding ratio is 75:25 between Centre and States for all States except North East and Hills States like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where it is 90:10. For UT's without legislature sharing pattern is 100% Central Share.

- (vi) Post  Matric  Scholarship  to  ST  students :  The  objective  of  the  scheme  is  to  provide financial  assistance  to  the  Scheduled  Tribe  students  studying  at  post-matriculation  or  postsecondary levels to enable them to complete their education. Parental income from all sources should  not  be  more  than  Rs.2.50  lakhs  per  annum.  Compulsory  fees  charged  by  educational institutions  are  reimbursed  subject  to  the  limit  fixed  by  the  concerned  State  Fee  fixation committee and scholarship amount of Rs.230 to Rs.1200 per month, depending upon the course of  study is paid. The Scheme is implemented by the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. Funding ratio is 75:25 between Centre and States for all States except NE and Hilly States/UTs of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where it is 90:10. For UTs without legislature sharing pattern is 100% Central Share.
- (vii) National Overseas Scholarships for ST Candidates for Studying Abroad : The Scheme provides for financial assistance to selected students to pursue Post Graduation, PhD & PostDoctoral study abroad. A total of 20 awards are given every year. Of these, 17 awards are for STs and 3 awards for students belonging to Particularly  Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Parental/family income from all sources should not exceed Rs.6.00 lakhs per annum.
- (viii) National Fellowship &Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students:
- (a) National  Scholarship  -  (Top  class)  Scheme  [Graduate  level] :  The  objective  of  the scheme is to encourage meritorious ST students for pursuing studies in prescribed courses in any of the 246 institutions of excellence across the country like IITs, AIIMS, IIMs, NIITs, etc. identified by the Ministry. Family income from all sources should not exceed Rs.6.00 lakhs per  annum.  Scholarship  amount  includes  tuition  fees,  living  expenses  and  allowances  for books and computer.
- (b) National Fellowship for ST students : 750 fellowships are provided to ST students each year for pursing higher studies in India for MPhil and PhD. Fellowship is granted as per UGC norms. (Presently, @Rs.25,000/- for JRF and @Rs.28,000/- for SRF).
- (ix) Special  Central  Assistance  to  Tribal  Sub-Scheme  (SCA  to  TSS): Under  scheme  of Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) 100% grants is provided to the State Governments  for  activities related to education, health, sanitation, water supply, livelihood,  skill  development,  Ashram  Schools,  Boys  and  Girls  Hostels,  Vocational  Training Centres  (VTCs),  minor  infrastructure,  etc.  to  bridge  the  gap  between  Scheduled  Tribe  (ST) population and others as a critical gap filling measure.
- (x) Development  of  Particularly  Vulnerable  Tribal  Groups  (PVTGs): The  scheme  of Development of PVTGs covers 75 identified PVTGs among Scheduled Tribes in 18 States and UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands for the activities like education, housing, land distribution, land  development,  agricultural  development,  animal  husbandry,  construction  of  link  roads, installation of non-conventional sources of energy for lighting purpose, social security or any other innovative activity meant for the comprehensive socio-economic development of PVTGs.
- (xi) Pradhan  Mantri  Janjatiya  Vikas  Mission  (PMJVM): PMJVM  has  been  designed through the merger and extension of two existing schemes for promotion of tribal livelihood, i.e.,  'Mechanism  for  Marketing  of  Minor  Forest  Produce  (MFP)  through  Minimum  Support Price  (MSP)  and  Development  of  Value  Chain  for  MFP'  and  'Institutional  Support  for Development and Marketing of Tribal Products / Produce'. PMJVM envisions to strengthen tribal  entrepreneurship  initiatives  and  to  facilitate  the  livelihood  opportunities  by  promoting

more efficient, equitable, self-managed, optimum use of natural resources, Agri / NTFP / Nonfarm enterprises. Some of the activities supported under the scheme includes setting up of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras/Van Dhan Producer Enterprises, MFP  procurement, creation of infrastructure for improving MFP supply chain, financial support and capacity building of tribal artisans etc.

(xii) Venture  Capital  Funds  for  STs :  The  scheme  has  been  approved  during  2021-22  and aims  to  promote  entrepreneurship  among  the  Scheduled  Tribes  and  to  provide  concessional finance  to  them.  The  VCF-ST  scheme  would  be  a  social  sector  initiative  to  promote  ST entrepreneurship and to support and incubate the start-up ideas by ST youth. The scheme would be managed by the agency having expertise and experience.

(xiii) Support to National/State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporations (NSTFDC/STFDCS): National  Scheduled  Tribes  Finance  and  Development  Corporation (NSTFDC) is anapex organisation set up 10.04.2001, exclusively for economic development of Scheduled  Tribes.  The  Corporation  continues  to  function  as  a  catalytic  agent  for  promoting economic development activities of STs by providing financial assistance at concessional rates of interest.

(xiv) Support  to  Tribal  Research  Institutes  (TRIs): Ministry  extends  support  to  the  State Governments through the Scheme to set up new TRIs where it didn't exist and to strengthen functioning of existing TRIs  to carry out its core responsibility  towards  Research  & Documentations,  Training  and  capacity  building,  promotion  of  rich  tribal  heritage  etc.  To preserve  tribal  art  and  culture,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  TRI's  to  carry  out  various activities  to  preserve  and  promote  tribal  culture  and  heritage  across  the  country  through research  and  documentation,  maintenance  and  preservation  of  art  &  artefacts,  setting  up  of tribal  museum,  exchange  visits  for  the  tribals  to  other  parts  of  the  State,  organizing  tribal festivals etc. Funding under this Scheme is 100% grant-in-aid by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the TRIs on need basis with the approval of APEX Committee. TRIs prepare proposal and detailed action plan for the year along with budgetary requirement and submit it to the Ministry through State Tribal Welfare Department. Within the set of TRIs, there are cultural museum, library, training centre, research wing etc.

(xv) Tribal  Festivals,  Research  Information  and  Mass  Education :  Through  the  scheme, promotion  of  rich  tribal  cultural  heritage,  dissemination  of  information  and  creation  of awareness are given attention to which includes organization of Tribal Craft & Food Festivals, Sports,  Music,  Dance  &  Photo  Competitions,  Science,  Art  &  Craft  Expos,  Workshops, Seminars, Production of documentary films by the Ministry & States, Bringing out Publications thereby  highlighting  significant  studies,  documenting  historical  facets  of  tribal  communities, achievements  of  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  (MoTA)  &  State  Departments  besides  other advertisements etc. at regular intervals. With a view to fill the gap of research studies on tribal issues,  MoTA  recognizes  renowned  NGOs,  Research  Institutes,  Universities  where  expertise exist and which have already made a mark by carrying out pioneering research in the field of tribal  cultures  as  Centre  of  Excellences  (CoEs).  It  is  envisaged  that  CoEs  should  play  an important role in building knowledge bank to complement dedicated Activities of the Ministry.

(xvi) Marketing and Logistics Development for Promoting Tribal Products from North Eastern Region : The scheme has been approved during 2021-22 for two years which aims to strengthen livelihood opportunities for tribal artisans through increased efficiency in procurement, logistics and marketing of tribal products.

## Annexure 2 referred to in reply to part (a) to (d) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question

No. † 2334 for 01.08.2022

State/UTs wise Central STC funds released to State Government & Other State Agencies by Central Ministries including MoTA during last three years

(Rs. In Crore)

|   S.No. | State                                      |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |
|---------|--------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|       1 | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS                |      2.85 |     16.7  |     17.85 |
|       2 | ANDHRA PRADESH                             |    991.2  |    785.39 |    962.81 |
|       3 | ARUNACHAL PRADESH                          |    930.8  |   1100.61 |   1260.39 |
|       4 | ASSAM                                      |   1811.21 |   1224.78 |   2606.96 |
|       5 | BIHAR                                      |    737.61 |    728.57 |    859.71 |
|       6 | CHANDIGARH                                 |     13.76 |      9.87 |      4.83 |
|       7 | CHHATTISGARH                               |   2094.34 |   1885.03 |   3682.49 |
|       8 | DELHI                                      |   2046.56 |   3919.13 |  10253.8  |
|       9 | GOA                                        |     37.57 |     27.39 |     90.52 |
|      10 | GUJARAT                                    |   1840.58 |   1951.39 |   3580.83 |
|      11 | HARYANA                                    |     28.23 |     39.84 |    167.57 |
|      12 | HIMACHAL PRADESH                           |    381.08 |    219.08 |    349.23 |
|      13 | JAMMU AND KASHMIR                          |    617.05 |    319.07 |    541.49 |
|      14 | JHARKHAND                                  |   2039    |   1410.17 |   2222.62 |
|      15 | KARNATAKA                                  |   1034.19 |    733.93 |   1809.14 |
|      16 | KERALA                                     |    154.3  |    210.59 |    445.8  |
|      17 | LADAKH                                     |      0.14 |     19.25 |     65    |
|      18 | LAKSHADWEEP                                |      8.38 |      7.79 |      2.98 |
|      19 | MADHYA PRADESH                             |   4305.44 |   4324.06 |   8591.5  |
|      20 | MAHARASHTRA                                |   4146.78 |   6380.55 |   3890.19 |
|      21 | MANIPUR                                    |    544.33 |    566.4  |    574.74 |
|      22 | MEGHALAYA                                  |    747.05 |    935.03 |   1933.27 |
|      23 | MIZORAM                                    |    781.48 |    751.57 |   1060.45 |
|      24 | NAGALAND                                   |    886.86 |   1089.12 |   1058.67 |
|      25 | ODISHA                                     |   3448.25 |   3558.91 |   4914.44 |
|      26 | PUDUCHERRY                                 |      4.37 |      2.78 |      5.35 |
|      27 | PUNJAB                                     |    260.87 |    220.39 |    189.99 |
|      28 | RAJASTHAN                                  |   2714.99 |   2533.97 |   4921.27 |
|      29 | SIKKIM                                     |    170.18 |    103.9  |    162.54 |
|      30 | TAMIL NADU                                 |    528.92 |    608.55 |    808.88 |
|      31 | TELANGANA                                  |   1282.03 |    816.12 |   2884.21 |
|      32 | THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI ANDDAMANAND DIU |     61.1  |     80.83 |     21.18 |

| 33   | TRIPURA       |   583.38 |   441.58 | 1535.41   |
|------|---------------|----------|----------|-----------|
| 34   | UTTAR PRADESH |   984.96 |  1114.95 | 2350.17   |
| 35   | UTTARAKHAND   |   162.69 |   240.38 | 332.40    |
| 36   | WEST BENGAL   |  1785.74 |  1291.38 | 1448.64   |
|      | Total         | 38168.3  | 39669.1  | 65607.31* |

* Provisional figures

*****