Lok Sabha Question No. 5237 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-04
Subject: Empowerment of Tribal Community
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Nihal Chand Chauhan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- †5237

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 04/04/2022

## EMPOWERMENT OF TRIBAL COMMUNITY

†5237. SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- a)  the  names  of  the  scheme  being  implemented  by  the  Government  for  the  empowerment  of  tribal communities in the country during the last three years;
2. (b) the main objectives of these schemes along with achievements made so far in this regard;
3. (c) the number of tribal communities benefited from these schemes so far; and
4. (d) the improvements witnessed so far in the living standard of the tribal people?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c): Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing various schemes/programmes for the empowerment and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes in the country. Details of the schemes/programmes implemented by the Ministry are given at Annexure- I .

Besides Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 40 Central Ministries / Departments have been obligated by NITI Aayog for earmarking in the range of 4.3 to 17.5 percent of their total Scheme allocation every year as Tribal Sub Plan  (TSP)/Scheduled  Tribe  Component  (STC)  funds  for  tribal  development.  TSP  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 in the country.

The year-wise beneficiaries under some Schemes of Ministry of Tribal Affairs during last three  years are given at Annexure II.

(d): Data  pertaining to decennial Census, management information system, sample surveys conducted by different  Ministries  /  Departments  of  Government  of  India,  reveal  that  over  the  years  there  have  been considerable improvements in living conditions of the Scheduled Tribes (STs), for example, literacy rate for STs  has  improved  from  47.1%  in  2001  to  59%  in  2011.  Further,  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS) report (July 2019 - June 2020) reveals that literacy rate for STs increased to 70.1%. According to Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) Plus reports published by Ministry of Education, Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for ST students at Secondary (classes IX-X) level has increased from 62.4% in

2012-13 to 76.7% in 2019-20. As per National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in respect of Scheduled Tribes, Infant Mortality Rate has declined from 62.1 (2005-06) to 44.4 (2015-16); Under Five Mortality Rate has declined from 95.7 (2005-06) to 57.2 (2015-16), and Institutional Delivery has increased from 17.7% in 2005-06 to 68.0 % in 2015-16. Further, percentage of Underweight (weight-for age) ST children under age five years has declined from 54.5 in 2005-06 to 45.3 in 2015-16.  Erstwhile Planning Commission estimated that percentage of ST people living below the poverty line in rural areas has declined from 62.3% in 2004-05 to 45.3% in 2011-12. Also, percentage of ST people living  below  the  poverty  line  in  urban  areas  has  declined  from  35.5%  in  2004-05  to  24.1%  in  2011-12. However, there are still gaps in human development indicators between STs and all India population.

Annexure I referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. † 5237 for 04.04.2022 by SHRI NIHAL CHAND regarding 'EMPOWERMENT OF TRIBAL COMMUNITY'

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 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    State  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): Eklavya  Model  Residential  Schools  (EMRSs)  were introduced in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education exclusively to ST children with an 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 every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 ST persons will be eligible to 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.

(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)  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/UT like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where it is 90:10. For UTs without legislature sharing pattern is 100% Central share.

(v) 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 post-secondary 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/UT of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir where it is 90:10. For UTs without legislature sharing pattern is 100% Central share.

(vi) National Overseas Scholarships for ST Candidates: The Scheme provides for financial assistance to selected students to pursue Post Graduation, PhD & Post-Doctoral 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.

## (vii) 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.

(viii)  Special    Central    Assistance    to    Tribal    Sub-Scheme    (SCA    to    TSS)/Pradhan  Mantri  Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY): 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,  minor infrastructure, etc. to bridge the gap between Scheduled Tribe (ST) population and others as a critical gap filling measure. The Scheme has been revamped as Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY).

The  Ministry  has  analysed  Mission  Antyodaya  data  collated  by  Ministry  of  Rural  Development  and  has identified 36,428 villages with 50% ST population and 500 STs to be covered under PMAAGY.  Relevant schemes  of  different  Central  Ministries  have  been  identified  based  on  Tribal  Sub  Plan  allocation.  States would also be encouraged to supplement with State TSP funds, District Mineral Funds (DMF) and Finance Commission  grants.  Under  PMAAGY,  20.38  lakh  per  village  as  'Gap-filling'  for  approved  activities including administrative expenses will be provided by the Ministry.

(ix) 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     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.

(x)  Pradhan  Mantri  Jan  Jatiya  Vikas  Mission  (PMJVM): Ministry  of Tribal Affairs  has  been implementing  a  Scheme  'Mechanism  for  Marketing  of  Minor  Forest  Produce  through  Minimum  Support Price and Development of Value Chain for MFP (MSP for MFP)' through Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development  Federation  (TRIFED),  since  2011  with  the  objective  of  providing  safety  net  to  ST  MFP gatherers.

Ministry is  implementing another scheme 'Institutional Support for Development and Marketing of Tribal Products' with 100 % grant to TRIFED and State Forest Development Corporations (SDCs) for development and marketing of tribal products.

PMJVM has  been  conceptualized  with  the  merger  of  the  above  two  Schemes  i.e.  'MSP  for  MFP'  and 'Institutional  Support  for  Development  and  Marketing  of  Tribal  Products'.  PMJVM  seeks  to  achieve livelihood driven tribal  development through quality input, technology, credit and better marketing access etc. in the next five years.

(xi)  Monitoring,  Evaluation,  Survey  and  Social  Audit  (MESSA): The  Ministry  is  responsible  for monitoring of Central and State Schedule Tribe Component as per framework and mechanism designed by NITI  Aayog.  Ministry  has  initiated  end  to  end  digitization  of  data  bases  of  various  schemes  and  has developed  scheme  specific  portals.  Still  there  is  scope  for  strengthening  the  monitoring  and  evaluation framework through digital and physical verification of the projects. Ministry is revamping the scheme with the establishment of a Central PMU to monitor the scheme and non-scheme initiatives of the ministry, which will coordinate with State level PMUs.

(xii) Support to National/State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) / Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Tribes (VCF - ST): NSTFDC was started by the Ministry in 2001 to extend  financial  assistance  at  concessional  rates  to  Scheduled  Tribes  Individuals  /  Self  Help  Groups,  Cooperative  society  for  undertaking  income  generation  activities.  The  authorized  share  capital  of  NSTFDC stands at Rs 750.00 crore, which has already been provided completely by Government. Now, the Scheme of 'VCF-ST' has been conceptualized by the Ministry with a corpus fund of Rs 50.00 crore for a period of five years  during  2021-26  for  promoting  entrepreneurship/start-up  projects  by  ST  youth.  It  is  proposed  that guidelines similar to the scheme of 'Venture Capital for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes' be adopted for the scheme.

(xiii)  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.

(xiv) 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.

Annexure II referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. † 5237 for 04.04.2022 by SHRI NIHAL CHAND regarding 'EMPOWERMENT OF TRIBAL COMMUNITY'

## Year-wise beneficiaries under some Schemes of Ministry of Tribal Affairs

|   S.N. | Scheme                                                                 | 2018-19                                                                                 | 2019-20                                                                                 | 2020-21                                                                                 |
|--------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Pre-Matric Scholarship                                                 | 1449239                                                                                 | 1451369                                                                                 | 1346479                                                                                 |
|      2 | Post-Matric Scholarship                                                | 1967029                                                                                 | 2066667                                                                                 | 2066044                                                                                 |
|      3 | National Scholarship                                                   | 1990                                                                                    | 1914                                                                                    | 2449                                                                                    |
|      4 | National Fellowship                                                    | 2519                                                                                    | 2552                                                                                    | 2625                                                                                    |
|      5 | National Overseas Scholarship                                          | 21                                                                                      | 28                                                                                      | 30                                                                                      |
|      6 | Grant-in-Aid to Voluntary Organizations Working for Welfare of STs     | 2350376                                                                                 | 1726603                                                                                 | 1249901                                                                                 |
|      7 | Enrollment in EMRSs                                                    | 65605                                                                                   | 73391                                                                                   | 90520                                                                                   |
|      8 | National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) | 70764                                                                                   | 120831                                                                                  | 169539                                                                                  |
|      9 | Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)                               | As on 22.03.2022, total 679 EMRSs have been sanctioned and of them, 367 are functional. | As on 22.03.2022, total 679 EMRSs have been sanctioned and of them, 367 are functional. | As on 22.03.2022, total 679 EMRSs have been sanctioned and of them, 367 are functional. |
|     10 | Pradhan Mantri Jan Jatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)                        | As on 31/03/2022, Kendras (VDVKs) wherein 963958 gatherers/beneficiaries                | 3225 have have                                                                          | Van Dhan Vikas been sanctioned, tribal forest been onboarded.                           |

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