Lok Sabha Question No. 4000 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-19
Subject: Employment to Tribal Communities
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Smt. Sandhya Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4000

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.12.2024

## EMPLOYMENT TO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

## 4000. SMT. SANDHYA RAY:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  the  tribal  welfare  schemes  being  implemented  by  the  Government across the country;

(b) the details of the funds allocated for the said schemes during the last five years, scheme and year-wise; and

(c) the steps being taken to provide employment to the tribal communities?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a) to (b): Government is implementing Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST) as a strategy for the development of Scheduled Tribes and areas having tribal concentration in the country.  Besides  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs,  41  Ministries/Departments  are  allocating  certain percentage  of  their  total  scheme  budget  every  year  for  tribal  development  under  DAPST  for various  tribal  development  projects  relating  to  education,  health,  agriculture,  irrigation,  roads, housing, electrification, employment generation, skill development, etc.

Further, Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing various schemes/programmes for the welfare and development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the country. Details of major schemes/programmes implemented by the Ministry are given at Annexure I .

Details of scheme-wise and year -wise fund allocated (Budget Estimates) during last five years is given at Annexure II .

(c) : The Ministry of Tribal Affairs through its two agencies namely Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED)  &  National Scheduled Tribes Finance  & Development  Corporation  (NSTFDC)  have  contributed  significantly  in  promoting  economic activities including entrepreneurship among the tribal communities.

Ministry is implementing the scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)' through TRIFED  which  envisions  to  strengthen  tribal  entrepreneurship  initiatives  and  to  facilitate livelihood opportunities by promoting more efficient, equitable, self-managed, optimum use of natural resources, Agri / Minor Forest Produce (MFPs) / Non-farm produce. Under the scheme, financial support of INR 15.00 lakhs is provided to the State Governments for setting up of each Van  Dhan  Vikas  Kendras  (VDVKs)  which  are  the  centres  of  value  addition  activities  of MFPs/Non-MFPs. So far, 3958 VDVKs have been sanctioned. TRIFED also provides backward &  forward  linkages  to  tribal  artisans  /  suppliers  for  marketing  of  tribal  products  of  various categories  like  metal  craft,  textile,  jewellery,  painting,  cane  &  bamboo,  terracotta  &  pottery, organic & natural food products etc. through online and offline platforms. TRIFED has empanelled 4990 tribal artisans / suppliers so far for procurement of tribal products. During the last five years, TRIFED has made a procurement of Rs 130.58 cr and has realized a sale of Rs. 186.02 cr.

In addition, TRIFED also organizes and participates in festivals, melas etc. to provide platforms to the tribal artisans to showcase their products and connect them to the potential buyers giving thereby an opportunity to enhance their entrepreneurship activities.

National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC), a Central Public Sector  Enterprise  (CPSE)  under  the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs,  provides  credit  linkage  by extending  concessional  loans  to  the  eligible  Scheduled  Tribe  persons  for  undertaking  income generation  activities/  self-employment  thereby  instilling  the  spirit  of  entrepreneurship.  The prominent schemes of NSTFDC are Term Loan Scheme, Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (AMSY), Micro Credit Scheme for Self Help Groups (MCF) and Adivasi Shiksha Rrinn Yojana (ASRY). During the last five years an amount of Rs. 1577.12 cr has been disbursed to 6,23,605 beneficiaries under various schemes of NSTFDC.

Annexure I referred to in reply to parts (a) to (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4000 for 19.12.2024 by SMT. SANDHYA RAY regarding 'EMPLOYMENT TO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES'

## Brief details of major schemes/programmes being implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the country:

- (i) Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan: Hon'ble PM launched Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram  Utkarsh  Abhiyan  on  2nd  October,  2024.  The  Abhiyan  comprises  of  25  interventions implemented by 17-line Ministries and aims to saturate infrastructural gaps in 63,843 villages, improve access to health, education, Anganwadi facilities and providing livelihood opportunities benefiting more than 5 crore tribals in 549 districts and 2,911 blocks in 30 States/UTs in 5 years. The Abhiyan has total budgetary outlay of Rs.79,156 Cr (Central share: ₹56,333 Cr and State share: ₹22,823 Cr).
- (ii) Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN): Government has launched  Pradhan  Mantri  Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha  Abhiyan  (PM-JANMAN)  on  15th November 2023, which is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. The mission with financial outlay of around Rs.24,000 Crore aims to saturate PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and  nutrition,  road  and  telecom  connectivity,  electrification  of  un-electrified  households  and sustainable livelihood opportunities in time bound manner in 3 years.
- (iii) Pradhan Mantri Jan Jatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Jatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM), which has been designed through  the  merger  of  two  existing  schemes  for  the  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'.

The scheme envisages fixation and declaration of Minimum Support Price for the selected MFP. Procurement and Marketing operation at pre-fixed MSP will be undertaken by the designated State Agencies in the event of the prevailing market price of the particular MFP item falling below the stipulated MSP. Simultaneously other medium and long-term issues like sustainable collection, value  addition,  infrastructure  development,  knowledge  base  expansion  of  MFP  and  market intelligence development will also be addressed.

- (iv) Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS): Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) was started in the year 2018-19 to provide quality education at par with Navodaya Vidyalaya to the  tribal  children  in  their  own  environment.  Under  the  new  scheme,  Government  decided  to establish 440 EMRSs, one EMRS in every block having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons (as per census 2011). 288 EMRS schools were initially funded under Grants under  Article  275(1)  of  the  Constitution,  which  are  being  upgraded  as  per  the  new  model. Accordingly, Ministry has set the target to set up total of 728 EMRSs benefiting around 3.5 lakh ST students across the country.

(v) Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution :  Under the Proviso to Article 275(1) of Constitution,  Grants  are  released  to  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.

(vi)  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, livelihood, etc.

(vii)  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.

(viii) 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.

(ix) 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.

## (x) 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 265 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.

(xi)  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.

Annexure II referred to in reply to part (a) to (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4000 for 19.12.2024 by SMT. SANDHYA RAY regarding 'EMPLOYMENT TO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES'

(Rs. in crore)

| Scheme                                                                  | 2019-20   | 2020-21   | 2021-22   |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| SCA to TSP (Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojna-PMAAGY)                | 1350.00   | 1350.00   | 1350.00   |   1354.38 |   1485    |
| Grants under Article 275 (1)                                            | 2662.55   | 1350.00   | 1350.00   |   1350    |   1472.1  |
| Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)                                 | 0.31      | 1313.23   | 1418.04   |   2000    |   5943    |
| Aid to Voluntary Organizations working for the Scheduled Tribes         | 110.00    | 110.00    | 110.00    |    110    |    140    |
| Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)                          | -         | -         | -         |    499    |    288.49 |
| Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTGs)             | 250.00    | 250.00    | 250.00    |    252    |    256.14 |
| Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs)                            | 100.00    | 110.00    | 120.00    |    121    |    118.64 |
| National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students | 100.00    | 100.00    | 150.00    |    145    |    145    |
| Scholarship to the ST Students for Studies Abroad                       | 2.00      | 2.00      | 3.00      |      4    |      4    |
| Pre-Matric Scholarship                                                  | 340.00    | 400.00    | 400.00    |    419    |    411.63 |
| Post-Matric Scholarship                                                 | 1613.50   | 1900.00   | 1993.00   |   1965    |   1970.77 |

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