Content

1. Tribal Day 2025: Building an Inclusive India Through Tribal Empowerment
2. Shree Anna for Shreshta Bharat

Tribal Day 2025: Building an Inclusive India Through Tribal Empowerment

Context & Significance

• Occasion: World Tribal Day (International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) – Aug 9, declared by UN in 1994 to raise awareness about indigenous peoples’ rights and contributions.
• India’s Indigenous Population:
  • 10.42 crore Scheduled Tribe (ST) population (~8.6% of India’s population; Census 2011).
  • Among 47.6 crore indigenous people across 90 countries.
• Government Philosophy: “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas” – focus on inclusive development and ensuring no tribal community is left behind.

Relevance : GS 1(Society ) , GS 2(Social Issues)

Budgetary & Institutional Framework

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs budget:
  • 2014–15: ₹4,497.96 crore
  • 2024–25: ₹13,000 crore (~3× increase).

• Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST):
  • Mandates 4.3%–17.45% of budgets in 42 central ministries/departments for tribal development.
  • Funding growth: ₹21,525.36 crore (2013–14) → ₹1,24,908 crore (2024–25) (~5× increase).
  • Covers 200+ schemes across education, health, agriculture, skill development, livelihoods, sanitation.

• DAPST expenditure (last 5 years):
  • 2020–21: ₹48,084.10 crore
  • 2021–22: ₹82,530.58 crore
  • 2022–23: ₹90,972.76 crore
  • 2023–24: ₹1,03,452.77 crore
  • 2024–25 (Provisional): ₹1,04,436.24 crore

Flagship Village & PVTG Programs

PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan (PM JUGA / Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan)

• Launched: 2 Oct 2024, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand.
• Budget: ₹79,156 crore (till 2029).
• Coverage: ~63,843 tribal-majority villages & 112 Aspirational Districts.
• Progress (July 2025):
  • 4 lakh+ pucca houses completed.
  • 26,513 villages with piped water supply.
  • 2,212 villages with mobile connectivity.
  • 282 Anganwadi centres operational.
  • 692 hostels sanctioned.

PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN)

• Target Group: 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) (~47.5 lakh people, 19 states/UTs).
• Budget: ₹24,104 crore.
• Defining traits of PVTGs:
  • Pre-agricultural tech
  • Low literacy
  • Economic backwardness
  • Declining/stagnant population
• Key progress (till June 2025):
  • Pucca houses: 90,892 completed (target: 4.90 lakh).
  • Piped water: 6,737 villages covered (target: 19,375).
  • Mobile towers: 901 habitations covered (target: 4,543).
  • Electrification: 92,311 households (target: 1.43 lakh).

Governance & Capacity Building

Aadi Karmayogi – Responsive Governance Programme

• Goal: Train 20 lakh grassroots tribal functionaries for better service delivery.
• Approach: Cascading training via Regional & State Process Labs.
• Integration: Works with PM JUGA & PM JANMAN to improve convergence, transparency, and participation.

Livelihood & Entrepreneurship

PM Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PM JVM)

• Started: 2021; Implemented via TRIFED.
• Focus: Tribal entrepreneurship, forest-based livelihoods.
• Events: 79 artisan melas, 50 exhibitions (2022–25).

Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs)

• Structure: Each cluster = 15 SHGs (300 beneficiaries); funding: ₹15 lakh/cluster.
• Coverage:
  • 4,661 VDVKs sanctioned; 12.8 lakh beneficiaries.
  • Sales: ₹129.86 crore total.

Tribal Startups

• Initiative: Dharti Aaba TribePreneurs (April 2025).
• Support: ₹50 crore Venture Capital Fund for ST entrepreneurs; tie-ups with IIMs, IITs, IFCI, META.
• Recognition: Startups from Sikkim & Nagaland awarded for D2C travel services & sustainable agri-tech.

Education & Scholarships

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)

• Current: 479 schools, 1.38 lakh students.
• Planned: 728 schools for 3.5 lakh students.
• Funding growth: ₹922.39 crore (2020–21) → ₹4,053.87 crore (2024–25).
• Staffing: 9,075 filled posts out of 38,480 sanctioned.
• Digital & Skill Initiatives:
  • Smart classrooms, DTH channel, computer labs, Amazon Future Engineer, skill labs.
  • IIT-JEE/NEET coaching partnerships (Avanti Fellows, Tata Motors).

Scholarships (2019–20 to 2024–25)

• Post Matric: 1.01 crore beneficiaries; ₹13,380.86 crore.
• Pre Matric: 54.41 lakh; ₹1,851.64 crore.
• National Fellowship: 0.16 lakh; ₹671.41 crore.
• Top Class Education: 0.22 lakh; ₹283.57 crore.
• National Overseas Scholarship: 269 students; ₹28.74 crore.

Health Interventions

• National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission (2023–2047): Target screening 7 crore people in tribal areas.
• Bhagwan Birsa Munda Chair of Tribal Health at AIIMS Delhi; 15 Centres of Competence in 14 states.

Rights & Legal Safeguards

• Forest Rights Act, 2006: 25.11 lakh land titles distributed to tribals & forest dwellers (till May 2025).
• NCSTGRAMS: Online grievance redressal; 1,747 cases registered in FY 2025–26 (till Aug 7).

Cultural Preservation

• Tribal Research Institutes (29): Document heritage, languages, folk arts. Funding (2020–25): ₹265.94 crore.
• Tribal Freedom Fighter Museums (11 sanctioned; 3 completed): Ranchi, Jabalpur, Chhindwara.
• Festivals:
  • Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (15 Nov).
  • Aadi Mahotsav – national platform; 2025 edition saw 600 artisans, 500 performers, MoUs with corporates & NIFT.

Strategic Implications for Inclusive Development

• Holistic approach: Combining infrastructure, health, education, livelihoods, rights, and culture.
• Budgetary commitment: Significant long-term scaling of central allocations.
• Decentralized delivery: PM JUGA & PM JANMAN’s village-level interventions target last-mile connectivity.
• Integration with Aspirational Districts Programme ensures high-impact targeting in lagging regions.
• Challenges ahead:
  • Geographic remoteness & dispersed populations.
  • High disease burden (sickle cell).
  • Need for sustainable livelihoods beyond state support.
  • Preservation of culture amid rapid integration.

Shree Anna for Shreshta Bharat

Basics of Millets

• Definition & Types
  • Small-grained cereals, drought-resistant, adaptable to various soils and climates.
  • Major millets: Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl millet (Bajra), Finger millet (Ragi).
  • Small millets: Little millet (Kutki), Kodo millet (Kodo), Barnyard millet (Sawa), Foxtail millet (Kangni), Proso millet (Cheena).

• Nutritional Profile
  • High in protein, fibre, vitamins (B-complex), minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium).
  • Gluten-free, low glycaemic index → suitable for diabetics and celiac patients.
  • Superior nutritional quality vs wheat & rice → “Nutritious Cereals” / “Shree Anna”.

• Climate Resilience
  • Requires less water, grows in degraded soils, withstands temperature extremes.
  • Short crop cycle → better fit for climate-smart agriculture.

Relevance : GS 2(Governance ) , GS 3(Agriculture)

India’s Global Standing & Production Trends

• Largest Producer Globally: 38.4% of global millet production (FAO, 2023).
• Production (2024–25): 180.15 lakh tonnes — ↑4.43 lakh tonnes from previous year.
• Top Producing States (2024–25):
  • Rajasthan
  • Maharashtra
  • Karnataka
• Crop-wise share: Bajra (largest) > Jowar > Ragi > Small millets.

Policy & Budgetary Support

Cultivation Support

• National Food Security Mission – Nutri Cereals
  • Covers 28 States + UTs of J&K and Ladakh.
  • Includes major & small millets.
  • Assistance: cluster demonstrations, HYV seeds, modern farm machinery, irrigation tools, soil health inputs, farmer training.
  • Umbrella scheme under Krishionnati Yojana: ₹8,000 crore (2025–26).

• Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM RKVY)
  • Flexible for states’ priorities including millets.
  • Budget: ₹8,500 crore (2025–26).

Processing & Value Chain Development

1. PM-FME Scheme
   1. Focus: Micro food processing units (incl. millet-based products).
   1. Budget: ₹2,000 crore (2025–26).

• Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Millet-Based Products (PLISMBP)
  • Encourages RTE/RTC millet products with ≥15% millet content (domestically sourced).
  • ₹800 crore outlay (part of PLISFPI) — ₹793.27 crore approved for 29 companies.
  • Linked to ≥10% annual sales growth.

Export Promotion

• APEDA: ₹80 crore (2025–26) for millet exports.
• Exports (2024–25): 89,164.96 tonnes, worth $37 million.
• Initiatives: Export Promotion Forum, dedicated millet portal, start-up & research partnerships, branding and market linkages.

Research & Development

• ICAR – Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad
  • Global Centre of Excellence (2023).
  • Focus: HYV seeds, farmer training, value addition, FPO promotion.
  • State collaborations (Odisha, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh).

Public Procurement & Distribution

• Integrated into PM-GKAY and NFSA.
• States can substitute wheat/rice with millets under PDS upon request.
• PM-GKAY allocation: ₹2,03,000 crore (2025–26).

State-Level Best Practices

• Andhra Pradesh (APDMP): IFAD-supported drought mitigation via FPOs, minor millet varieties, millet-based recipes.
• Chhattisgarh Millet Mission (2021): Tribal inclusion, decentralised processing, ICAR-IIMR MoU for Kodo, Kutki, Ragi.
• Haryana – Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana: Price compensation (up to ₹600/qtl for Bajra), crop diversification.
• Odisha Millet Mission (2017): Tribal focus, ragi revival, millet in Anganwadi food, Millet Shakti Cafés, incubation centres, ODOP designation.
• Nagaland – NFSM Nutri-Cereals: Foxtail millet promotion, seed distribution, pest/nutrient management.

Millets Mainstreaming Framework

• Value Chain Stages:
  • Production – HYV seeds, irrigation, training.
  • Storage & Transport – post-harvest loss reduction, better storage.
  • Processing – cleaning, grading, tech adoption (esp. for small millets).
  • Packaging & Branding – nutrition labelling, organic certification, brand building.
  • Distribution – market linkages, exports, FPO collaboration.
  • Consumption – awareness drives, millet-based snacks in govt offices/events.
• Foundations: Institutional support, finance access, partnerships, policy facilitation, gender inclusion.
• Visibility: Millets Experience Centre at Dilli Haat.

Broader Significance

• Economic: Diversifies farmer income, reduces crop risk, boosts exports.
• Nutritional Security: Tackles malnutrition and lifestyle diseases.
• Climate Adaptation: Low water footprint, heat/drought tolerance.
• Social Impact: Supports tribal farmers, women’s SHGs, rural entrepreneurship.

Key Challenges Ahead

• Limited processing infrastructure in some regions.
• Consumer awareness and taste preferences still skewed towards rice/wheat.
• Need for stronger private sector investment in millet-based product innovation.
• Post-International Year of Millets momentum must be sustained through continuous policy push.