Government Targets Socio-Economic Upliftment Of Tribals

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, is responsible for the planning and coordination of programmes aimed at the development of tribal communities. Their main objective is to provide a more focused approach on the integrated socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, spoke to BE’s Madhu Raina on current initiatives undertaken by his department.

- Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor

Q. Is the government assessing the living conditions of scheduled tribes in order to ensure their actual development?

A. Assessment of the living conditions of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) is made through the decennial Census conducted by the Office of Registrar General of India, through large scale sample surveys conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) which is organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and by various surveys conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and through the Agricultural Census conducted by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Several steps are being taken by our department to improve the socio-economic conditions of our targeted communities. the Mechanism of Project Appraisal Committee (PAC) has been introduced in 2014 for the appraisal and approval of projects of the state governments under the Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution and Scheme for Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The committee is headed by Secretary (Tribal Affairs) with representatives from the state governments, the Financial Advisor and representatives from NITI Aayog among others. Through the process of PAC, detailed discussions are made with the state government representatives of tribal development departments at the time of appraisal and approval of the proposals that are received from the states.