01 FEB ,Delhi: The Budget for FY 2023-24 was announced today. The overall outlay for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is Rs. 12461.88 cr, i.e an increase of 70.69% over the previous year’s Revised Estimate (RE) of Rs.7301.00 crore. Finance Minister has made the following announcements for the betterment of Tribals :
Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission – to saturate the PVTG families 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 and sustainable livelihood opportunities. An allocation of Rs.15,000 cr. will be made for this Mission in the next three years
National Sickle Cell Elimination Mission – to be implemented jointly by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with ICMR and States concerned. The Mission will cover preventive, curative and management aspects of this genetic disease in an integrated manner.
Central Recruitment of Teachers for EMRSs – A total of 38,000 teachers and support staff shall be recruited in the next few years for the Ekalavya Model Residential Schools which will benefit 3.5 lakh tribal students.
Increase in Allocations
Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal Ministry for the overall policy, planning and coordination of programs for the development of the Scheduled Tribes. The programs and schemes of the Ministry support and supplement, through financial assistance, the efforts of other Central Ministries, the State Governments, and voluntary organizations, and fill critical gaps taking into account the needs of Scheduled Tribes. To enable the Ministry to achieve its objectives, there has been enhanced budgetary allocation for the Ministry Tribal Affairs for welfare of STs over the years. The budget allocation of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been substantially increased from Rs.4295.94 crore in 2013-14 to Rs.12461.88 crore in 2023-24 i.e. an increase of around 190.01 %.
Under Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) now known as Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST), besides Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 41 Ministries/ Departments are allocating funds in the range of 4.3 to 17.5 per cent of their total scheme allocation every year for tribal development projects relating to education, health, agriculture, irrigation, roads, housing, electrification, employment generation, skill development, etc. DAPST fund allocation has increased about five and half times since 2013-14 (from Rs.21,525.36 crore (Actual Expenditure) in 2013-14 to Rs.1,17,943.73 crore in BE 2023-24).
Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, noted that, “I congratulate Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for declaring a comprehensive Budget that focuses on tribal affairs and related concerns. This budget emphasises on the provision of various benefits and equal opportunities for tribals in remote regions of our country, reaching the last mile. Considering this vision, our Ministry has prepared a roadmap for the upliftment, empowerment, and welfare of tribals and will collaborate with other central Ministries for building a strong and progressive India.”
