New Delhi: As Bharat recently celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Dharti Aaba Bhagwan Birsa Munda (now being observed as Janjati Gaurav Divas) on November 15 to honor one of the greatest son of motherland hailing from the tribal community who sacrificed his all, fighting the oppression of the colonial forces, here is how the initiatives launched by the incumbent Union Government for tribals have immensely benefited the community in the last one decade.
Several welfare initiatives have been launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government in the past one decade, aimed at uplifting the tribal community with a whopping 231 per cent surge in budgetary allocation from 2014-15 to 2024-25.
In the Union Budget 2025, the overall allocation made by the government for development of Scheduled Tribes (ST) which makes up around 8.6 percent of Bharat’s population stands at Rs 14925 crore, marking an impressive increase from Rs 10237 crore allocated in 2024-25. Significantly the budgetary allocation made by the government for the financial year 2014-15 was around Rs 4400 crore.
Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan – PMJUGA
Launched in October last year, the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan PM-JUGA or the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan aims to benefit over 5 crore people that covers almost half of the Bharat’s 10 crore tribal population through comprehensive development initiatives.
PM-JUGA is the largest tribal development program in Bharat’s history with seventeen-line ministries collaborating on the scheme for the socio-economic development of the triabl communities across Bharat.
These ministries are working in collaboration to bridge critical gaps in social infrastructure, healthcare, education and livelihood in tribal pockets. Villages with a population of 500 Janjatis or 50 per cent tribal residents have been covered under the scheme.
The scheme with an allocated budget of Rs 79156 crores with the Union Government contributing the lion share of more than Rs 56000 crores and the rest from the state governments aims to develop over 63000 tribal dominated villages in 549 districts of the country.
The scheme aims to build around 20 lakh Pucca houses for tribals out of which 11 lakhs have received sanctioned while more than 76000 houses have been built already.
Moreover, a total of 180000 households have also been sanctioned for electrification under the scheme. In terms of drinking water over 28000 villages have already been saturated with clean drinking water out of the total sanctioned 65000 villages.
As of June 2025, the government has approved 3420 projects related to upgradation of Aashram schools and tribal residential schools alongside approving proposals to support tribal fisherman and farmers. The government under the scheme has also approved 15 Centre of Competence for Sickle Cell Disease in 14 states.
In terms of connecting tribal populated remote areas to telecom connectivity, the government has sanctioned more than 4500 villages out of which over 2900 have already been covered.
The government under the scheme further aims to build 25000 kilometers of roads along developing 1000 tribal homestay to promote tourism. The scheme also aims to establish 700 Poshan Vatikas – Nutrition centres under the National Ayush Mission.
The government through the scheme also aims to develop skilling centres in tribal areas alongside running training centres called Van Dhan Vikas Kendra – Forest-based livelihood centres.
“Last year, ‘Dharti Aba Janjati Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan’ was launched on Gandhi Jayanti. The benefits of that campaign will reach over 50 million tribal brothers and sisters across the country. In 2023, Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN Abhiyan) was launched for the social and economic development of 75 PVTG communities. All these schemes are testament to the priority the government gives to tribal communities”: President of Bharat Droupadi Murmu
The flagship initiative also aims to connect 5000 villages to high-speed broadband connectivity alongside upgrading 6000 Anganwadi centres. Around 2000 new Aanganwadi centres will also come up under the scheme.
Under the Ujjawala Yojna, the scheme aims to provide liquefied petroleum gas connections to 25 lakh households.
PM JANMAN scheme and the work done in last one decade
The PM-JUGA builds upon the PM JANMAN scheme which was focused more towards improving the living condition of the people from the tribal community.
The scheme focuses on improving the living standards of around 28 lakhs individuals across 22000 villages across the country. As of March, last year over 1.89 lakhs houses have been completed under the scheme.
The government has also provided piped water connection for more than 2.9 lakhs household alongside construction of around 3000km roads under the scheme. Moreover, the government under the initiative has electrified more than 1.2 lakhs household and sanctioned another 5000 households under the New Solar Plant Scheme.
Further upgradation of more than 1000 Aanganwadi centres have also been done under the scheme with 100 functional hostels. The government has also setup over 500 Van Dhan Kendra and installed over 220 mobile towers covering around 550 villages to boost connectivity.
Other than the PM-JUGA and PM-JANMAN, there are various other initiatives through which the government is aiming holistic development in the tribal populated zones. This includes initiatives likes the Post Matric Scholarship and the National Fellowship Scheme which have benefited over 1.18 crore students.
Honouring and celebrating tribal heritage
One of the most significant steps taken by the incumbent Union Government relates to honouring and celebrating the Janjatiya pride and its glorious heritage. The decision to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dharti Aba Bhagwan Birsa Munda as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas was long overdue.
The government for the past 4 years is not only widely celebrating the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas but it has also sanctioned construction of as many as 11 ‘Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ across 10 states in the country to honour the contribution of the tribal heroes’ in Bhartiya freedom struggle.
The government has also announced to develop a national memorial at Mangar Dham near the Rajasthan-Gujrat border where 1500 tribal freedom fighters lost their lives in a mass shooting by the British.
“Tribal pride has been an integral part of India’s consciousness for thousands of years. Whenever the question of the country’s honour, self-respect, and self-rule has arisen… our tribal society has stood at the forefront. We cannot forget the contribution of tribal society in the freedom movement”: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Earlier in February this year, a mega celebration ‘Adi Mahotsav’ was also organised in the national capital. The even inaugurated by the president Draupadi Murmu witnessed participation of thousands of tribal artists from across Bharat who showcased the unique cultural heritage of the community.
In all, the government through various schemes launched in the last one decade has made significant strides in positively changing the socio-economic structures of the tribal communities of Bharat along celebrating their unique cultural heritage and honoring the contribution made by them.
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