Highlights of the Achievements of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs

Year End Review 2017

Ministry of Tribal Affairs

        
Following are the highlights of the activities of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs during the year 2017.

1. Ministry of Tribal Affairs continued its endeavors for socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes (STs) through especially tailored educational, infrastructure and livelihood schemes to fill in for critical gaps. Allocation of Business Rules (ABR) of the Government now mandates this Ministry to monitor ‘Tribal Sub-Plan’ (now called as ‘Scheduled Tribe Component’) funds of Central Ministries based on the framework and mechanism designed by NITI Aayog.   In order to consistently improve public service delivery, Ministry of Tribal Affairs continuously reviews various schematic initiatives; the recent ones being being rationalization of scholarship schemes, onboarding  of scheme on DBT, online portal for NGO Grants etc.  

2. The Budget allocation for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has gone up from Rs. 4827.00 Cr in the year 2016-17 to Rs. 5329.00 Cr in 2017-18.  Also , allocation for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes across all Ministries has witnessed an increase from  Rs. 24,005.00  Cr in the year 2016-17 has gone up to Rs. 31,920.00 Cr in the corresponding period.  The Ministry has already utilized 70% of its allocated outlay on various developmental initiatives for STs.   An amount of Rs. 2280.49 Cr (as on 21^st December, 2017) has been released under two Special Areas Programme of the Ministry viz. Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme and Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution for Education, Health, Livelihood/Income Generation Activities etc. 

 With the implementation of the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) complete  transparency and monitoring of funds released is ensured by the Ministry. All agencies receiving funds from the Ministry on 100% basis and sub agencies that receive funds from the main agency have been on boarded in the system. This ensures tracking of utilisation of funds by the implementing agencies. 

3. Monitoring of funds for tribal development:

There are 32 Central Ministries and Departments having ‘Tribal Sub-Plan(TSP)’ funds [now called as ‘Scheduled Tribe Component’(STC)] catering to specific tribal development in various sectors through 273 different schemes.
Allocation of Business Rules (ABR) has been amended in January, 2017 whereby Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has been given mandate for monitoring of STC funds of Central Ministries based on the framework and mechanism designed by NITI Aayog.  An online monitoring system has been put in place with web address stcmis.nic.in. The framework envisages monitoring of allocations for welfare of STs under the schemes, monitoring of expenditure vis-à- vis allocations, monitoring of physical performance and outcome monitoring. The framework also envisages to capture location wise details to ensure accountability and targeted spending. Further, nodal officer has been nominated in the line Ministries / Departments for coordination and monitoring. The allocations under schemes for welfare of STs have already been allotted a separate budget head 796 for avoiding possibility of diversion of funds. Ministry / Department-wise performance shall be reviewed on a half yearly basis jointly by MoTA and NITI Aayog.
As on 15.12.2017, 68% of the total allocated STC amount has been released by different Central Ministries / Departments against various development projects relating to education, health, agriculture, irrigation, roads, housing, electrification, employment generation, skill development etc. 

4. Scheme for Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS):

(i)            51 EMRSs were made functional during last three years taking the total tally of functional schools to 190.
(ii)           14 new EMRSs have been sanctioned during 2017-18 and an amount of Rs. 322.10 crore released for the purpose. Now 271 EMRSs have been sanctioned overall by the Ministry.
(iii)          An amount of Rs. 235.48 crore released to the States during 2017-18 for meeting recurring cost of 190 functional EMRSs where about 56000 tribal students are enrolled (@Rs. 42000/- per student per annum).

5. Skill Development:

            An amount of Rs. 165.00 Crore has been released to various states under the scheme Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) and Grants under Article 275(1) for skill development of more than 71 thousand male and female tribal beneficiaries in a wide gamut of trades such as (i) Office Management (ii) Solar Technician / Electrician (iii) Beautician (iv) Handicraft (v) Skills required for day to day construction works (such as Plumbing, Mason, Electrician, Fitter, Welder, Carpenter (vi) Refrigeration and A/C repairing (vii) Mobile repairing (viii) Nutrition (x) Ayurvedic & tribal medicines (xi) IT (xii) Data Entry (xiii) Fabrication (xiv) Paramedics and Home Nurse Training (xv) Automobile Driving and Mechanics (xvi) Electric & Motor Winding (xvii) Security Guard (xviii) Housekeeping & Management (xix) Retail Management (xx) Hospitality (xxi) Eco-tourism (xxii) Adventure Tourism.

6. Construction of Museums for Tribal Freedom Fighters:

            The Government desires and is planning permanent museums in the States where Tribals lived, struggled against the Britishers and refused to be bowed down. The Government will work to make such museums in different States so that the coming generations may know how our tribals were far ahead in making sacrifices. Ministry has decided to construct a state-of-the-art Tribal Museum of national importance in Gujarat with a total cost of Rs. 75.00 Crore. out of which Ministry of Tribal Affairs will provide Rs. 50.00 Crore. An amount of Rs. 25.00 Crore has already been released to the State.

7. Achievement under Forest Rights Act (FRA) from the period 31.12.2016 to 31.08.2017:

	Total claims received (individual and community)	No. of titles recognized	Extent of forest land for which titles distributed (in acres)
Status as on 31.08.2017	41,76,192	18,03,442	138,37,483.48
Status as on 31.12.2016	41,69,962	17,47,507	122,93,136.71
Achievement during 2017  (as on 31.08.2017)	6,230	55,935	15,44,346.77

            Thus, implementation of FRA, 2006 is being very closely monitored and claims are being filed and titles are being distributed. 

8. Initiatives under Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs):

• Ministry has enhanced the allocation of funds for the development of particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from Rs. 270 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 340 crores in 2017-18.
• State Government have been given the flexibility of utilizing the funds using the gaps identified through Bae Line Survey.
• In order to ensure the overall and particular development of PVTGs, emphasis is being given on Micro planning using GIS mapping of tribes.
• Emphasis in the Comprehensive cum Development (CCD) is for preserving traditional architecture, traditional medical practices and cuisine and maintaining the heritage and culture of PVTGs.

9. Scholarships:

1. Pre Matric Scholarship

•  State are using own portal/National Scholarship Portal(NSP) for inviting online applications.
• Financial assistance has been enhanced from Rs. 212.19 crore to Rs. 265.00 crores in 2016-17. 

1. Post Matric Scholarship

• State are using own portal/NSP portal for inviting online applications.
• Financial assistance has been enhanced from Rs. 748.45 crores to Rs. 1347.07 crores. 

III. National fellowship and Scholarship Scheme for higher education of ST students
Financial assistance for the scheme has been enhanced from Rs. 80 crores to Rs. 120 crores.

1. Scholarship Scheme

• NSP is used for inviting application from top class students.
• Tuition fees are being disbursed directly to the institute while maintaining allowance for students to student’s individual accounts directly online through PFMS.
• Family Income ceiling for eligibility increased from Rs.4.50 Lakhs to Rs.6.00 Lakhs

1. Fellowship Scheme

• Ministry has taken over the implementation of the scheme from UGC so that students get money in time.
• Developed NFST portal and hosted the same on Ministry NIC server for inviting fresh applications online.
• Various student queries are being resolved through coordination with PFMS, Banks and NSP teams.
• Higher priority fixed for Persons with Disabilities, PVTGs, BPL and females. 

iii. National Overseas Scholarship for ST students

• Portal has been developed by the Ministry and hosted at Ministry’s NIC Server.
• Brought in flexibility of courses to be undertaken by the Students.
• Fresh guidelines have been issued providing for enhanced flexibility to students regarding the courses.
• Students who have cleared GRE/GMAT/TOEFL etc. will be given priority, as per revised guidelines. 

1. DBT

• 9 schemes being implemented by the Ministry have been board on DBT.
• Data being collected every month and uploaded at DBT Bharat Portal.
• DBT App 3.0 installed at Ministry to capture beneficiary wise data.

10. Aadi Mahotsav: 

Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with TRIFED had organized a National Tribal Festival from 16^th November, 2017 to 30^th November, 2017.   The Festival commenced with a tribute to Birsa Munda, legendary tribal leader, freedom fighter and folk hero on his 142^nd birth anniversary through an advertisement in print and social media on 15^th November, 2017. Aadi Mahotsav was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Vice President of India on 16.11.2017.  The Aadi Mahotsav, a celebration of the spirit of Tribal Culture, Craft, Cuisine and Commerce, was successfully conducted with 15 days of engagement with lacs of Delhi residents. The Festival showed exquisite craftsmanship of tribal artisans. This included beautiful sarees, dress materials, jewellery, bamboo & cane products, paintings and hundreds of other items. Almost 800 Artisans and Artists from 27 States participated in the Mahotsav and sold their products and displayed their crafts and skill through more than 200 stalls that was set up for them. Stage programs of tribal dances and folk songs conducted daily were a great attraction every evening. 85 Tribal Chefs from 25 states showcased tribal delicacies like Banjara Biryani from Telangana, Khodiyar Roti and Chicken from Orissa and delightful vegetarian and Non-vegetarian preparations from North East, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other States. The people of Delhi greatly relished them.   The Tribal Artisans logged a sale of more than Rs.1.60 Crores during the fortnight, which is a record for this event. TRIFED purchased goods worth Rs.2.50 crores from the Artisans for sale through its showrooms. The total sale of tribal artisans during the Mahotsav was Rs. 4.10 Crores. This is a very heartening feature for the tribal artisans.

11. NGO Grants:

            Ministry has been funding NGOs in service deficient areas in sectors such as Health, Education etc.  In order to ensure transparency and in line with Government policies, NGO Grants portal has been developed.   Henceforth, all interventions will be funded through applications received only through online portal.   Also new projects on merits will be considered for funding after many years.

12. Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce :

            The MSP for the ten MFP items which had formed a part of the scheme since inception in 2013-14 had been revised on 31.10.2016.   Also, furthermore MFP items had been included in the list of MFP items and the scheme was made applicable all over the country. Prior to that the Scheme was applicable only in Schedule V States.  Subsequently, the MSP of the ten items existing in the Scheme since its inception were further reviewed consequent upon a study conducted by M/s TERI, Delhi on behest of TRIFED, and recommendation of the Pricing Cell.   The MSP of five items viz. Sal Seed, Sal Leaves, Chironji Pods with seeds, Rangeeni Lac and Kusumi Lac have been increased in November, 2017.

Courtesy:pib.nic.in