New Delhi: Bolstering its tribal outreach, the Narendra Modi government has roped in India’s premier institutions, such as the Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and All India Institutes of Medical Science (AIIMS), among others, to address development challenges in tribal regions.
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda Thursday launched innovative initiatives to address issues related to physical infrastructure and network connectivity, to enhance healthcare, provide entrepreneurship ecosystem, for use of technology in addressing daily issues and to promote action-oriented research in tribal areas.
The new initiatives are in line with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s plan to improve infrastructure in tribal areas and empower the tribal communities.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Rs 24,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Adivasi Nyay Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), a mega scheme to reach out to the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in the country. It provides housing, healthcare facilities and road connectivity to PVTG villages.
According to the 2011 Census, the tribal population of the country is around 10.45 crore. There are around 700 tribal communities and nearly 75 percent of them live in central India.
“Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in collaboration with ISRO, AIIMS New Delhi, IIT Delhi, IISc (Bengaluru), National Research Development Corporation and University of Delhi, launched various projects to empower the tribal communities in our country. The government led by Shri @narendramodi ji will always be remembered for the big and decisive decisions taken for the empowerment of tribal communities in the last 10 years,” Munda said in a post on X.
Providing network connectivity in remote tribal villages is one of the key initiatives undertaken by the NDA government, but in many of these, connectivity is a problem due to its location and difficult terrain.
To address this, the ministry has roped in ISRO to set up Very Small Aperture Terminals (V-SAT) hubs (a satellite-based technology) on pilot basis in 80 villages in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. “V-SAT stations will be established to solve connectivity issues (community internet, e-governance, societal development). It will be extended to other states in the next phase,” said a senior official to ThePrint.
The ministry has decided to set up Bhagwan Birsa Munda chair on Appropriate Technology and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem for tribal youth. The aim is to provide support to thousands of tribal artisans in accessing national and international markets.
The team will also work on projects to use artificial intelligence (AI) and cutting-edge technology in “tribal language preservation, digitalisation of culture and life traits”, officials said.
Over the past few years, measures have been taken to upgrade school education for tribal children. In 2019, the Modi government had set up the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) to manage and open new Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) to provide quality education to tribal children. Of the 694 schools sanctioned, 402 are functional, according to the ministry’s dashboard.
To create employment opportunities for tribal students, the ministry has tied-up with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru to provide training to students in semiconductor technology. Speaking to reporters, Munda said, “IISc will train 12th pass students from tribal areas in semiconductor technology, which is going to be in huge demand in the years to come.”
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Health of tribal communities a prime focus
The ministry along with AIIMS Delhi will also set up Bhagwan Birsa Munda Chair on Tribal Health and Haematology for conducting advanced research on tribal health issues, especially sickle cell anemia.
Sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disease, is common among the country’s tribal population. In July 2023, the PM had launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission for screening, prevention, and management of the blood disorder. Under the mission, seven crore people will be screened in a period of three years. The focus is mainly on 278 districts of 17 states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand etc with higher prevalence of the disorder.
The premier medical institute will also carry out genetic studies of different tribal groups to understand ways of disease manifestation, comparison of disease patterns among different genetic groups and create a comprehensive database, said the ministry official.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)