Modi to launch welfare plan for vulnerable tribal groups

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a new development mission aimed at particularly vulnerable tribal groups or PVTGs on November 15, officials said on Monday, providing details on programmes designed to provide amenities, road and telecom connectivity, and improved access to education, health care and nutrition to marginalised tribespeople.

- Smriti Kak

The Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission will be launched on November 15, the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda and a day celebrated as the Jan Jaatiya Gaurav Divas to honour the contribution of freedom fighters who hailed from tribal communities.

According to officials aware of the details, the first-of-its-kind mission aimed at improving the socioeconomic conditions of PVTGS is pegged at ₹24,000 crore and was announced during the annual budget 2023-24.

The mission which will be launched days ahead of voting in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and large swathes of Chhattisgarh-is also expected to bolster the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) outreach towards the tribal communities that are considered as an important electoral group in central Indian states.

The party has been trying to woo the tribal communities that make up for about 8.6% of the electorate in the country with social welfare schemes that offer targeted intervention such as programmes to eradicate sickle cell anaemia which is prevalent in the tribal dominated areas; educational institutions with residential