Housing to water, big funds for tribals

Continuing with its pitch to focus on tribal development, in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the government has enhanced the Budget of the ministry of tribal affairs for 2023-24 by nearly 70% over the revised estimates for the ongoing financial year.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that to improve the socio-economic conditions of the ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups’, the “Pradhan Mantri PVTG Groups Development Mission” will be launched.
The overall outlay is Rs 12,461 crore, an increase of over 70% over the revised estimate (2022-23) of Rs 7,301 crore.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this mission will “saturate” PVTG familieswith basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, and sustainable livelihood opportunities. An amount of Rs 15,000 crore will be made available to implement the mission. There are 75 PVTG with a population of around 30 lakh across 18 states. The Budget also paves the way for recruitment of teachers for the Eklavya Model Residential Schools.