Cabinet approves ₹24,104 crore outlay for development mission for particularly vulnerable tribal groups

The Union Cabinet approved a special development mission for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) with a total outlay of over ₹24,104 crore over a three-year period

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a special development mission for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) with a total outlay of over ₹24,104 crore over a three-year period, of which ₹15,336 crore will be funded by the Central government and ₹8,768 crore will be borne by the respective State governments, according to an official statement.

The PM Janjati Adivasi Nyay Maha Abhiyaan (PM-JANMAN), which was announced in this year’s Union Budget speech and launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15, is meant to improve the overall socio-economic conditions of the 75 tribal groups recognised as particularly vulnerable. It will focus on 11 critical interventions, which are part of existing schemes, and which will be implemented on the ground by nine Ministries.

The mission aims to build 4.9 lakh pucca homes, lay 8,000 km of connecting roads, and bring piped water to all households in over 22,000 villages. It will also provide community water pipelines to 2,500 PVTG villages, each with a population of less than 20 households.

Since the scheme was announced, Tribal Affairs Ministry officials have been touring these PVTG villages in 220 districts spread across 18 States and Union Territories. They have reported the exact needs of these villages, which is being used to tailor the interventions.

The scheme aims to build 2,500 anganwadi centres, set up 1,000 mobile medical units (10 per district), instal mobile towers in 3,000 villages, and set up 500 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras to facilitate the sale of forest produce. It will also provide 0.3 KW solar off-grid systems to one lakh households, solar lighting units for streets and multipurpose centres, and last-mile electrification for 57,000 households.

The construction of 1,000 multipurpose community centres and 500 hostels is also part of the mission. Vocational education and skilling centres will be set up in 60 of the PVTG blocks which will be developed as “aspirational blocks”. The Skill Development Ministry will facilitate the skills and vocational training in the selected villages, as per the suitable skills of the respective communities.

The Ministry of Ayush will also set up Ayush wellness centres as well, and the mobile medical units will also include availability of Ayush facilities, an official statement said.