PIB Summary- 18th April, 2025 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Ministry of Tribal Affairs Reviews Tribal Welfare Schemes in Delhi

Context

In a bid to ensure inclusive growth and empowerment of tribal communities, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs held a comprehensive three-day national review in Delhi. The focus was on assessing ground-level progress and strengthening key initiatives like PM-JANMAN and DAJGUA for holistic tribal development.

PM-JANMAN: Last-Mile Delivery for PVTGs

• Launched: 15 Nov 2023, from Khunti, Jharkhand (birthplace of Bhagwan Birsa Munda).
• Focus: 75 PVTGs, covering 30,000 habitations, targeting ~45 lakh beneficiaries.
• Comprehensive coverage: Housing, sanitation, water, health, education, nutrition, digital access.
• Goal: Full saturation by 15 Nov 2025 (150th birth anniversary of Birsa Munda).
• States directed to:
  • Implement village-wise tracking.
  • Ensure Gram Sabha certification post-completion.
  • Report quarterly progress till June 2025.

DAJGUA (DhartiAabaJanjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan)

• Convergence initiative across 17 Union Ministries.
• Targets 63,843 tribal villages in 549 districts, impacting 5.5 crore tribal citizens.
• Involves 25 integrated interventions—health, education, skill development, livelihoods, etc.
• States asked to:
  • Fast-track intervention sanctioning.
  • Launch IEC Campaigns & Benefit Saturation Camps.
  • Ensure knowledge-sharing from best-performing districts.

EMRS: Elevating Tribal Education Standards

• Vision: Make Eklavya Model Residential Schools hubs of academic excellence.
• Key action areas:
  • Qualified teacher recruitment and ongoing training.
  • Infrastructure upgrades: Smart classrooms, libraries, labs.
  • Emphasis on experiential & 21st-century learning.
  • Enhance student welfare and staff support.
• Progress of EMRS projects in states reviewed closely.

Scholarships: Access and Timely Disbursal

• States directed to:
  • Ensure timely disbursal of pre- and post-matric scholarships.
  • Remove bureaucratic delays.
  • Integrate with National Scholarship Portal (NSP) or link state portals via API.
  • Aim for disbursal at academic year start to maximize impact.

Janjatiya Gaurav Varsh (2025): Celebrating Tribal Pride

• Thematic focus areas:
  • Education & Skill Development
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Entrepreneurship & Livelihoods
  • Tribal Culture, Art, and Language Preservation
  • Infrastructure and Service Delivery
• Emphasis on a “Whole-of-Government” approach:
  • Inter-ministerial coordination
  • Collaboration with NGOs, TRIs, Corporates, Line Ministries

Adi Sanskriti & Adi Vaani: Preserving Tribal Heritage

• Adi Sanskriti:
  • Creation of Tribal Art Academy, Digital Repository, Tribal Haat.
  • Promotion of tribal arts, rituals, cuisines, and folklore.
• Adi Vaani:
  • AI-based multilingual translation platform.
  • Aimed at breaking language barriers in governance and education.
  • Focus on low-resource tribal languages for documentation & revitalization.
    

Tackling Sickle Cell Anaemia

• Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Disease in tribal areas.
• Establishment of Centers of Competency:
  • Screening, treatment, capacity building, awareness generation.

Way Forward:

• Ground-Level Execution: District and block-level capacity building prioritized.
• Saturation Approach: All tribal beneficiaries to receive entitlements.
• Institutional Mechanism Strengthening: Feedback loops, audits, Gram Sabha verifications.
• Inter-Ministerial Convergence: Alignment across 17 ministries.
• Technology Integration: AI (Adi Vaani), digital monitoring (NSP), smart classrooms.
• Community Participation: Tribal ownership in design, monitoring, and outcomes.

Mission Amrit Sarovar

India faces acute water stress, particularly in rural areas, due to over-extraction of groundwater and degradation of traditional water bodies. Mission Amrit Sarovar (2022) was launched under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav as a community-driven initiative to revive water heritage and ensure sustainability.

Core Objectives

• Construct/rejuvenate at least 75 water bodies per district (~50,000 nationwide).
• Promote community-led water conservation, integrate with livelihood generation.
• Enhance surface and groundwater availability while reviving traditional water structures.
• Foster social cohesion and national pride by linking with freedom fighters and national celebrations.

Strategic Vision

• Blend of traditional wisdom and modern technology (remote sensing, GIS).
• Convergence of ecological restoration, rural development, and cultural revitalization.
• Develop long-term water assets to ensure resilience against climate-induced water scarcity.

Institutional Framework

• Anchored by Ministry of Rural Developmentwith convergence from 6 other ministries:
  • Jal Shakti
  • Panchayati Raj
  • Environment & Climate Change
  • Railways
  • Culture
  • Road Transport
• Supported technically by BISAG-N and digitally monitored via amritsarovar.gov.in.
• Integration with schemes like MGNREGS, 15th Finance Commission grants, PMKSY, etc.

Implementation Mechanism

• Two Prabharis per Sarovar: Panchayat Pratinidhi (citizen supervisor) Panchayat Officer (monitoring & documentation).
• Formation of User Groups for ongoing management and maintenance.
• Representation from SHGs, VWSCs, Van Samitis, Aquaculture practitioners, etc.
• Users responsible for de-silting, plantation, conservation, and equitable water use.

Technological Integration

• Geo-informatics used in site identification, planning, progress monitoring.
• Integration of real-time dashboards and mobile-based monitoring at grassroots level.

Achievements: Phase I (Apr 2022 – Aug 2023)

• Target: 50,000; Achieved: 59,492 Amrit Sarovars (ahead of schedule).
• Participation of:
  • 79,080 Panchayat Pratinidhi
  • 92,359 Panchayat Officers.
  • 2,203 freedom fighters, 385 martyrs’ families, 69 Padma Awardees.
• Tree Plantation: 23.5 lakh trees (Neem, Peepal, Bargadh, native species).
• Cultural activities and national celebrations institutionalized at sites.

Phase II (Sept 2023–Present)

• Renewed focus on climate resilience, ecological balance, and inter-generational benefit.
• 3,182 new sites identified as of April 2025.
• Emphasis on community engagement and CSR/crowd-sourced participation.

State-Wise Performance (Top 5 by March 2025)

• Community Participation (Jan Bhagidari)
  • 65,285 User Groups formed.
  • People involved from site feasibility to post-use maintenance.
  • Contributions encouraged via:
    • Shramdaan, donation of material, CSR funding.
    • Flag hoisting, event celebrations, and naming after freedom fighters.

Economic & Ecological Impact

• Boosts rural livelihood through:
  • Irrigation, fisheries, duckery, water chestnut cultivation, animal husbandry.
• Groundwater recharge significantly improved:
  • From 13.98 BCM (2017) to 25.34 BCM (2024).
• Demonstrates success of community-led conservation in reversing ecological degradation.

Case Study Highlight

• Satellite Basti Pond, Great Nicobar:
  • Rejuvenated for community use, benefitting 200 villagers.
  • 24 households got employment.
  • Plantation of Neem and native species around the pond.

Challenges and Way Forward

• Ensuring sustainability of Sarovars post-implementation.
• Need for stronger inter-departmental convergence and capacity building at local levels.
• Expansion of digital monitoring tools and climate adaptive design in newer phases.
• Replication of best practices across lagging districts.