The Hindu : Page 08
Syllabus : GS 3 : Indian Economy
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyaan to enhance basic facilities for Scheduled Tribe families.
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs received ₹13,000 crore for FY 2024-25, with a focus on Eklavya Model Residential Schools. Allocations for OBC student schemes saw reductions.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of the PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyaan, aiming for full saturation of basic facilities for five crore Scheduled Tribe families across 63,000 villages in tribal-majority areas and aspirational districts.
- The scheme, modelled after PM-JANMAN, will focus on Scheduled Tribe populations but lacks details on funds, implementation, or oversight.
- Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram welcomed the scheme, calling it transformative and a step towards improving tribal communities’ socio-economic conditions.
- The Budget allocated ₹13,000 crore for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for FY 2024-25, a 4.31% increase from the previous year’s Budget Estimate. This is up from the ₹7,605 crore Revised Estimate for FY 2023-24 and the ₹7,273.53 crore spent in FY 2022-23.
- Of this allocation, ₹6,399 crore is designated for Eklavya Model Residential Schools for tribal students.
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment received a Budget Estimate of ₹14,225.47 crore for FY 2024-25, a 1.08% increase from the previous year’s estimate.
- The National Fellowship for OBC students’ allocation decreased to ₹55 crore from ₹57 crore in the previous Budget Estimate, despite a higher Revised Estimate of ₹90 crore for FY 2023-24.
UPSC Prelims Practice Question
Ques: Consider the following statements about Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS):
1. Administered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, it is established with grants under
Article 275(1) of the Indian Constitution.
2. It pays special focus in Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDP) where there
shall be atleast one EMRS in the demarcated project spatial area.
3. The current ST population literacy levels is below 50%, opposed to the country
average literacy levels at 70%.
Which of the following is incorrect?
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2, 3
Ans: c)
