NEW DELHI: In a major outreach to the tribal community, the government on Wednesday allocated Rs 15,000 crore for tribal welfare in the Budget for the financial year 2023-2024. Announcing the package, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said that Rs 15,000 crore will be made available to implement the schemes in the next three years.
“To improve the social-economic condition of the particular tribal groups, PMPVTG (Prime Minister’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) Development mission will be launched, to saturate PBTG habitations with basic facilities. Rs 15,000 crore to be made available to implement the scheme in next three years”, said the minister.
The finance minister also announced that the government will recruit 38,800 teachers and staff for the existing 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students across the country.
Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) were set up in 1997-98 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas. According to the website of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, each school has a capacity of 480 students, catering to students from Class VI to XII.