Parliament Question: Welfare and Development of Tribals

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 140 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.01.2026 WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT OF TRIBALS 140. SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE: Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the schemes/programmes being implemented by the Government for welfare and development of tribal population in the country; (b) whether the said schemes/programmes particularly Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) have achieved the desired results in the country; (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (d) the details of the funds provided by the Government under the said schemes/programmes during the last three years and the current year, year-wise; (e) the cases of irregularities/corruption/diversion of funds and underutilisation of funds reported under the said schemes/programmes during the said period along with the action taken/being taken by the Government thereon; and (f) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government for effective implementation of the said schemes/programmes across the country and to check irregularities/corruption/diversion of funds and under- utilisation of funds therein? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY) (a): Government is implementing Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST)/Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) as a strategy for the development of Scheduled Tribes and areas having tribal concentration in the country. Besides Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 41 Ministries/Departments have been mandated to allocate certain percentage of their total scheme budget every year for tribal development under DAPST to bridge the developmental gap between Scheduled Tribes (STs) and non-ST populations and for various tribal development projects relating to education, health, agriculture, irrigation, roads, housing, electrification, employment generation, skill development, etc. State Governments are also supposed to earmark TSP funds with respect to the total Scheme allocation, in proportion to ST population (Census 2011) in the State. Further, Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing various schemes/programmes for the welfare and development of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the country such as: 1. Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan 2. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) 3. Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM) 4. Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) 5. Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution 6. Grant-in Aid to Voluntary Organizations working for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes 7. Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) 8. Pre-Matric Scholarships to ST students 9. Post Matric Scholarship to ST students10. National Overseas Scholarships for ST Candidates 11. National Fellowship &Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students a. National Scholarship– (Top class) Scheme [Graduate level] b. National Fellowship for ST students (b) to (d): In the Union Budget 2025-26, Rs 1,27,434.20 crore has been allocated as DAPST funds, which is more than a five-fold increase compared to the allocation of Rs 24,594.45 crore in 2013-14. The utilization of DAPST funds has remained consistently high, exceeding 92% of the Revised Estimates over the last five years. Progress in socio-economic condition of STs - Information obtained from the administrative statistics of and large-scale Surveys conducted by the Ministries /Depts indicates that considerable progress has been made in the socio-economic condition of Scheduled Tribes, as given below:  Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for STs has improved at Upper Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary levels. GER at Upper Primary level (VI-VIII) has increased from 91.33% in 2013-14 to 99.5% in 2024-25, at Secondary level (IX-X) has increased from 70.2 % in 2013-14 to 81.30% in 2024-25 and at Senior Secondary Level (XI- XII), it has improved from 35.44 % in 2013-14 to 51.90% in 2024-25. GER for Higher education for STs has increased from 11.3% in 2013-14 to 21.2 % in 2021-22.  Infant mortality rate for STs has decreased from 62.1 in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) to 44.4 in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 41.6 in 2019-21(NFHS-5).  Under five mortality rate for STs has decreased from 95.7 in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) to 57.2 in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 50.3 in 2019-21(NFHS-5).  Percentage of Institutional Delivery in respect of ST women has increased from 17.7 in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) to 68.0 in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 82.3 in 2019-21 (NFHS-5).  Full immunization of ST children aged 12-23 months has increased from 31.3% in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) to 55.8% in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 76.5% in 2019-21 (NFHS-5).  Prevalence of stunting in ST children (Height for Age) has decreased from 53.9% in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) to 43.8% in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 40.9 % in 2019-21 (NFHS-5).  Prevalence of wasted in ST children (Weight for Height) has decreased from 27.6 % in 2005-06 (NFHS-3) to 27.4 % in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) and 23.2 % in 2019-21 (NFHS-5).  Around 85.31 lakh STs registered for houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY)-Gramin. Till now 84.33 lakh houses have been sanctioned for STs under the scheme, out of which construction of 63.31 lakh houses have been completed.  Average Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) for Scheduled Tribes increased from Rs 1122 and Rs 2193 for rural & urban respectively in 2011-12 to Rs.3363 & Rs.6030 in 2023-24 (As per Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) - 2023-24 conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation)  Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in usual status (PS+SS) among STs in 2017-18 was 40.0 % which increased to 52.0% in 2023-24 (Source: PLFS, MoSPI) Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in usual status (PS+SS) among STs in 2017-18 was 41.8 % which increased to 53.0 % in 2023-24 (Source: PLFS, MoSPI) The details of the funds provided under the said schemes/programmes during the last three years and the current year is given in Statement 10B of Expenditure Profile of Union Budget document which can be seen at the following links: Statement 10B for 2022-23: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/budget2022-23/doc/eb/stat10b.pdf Statement 10B for 2023-24: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/budget2023-24/doc/eb/stat10b.pdf Statement 10B for 2024-25: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/budget2024-25/doc/eb/stat10b.pdf Statement 10B for 2025-26: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/stat10b.pdf The details of allocation and expenditure for TSP by States/UTs out of their own funds are available at https://statetsp.tribal.gov.in. (e) to (f): Ministry of Tribal Affairs has undertaken the developmental activities for STs and in ST dominated areas through convergence of funds available with different Ministries/Departments under DAPST. Two new schemes/programmes – Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) with total outlay of Rs. 24,104 crore and Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyaan (DAJGUA) with total outlay of Rs.79,156 crore have been launched for targeted development of STs and ST dominated areas. PMJANMAN focuses on 11 critical interventions across 9 line ministries to improve the socio-economic conditions of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan envisions saturation of critical gaps in social infrastructure, health, education, livelihood, through 25 interventions implemented by 17-line ministries of Govt of India by convergence and outreach; and ensures holistic and sustainable development of tribal areas and communities. For proper accounting and monitoring and to ensure their non-divertibility to any other scheme, funds allocated under DAPST are shown by all the obligated Ministries/Depts under the minor head ‘796’ below the functional major Head/Sub-Major Heads in their ‘Detailed Demands for Grants’. Based on this, Scheme/programme-wise allocation by Ministries/Departments is available in Statement 10B of Union Budget which is a dedicated statement showing ministry-wise allocations for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes. Similarly, Statement 10BB and Statement 10BB of Union Budget are dedicated statements showing allocations for PMJANMAN and DAJGUA schemes respectively. An online monitoring system has been put in place by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with web address: https://stcmis.gov.in for monitoring of DAPST funds. The framework captures data directly from Public Finance Management System (PFMS) and enables MoTA to see the real time expenditure vis-a-vis allocations of different Ministries/Departments under DAPST. Additionally, interactive dashboards on the PM Gati Shakti portal provide ministry-wise and intervention-wise progress monitoring using real-time data from various ministries, supporting targeted planning and gap analysis for PVTGs. Nodal officers are appointed within respective Ministries and Departments to facilitate smoother implementation and reporting of tribal-related schemes. MoTA maintains regular coordination and continuous engagement with obligated Ministries and Departments to review fund utilization and ensure effective implementation of guidelines.Cases of irregularities are dealt with as per the punitive provisions under each scheme or guideline as per the rule applicable to the respective case . *****