Tribal & Social Justice

India's ~10.4 crore tribal citizens (Scheduled Tribes) have long been among its most under-served. Recent years brought a stronger push: Eklavya Model Residential Schools in tribal blocks, a dedicated Janjatiya Gaurav Divas honouring tribal heroes like Birsa Munda, and the ₹24,000 crore PM-JANMAN mission for the most vulnerable tribal groups. This timeline traces those milestones.

Apatani tribal women, Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh, India. This is a photograph taken during a wedding celebration in the Hija village at Ziro. · Doniv79 at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

10.4 cr

Tribal citizens (ST)

₹24,000 cr

PM-JANMAN (PVTGs)

2021

Janjatiya Gaurav Divas

Tribal welfare

2018

A school in every tribal block

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are expanded with the goal of a quality residential school in every block with a significant tribal population.

2021

Janjatiya Gaurav Divas

2023

PM-JANMAN for the most vulnerable

2024

Dharti Aaba village mission

2018

1milestones

20182024

Latest

A school in every tribal block

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are expanded with the goal of a quality residential school in every block with a significant tribal population.

Why it matters Targeted schools, recognition and last-mile services help close deep, long-standing gaps for tribal communities in health, education and livelihoods.

EMRS schools in tribal blocks; PM-JANMAN ₹24,000 cr (PVTGs)
Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (2021); ~10.4 crore tribal citizens
Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs

This photograph captures a young Adivasi boy during the Holi festival in the Nandurbar district, nestled in the Satpuda range. His body is a · Kshitij Sarode · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Adivasi Culture Adivasi God of Dongarya Dev · Adivasipressnews · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

This photo has been taken in the country: India · Sneha G Gupta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

India's ~10.4 crore tribal (Scheduled Tribe) citizens have historically lagged on health, education and land rights. Recent policy brought targeted schools, recognition and last-mile missions to close those gaps.

Recognition & saturation

Eklavya Model Residential Schools bring quality education to tribal blocks; Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (2021) honours tribal freedom fighters like Birsa Munda; and PM-JANMAN (₹24,000 cr) targets the most vulnerable groups with homes, roads, water and healthcare.

How it works

Tribal welfare works through a mix of special protections and targeted schemes. The Forest Rights Act gives forest-dwelling communities legal title to the land they live on. Eklavya Model Residential Schools provide free quality education in remote areas. And 'saturation' missions like PM-JANMAN aim to deliver every basic service — housing, water, power, roads, health — to the most vulnerable tribal groups at once, rather than scheme by scheme.

Outlook

Two big missions now anchor the effort: PM-JANMAN (₹24,000 crore) for the 75 most vulnerable tribal groups, and the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (₹79,156 crore, 2024) covering around 63,000 tribal villages. The genuinely hard next step is reaching scattered, remote hamlets with real services — and making sure development respects tribal land rights, forests and culture rather than displacing them.

The road ahead

The genuinely hard next step is reaching scattered, often forest-dwelling communities with real services — steady Forest Rights Act implementation and support against displacement.

By the numbers

~10.4 crore tribal citizens; EMRS in tribal blocks; PM-JANMAN ₹24,000 cr; Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (2021). Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs — tribal-welfare milestones, 2018–2024.