Centre steps up tribal outreach under Rs 24,000 crore PM-JANMAN scheme

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs on Friday kicked off its Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign and beneficiary saturation camps to reach out to habitations of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in 194 districts across the country, under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).

The stepped-up campaign to further spread awareness on availing the benefits under the scheme will run from this day till September 10, the Ministry said. Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram reviewed the progress of schemes under PM-JANMAN and took note of the preparedness for the IEC campaign on PM-JANMAN, in a meeting convened on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM-JANMAN mission on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (November 15, 2023), from the Khunti District of Jharkhand. The PM-JANMAN mission focuses on 11 critical interventions related to nine key aligned Ministries with a budgetary outlay of Rs 24,104 crore from FY 2023-24 to 2025-26, under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes. While the Centre's contribution is Rs 15,336 crore to the scheme, the states are expected to chip in with a Rs 8,768 crore share.

A comprehensive IEC campaign was run last year in 100 districts, covering approximately 500 blocks and 15,000 PVTG habitations across 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

This year, a more intensive campaign is being envisaged to reach out to 44.6 lakh PVTG individuals of 10.7 lakh PVTG households in 28,700 PVTG habitations of 194 districts in the States/UT of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Awareness generation will be undertaken at all levels -- from states to districts, from block to village, all the way down to the PVTG habitation level. The goal is to cover around 16,500 villages, 15,000 Gram Panchayats and 1000 Talukas in the said 194 districts, according to an official statement.

During the entire campaign period, Aadhaar cards, Community certificates, Jan Dhan accounts, and pattas for Forest Rights Act (FRA) beneficiaries will be provided as these are basic requirements for other schemes. PM-JANMAN Intervention Cards will be distributed in the language of the PVTGs.

Other steps being taken under the campaign include:

Setting up Beneficiary Saturation Camps and Health Camps. These camps will focus on providing immediate benefits under schemes for individuals/households and health-related issues particular to PVTG groups, such as screening tests for Sickle Cell Disease.

Awareness material like pamphlets, videos, creatives, infographics, etc., are expected to be utilised in local and tribal languages.

Efforts will be undertaken to ensure that the benefits under various schemes such as scholarships, maternity benefit schemes, Kisan Credit Card, Kisan Samman Nidhi, Disability Certificates for the patients of SCD and so on reach the eligible PVTG beneficiaries.

Scheme beneficiaries and achievers will relate their success stories at special sessions to inspire other members of the community to come forward.

Officers at the district level have been assigned for each district to supervise the campaign, while the state-level officers will coordinate with different line departments of the government to ensure the success of the campaign and the mission, the Union Ministry added.