News Excerpt:

Recently, On 15th November 2023 Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas celebrated all over India.

About Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas

• The Government of India has decided to celebrate November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' to mark the birth anniversary of Tribal Freedom Fighter "Birsa Munda" from the year 2021.
• Every year, the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas is held to honor tribal efforts in the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of Indian ideals such as national pride, valor, and hospitality.

Highlights of the day

• The Prime Minister of India has launched the PM-PVTG Development Mission.
• A scheme aimed at the overall development of around 28 lakh people from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
• The Prime Minister also launched a “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra” from Khunti (Jharkhand) — in an attempt to achieve saturation of flagship government schemes across the country.
• Birsa's birth anniversary is marked as the Statehood Day in Jharkhand.

PM-PVTG Mission

• The PM-PVTG Mission has been established to provide basic infrastructure such as power, water, road connectivity, housing, education, and healthcare to the 75 PVTG communities that live in remote areas.
• Through the coordinated efforts of nine Ministries, approximately 11 interventions such as the PM-Gram Sadak Yojana, PM-Gram Awaas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, and others would be delivered to these target villages.
• Apart from the PM-PVTG mission for PVTG communities in over 22,000 distant villages spread across 18 states and union territories.

Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra

• The Yatra starts in tribal-dominated districts of the country and would eventually reach all districts by January 2024.
• The Yatra's main goal will be to reach out to people and raise awareness about welfare programs such as sanitation, essential financial services, electricity connections, access to LPG cylinders, housing for the poor, food security, proper nutrition, reliable healthcare, clean drinking water, and so on.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission; Enrollment in Eklavya Model Residential Schools; Scholarship Schemes; Forest Right Titles: Individual and Community Land; Van Dhan Vikas Kendra: Organizing Self-Help Groups are among the issues being tackled in tribal regions.
• The Viksit Bharat Campaign, one of the country's largest ever outreach initiatives, intends to cover over 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats and over 3,600 urban local bodies by January 25th, 2024, touching every district.

Prelims PYQ

Q. Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India: (UPSC 2019)

1. PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory.
2. A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.
3. There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.
4. Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a). 1, 2 and 3

(b). 2, 3 and 4

(c). 1, 2 and 4

(d). 1, 3 and 4

Mains PYQ

Q. What are the two major legal initiatives by state since Independence, addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (ST)?    (UPSC 2017)