New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday (June 12) said tribal people have made a lot of sacrifices to protect the motherland and its natural and cultural wealth, and urged others to learn from their example to achieve sustainable development. During an interaction with members of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Murmu urged them to prioritise education, emphasising its utmost importance.
In a statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said the president expressed happiness at meeting representatives from all 75 PVTGs together and acknowledged that many of them had ventured out of their villages for the first time.
She highlighted the government’s efforts to support the PVTG community such as the provision of reserved seats in Eklavya Model Residential Schools and the National Fellowship and Overseas Scholarship Scheme.
President Murmu also encouraged PVTG women to avail benefit of various schemes, including the Tribal Women Empowerment Scheme. The statement read,
The president said the people of the tribal society have made a lot of sacrifices to protect the motherland and its natural and cultural wealth. To achieve the goals of sustainable development, all of us can learn from the tribal society
Emphasising the significance of the Tribal Sub-Plan, the president noted that 41 ministries and departments allocate a portion of their budgets for the welfare of tribal communities, including PVTGs.
She expressed happiness over the launch of the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission aimed at fostering the development of PVTGs.
President Murmu also highlighted the importance of the campaign announced in the current budget to eradicate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.
She commended the recognition of talented individuals from tribal communities through conferring Padma Awards for their exceptional contributions across various fields. The president said,
It is the duty as well as the aspiration of all citizens, especially the tribal people including PVTG, to ensure their development while maintaining their identity and safeguarding their existence
India recognizes 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) who are among the most marginalized and vulnerable populations in the country.
These PVTGs are identified based on specific criteria such as socioeconomic status, cultural distinctiveness, geographical isolation, and pre-agricultural level of technology.
The government provides special attention and targeted welfare measures to protect their unique identities and ensure their well-being, aiming to safeguard them from exploitation.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
