For tribal welfare, Modi seeks greater convergence of schemes

New Delhi: Emphasizing the need to improve the outcomes of various interventions for tribal welfare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for enhanced convergence of the several schemes aimed at their welfare. Chairing a high level review meeting on tribal welfare initiatives, including Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana, the Prime Minister said that the various wings of the Centre and state governments should work in tandem to meet the targeted objectives within the specified time-frame, an official release said.

The Prime Minister also enquired about the progress in the efforts to map the sickle cell anaemia among the tribal population and sought to know the impact on tribal communities of the 'Jan Dhan Yojana' and other recently-launched social security schemes. Modi also chose the occasion to repeat his earlier suggestion about exploring the possibility of a Tribal Cultural Troupe Carnival, the release added. It said the Prime Minister called for enhanced convergence among various schemes aimed at welfare of tribal communities across the country.

In January this year, the Prime Minister had asked the various ministries to work in coordination to develop strategies for stopping the spread of Left-Wing Extremism. He had also instructed the newly-established NITI Aayog to plan for the overall development of tribal areas. Chairing a meeting on tribal welfare then, Modi had described the tribal communities as a great force for national development and asked the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to identify growth centres within tribal areas and ensure proper development of education, health and sports facilities in the country. He had said that one of the key objectives should be to work towards "technology penetration", for instance, electricity and mobile phone connectivity, in the tribal areas.

On health, the Prime Minister had stressed on the need for mapping of sickle cell anaemia among the tribal population on a scientific basis and asked the departments concerned to explore the possibility of a cure for this disease through stem cell therapy.