PMJUGA focuses on providing tribal families with access to pucca housing, ensuring they have safe and secure living conditions. This will replace their current temporary or inadequate housing structures.
The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan (PMJUGA) with a total outlay of Rs.79,156 crores (Central Share: Rs.56,333 crore and State Share: Rs. 22,823 crore). The purpose of the mission is to improve the socio-economic condition of tribal communities by adopting saturation coverage for tribal families in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts.
Aiming to benefit over five crore tribal people, the mission comprises of 25 interventions which will be implemented by 17-line ministries. Each ministry or department would be responsible for implementation of scheme related to it in a time bound manner through funds allocated to them under Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST) in next five years
According to a PIB release, PMJUGA aims to improve the lives of tribal communities across the country. This ambitious program promises to deliver significant improvements in key areas such as housing, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
Enhancing Tribal Living Standards
PMJUGA focuses on providing tribal families with access to pucca housing, ensuring they have safe and secure living conditions. This will replace their current temporary or inadequate housing structures. The program also recognizes the importance of basic amenities and will work towards ensuring clean water and electricity reach tribal villages.
Healthcare is another critical aspect of PMJUGA. The program will strive to make sure that tribal communities have access to quality medical care. This will involve strengthening healthcare infrastructure in tribal areas and ensuring the availability of essential medical services.
Education is another pillar of PMJUGA. The program will work towards increasing school enrollment rates among tribal children and improving the quality of education they receive. This will equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life.
Promoting Economic Empowerment
PMJUGA recognizes that economic empowerment is crucial for uplifting tribal communities. The program will focus on skill development initiatives to equip tribal youth with marketable skills. This will improve their employability and open up new economic opportunities. Additionally, PMJUGA will promote entrepreneurship among tribal communities, enabling them to start their own businesses and become self-sufficient.
Benefiting Over 5 Crore Tribal People
This will cover around 63,000 villages benefitting more than five crore tribal people as announced in the Budget Speech 2024-25. It will cover 549 districts and 2,740 blocks spread across all tribal majority villages across 30 States / UTs.
The launch of PMJUGA marks a significant step forward in the Government of India’s commitment to improving the lives of tribal communities. By addressing their key needs in areas such as housing, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic empowerment, PMJUGA has the potential to create a brighter future for tribal communities across India.
India has tribal population of 10.45 crores as per the 2011 census and there are more than 705 tribal communities, spread across the country, living in remote and hard-to-reach areas. The Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan envisions saturation of critical gaps in social infrastructure, health, education, livelihood, through different schemes of the government by convergence and outreach and ensure holistic and sustainable development of tribal areas and communities based on learnings and success of PMJANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan).
Image: Living Farms
