PM Modi releases first instalment of benefits to one lakh people under tribal welfare scheme

The budget of many welfare schemes for the Scheduled Tribes has risen by five times and the scholarship for tribal students has grown by two-and-a-half times in the last 10 years, he said, adding that the work is on to construct more than 500 Eklavya model school for them while only 90 existed earlier.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on January 15 that the country can develop only if benefits of various welfare schemes reach all, asserting that it is his guarantee that everyone, even those in the remotest of areas, will benefit from them.

Releasing the first instalment of ₹540 crore to one lakh beneficiaries of a rural housing scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) via video conferencing, he said the 10 years of his government have been dedicated to the poor.

The budget of many welfare schemes for the Scheduled Tribes has risen by five times and the scholarship for tribal students has grown by two-and-a-half times in the last 10 years, he said, adding that the work is on to construct more than 500 Eklavya model school for them while only 90 existed earlier.

This government has exerted its full force to ensure that extremely backwards among the tribal population benefit from its every scheme, he said.

PM Modi also credited guidance from President Droupadi Murmu, India's first tribal woman head of state, for the PM-JANMAN scheme, saying as someone who has come from the same background she often spoke about the issues facing them during her interactions with him.

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Noting that Diwali is being celebrated in Ayodhya in the run-up to the consecration of Lord Ram's idol at the temple there, he said the festival is also being celebrated at the homes of these one lakh families who have received the first instalment of fund to construct their own houses.