A 12.32% jump in budgetary allocation for tribals, inducting them into Delhi police and other government jobs, declaring Birsa Munda’s anniversary as Janjatiya Diwas and created new avenues for their growth and welfare were some of the measures the Narendra Modi government underlined during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The Upper House held a discussion on the working of the Tribal Affairs Ministry as per the demands of the Opposition. Replying to the debate, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the previous Congress governments had only made tall promises to the tribals but did not do anything substantial for their welfare. He maintained that adequate funds have been allocated in the budget for the benefit of Scheduled Tribes and urged upon the state governments to fully utilise the money for their upliftment.

Munda said the Prime Minister Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana aims at integrated development of tribal areas in which schemes like health, education, electrification, jal se nal (tap water) are provided to the people. “Under this convergence program, the government wants to reach saturation mode where everybody is covered,” he said.

Connectivity is one of the important aspects and the government is working on providing 4G spectrum in the aspirational districts, the minister said.

The government is also encouraging value addition to raw products available in the tribal areas.

The Modi government has also declared the anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on November 15.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said though there is 8% tribal population in the country it was only in 1994 in that a tribal PA Sangma was made a cabinet minister in the Narasimha Rao government. Charging previous governments with ignoring the tribals of North East, he said, “If there is peace in the North East today, it is not because of a magic wand. Earlier blockades were a daily affair. Today we have seen peaceful polls in Manipur without any bomb blasts,” he said.

Rijiju said the Tribal Affairs Ministry was formed during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and today there are three tribal cabinet ministers in the Modi government. He also asserted that 1000 tribal men and women have been inducted into Delhi police since 2014.

“There has been a 12.32% jump in the budgetary allocation for tribals,” Rijiju said, adding that a venture capital fund has also been created for them.