Scheduled Tribes

Manipur insurgent groups United People's Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO), who are currently under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the centre

Eighty-five trains were cancelled, and hundreds of vehicles remained stranded as different organisations of the Kudmi community continued their rail and road blockade in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district on Thursday, demanding ST status, officials said. The protest started at 6 am on Tuesday with the blockade of the old National Highway 6, which connects Kolkata to Mumbai, at Khemasuli in Kharagpur Local police station area by Kudmi Samaj West Bengal, they said. Another organisation of the community, Adivasi Kudmi Samaj, joined the protest on Wednesday, blocking the railway tracks at Khemasuli station in Kharagpur-Tatanagar section, and Kustaur station in Adra-Chandil section in Purulia district, they added. Among the trains cancelled on Thursday were Howrah-Pune Duranto Express, Howrah-Jagdalpur Express, Howrah-Pune Azad Hind Express, Howrah-Ahmedabad Express, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Ranchi Express, Shalimar-LTT Express, Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail and ...

This is the second day of the agitation by the representatives of the Kurmi community in demand of their recognition as a Scheduled Tribe

Several vehicles were stuck on the old National Highway 6, which connects Kolkata to Mumbai, after an organisation of the Kudmi community started a blockade in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district on Tuesday, demanding that they be given ST status. West Bengal Kudmi Samaj started the blockade around 6 am at Khemashuli in the Kharagpur local police station area, officials said. "The blockade will continue until our demands are met," said Tapas Mahato, a leader of the organisation. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the road because of the blockade, triggering massive traffic snarls even on the other adjoining roads in Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram districts. Till the last report was received around 11 pm, the blockade was continuing. Drivers of the stranded vehicles said they were facing scarcity of food and water. Some of the vehicles were being diverted through Balibhasha in Jhargram to bypass the blockade, officials said. Kudmis are at present classified as OBCs.

More than 19,000 students from OBC, SC and ST categories dropped out from central universities, IITs, and IIMs during 2018-2023, according to the Ministry of Education. The data was shared by Union Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, in response to a written question in Rajya Sabha. According to available records, the number of drop out students from 2018 to 2023 in Central Universities (CUs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in various courses is 19,256. While 14,446 students from the three categories dropped out from central universities during the period, 4,444 students dropped out from IITs, and 366 from IIMs, the minister said . "In the Higher Education sector students have multiple options and they choose to migrate across institutions and from one course or programme to another in the same institution. The migration or withdrawal, if any, is mainly on account of securing seats by the students in other departments o

A parliamentary panel has asked the government for creation of a national portal for listing of all cases of atrocities against the people belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. The report of the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes examined the annual reports of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the measures that should be taken by the Union government to this end. The panel has asked the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry to make all out efforts for the financial independence of the NCSC in coordination with the Ministry of Finance so that it can be supplied with a separate 'Demands for Grants' for its working. The Committee said that it has so far held 26 meetings reviewing the implementation of the Acts as well as the schemes in this connection in the states and Union Territories. The Committee demanded the creation of a national Portal for listing of all cases of atrocities on SCs and STs and its ..

Bommai informed that several schemes like Kisan Samman for farmers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Aatmanirbhar, and Ayushman Bharath have been implemented

The moves in the budget are just the latest in a string of efforts that have been employed by the BJP for quite a while

The enrolment of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students in higher education institutions has increased notably between 2014-15 and 2020-21, with ST students registering a nearly 47 per cent growth, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21. The report released by the Ministry of Education showed that of the 4.13 crore students enrolled in 2020-21, 14.2 per cent belonged to SC category, 5.8 per cent ST category and 35.8 per cent to OBC category. The remaining 44.2 per cent students were from other communities. "The growth in enrolment of Scheduled Caste students in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20 is 4.2 per cent, whereas the growth in 2019-20 over 2018-19 was 1.6 pc. Further, overall increase in SC student enrolment since 2014-15 is 27.96 pc. Enrolment of Scheduled Tribe students has increased to 24.1 lakh in 2020-21 from 21.6 lakh in 2019-20," the report said. "This increase (11.9 pc) is significantly higher th

While experts believe that provision for various social schemes may go up, the sector is unlikely to see any major announcements

Parliament passed a bill on Thursday to include "Betta-Kuruba" along with "Kadu Kuruba" in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka. The Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2022 through a voice vote on Thursday. The Lok Sabha had, on December 19, passed the bill that was piloted by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda in the Upper House. The minister said the bill seeks to provide justice to the Betta-Kuruba community of Karnataka, which has only about 5,000 members living in the southern state. "The state government of Karnataka has requested to include 'Betta-Kuruba' community as a synonym of 'Kadu Kuruba' in entry 16 in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Karnataka," said the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. Responding to the issues raised by Opposition members, Munda alleged that the Congress has not done anything for the welfare of the tribal community and is now shedding crocodile tears. Munda said the Narendra Modi

Opposition members on Wednesday asked the government to take a holistic approach on reservation for tribals and urged it to bring a comprehensive bill that covers all communities to be included in the Scheduled Tribes category instead of bringing state-wise legislation. Some opposition members also questioned if the government was bringing state-wise bills for political considerations. Speaking on the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9, members across party lines raised issues affecting the Adivasis in their regions including that of providing them basic amenities, giving them representation according to their population and protecting them from fake caste certification for reservation. Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule said while she welcomes the government's move to include names of communities left out from the ST list, why had the government not brought a "comprehensive bill" that cover

The SC/ST Reservation Ordinance Replacement Bill is one among a set of Bills to be introduced in a session of the State Legislature to be held at the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi from tomorrow, said CM

Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to grant Scheduled Tribe status to Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran communities in Tamil Nadu. Piloting the Bill, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda said the proposed legislation seeks to provide justice to tribal communities of Tamil Nadu. "There is no politics involved" in the move, which is aimed at improving the lives of the members of the tribal communities of Tamil Nadu, he said. The Bill follows the suggestion of the Tamil Nadu government that Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran communities be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the state. "On the basis of the recommendation of the State of Tamil Nadu and after consultation with the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, it is proposed to amend Part XIV of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950," said the statement of objects and reasons

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to include the Gond community in the Scheduled Tribes category in parts of Uttar Pradesh. The Rajya Sabha passed by a voice vote the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, with some amendments. The bill was introduced by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday. Replying to the discussion on the bill, Munda said the issue has been pending since 1980s and blamed the then Congress-led government for ignoring the plight of the community and denying them their constitutional rights through Schedule Tribes category. Munda also moved amendments in the bill, which will again go to the Lok Sabha for its nod. The bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha in April this year. The bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Uttar Pradesh) Order, 1967 (ST Order) and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (SC Order) with respect to its application to Uttar Pradesh

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday took up a bill that seeks to include the Gond community in the Scheduled Tribes category in parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda introduced the motion for consideration and passage of the bill when the Upper House reassembled at 2 pm post lunch break. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed by the Lok Sabha in April this year. The bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Uttar Pradesh) Order, 1967 (ST Order) and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (SC Order) with respect to its application to Uttar Pradesh. It amends the Scheduled Castes order to exclude the Gond community as a Scheduled Caste in four districts of Uttar Pradesh: Chandauli, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Sant Ravidas Nagar. It amends the ST order to recognise the Gond community as a Scheduled Tribe in these four districts. Pramod Tiwari of the Congress supported the bill but

Four separate bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday to revise the lists of Scheduled Tribes in as many states. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda introduced the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bills for Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill seeks to to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill aims to provide for inclusion of certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Himachal Pradesh. Another bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka. The fourth bill aims to include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh. From time to time, the government brings such bills to give effect to modifications proposed by various states in relation to the ST list.

Provisions for subsidies for eligible people

Reaching out to tribals, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced the setting up of a Scheduled Tribe (ST) Commission and teaching the life of tribal leaders to students through history textbooks. Addressing a gathering in Nashik to mark the 'Janjatiya Gaurav Divas', Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Bhagwan Birsa Munda fought for water, land and forest. "The work of all tribal revolutionaries in the country is inspirational and proud. This struggle of tribal revolutionaries helped the nation to achieve its freedom. The government will take efforts for branding and marketing of development concepts and handcraft by the tribals. Along with it, as per the demand by tribal development minister Vijaykumar Gavit, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) Commission will be set up in the state soon, Shinde said. In his address, Governor B S Koshyari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has honoured tribals in the country by selecting Droupadi Murmu as the President. Vijaykumar Gavit said a separate cel

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot gave his assent to the ordinance increasing the reservation for the Scheduled Castes from 15% to 17% and the Scheduled Tribes from 3% to 7% in the state