In a bid to woo tribals ahead of upcoming general elections in 2024, the central government has opened its coffers in the Union Budget 2023-24 for tribal communities and scheduled castes. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday increased the budgetary allocation for the tribal affairs ministry by 50 per cent to Rs 12,847 crore for FY24, from Rs 8,451 in FY23.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman announced a host of important measures for scheduled tribes, such as recruiting 38,000 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools serving 340,000 tribal students in order to provide quality middle