All India Institute of Ayurveda, (AIIA) Phase-Ii Started--- National Institute of Homoeopathy Being Set Up Main Event of International Day of Yoga Celebrated in Dehradun--50,000 People Performed Yoga Along with the PM Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Act, 2018 Comes in to Effect IT Education Launched for Ayush Professionals in Collaboration with C-DAC
The Ministry of AYUSH through its multi pronged strategy in year 2018 has been able to bring alternative system of medicine particularly Ayurveda and Homeopathy in to mainstream of the public health system in India. During the year, usage of Information Technology in AYUSH system was given prominence, new Hospital and Research Centers opened and MoUs signed with several stakeholders including several Ministries and Countries for disseminating benefits of traditional systems all over the country and abroad.
The Ministry continued to propagate, publicise and popularise the alternate system of medicine with an aim of minimising the gap between demand and supply of medical facilities in the country. Following are the significant achievements and details of the important activities of Ministry of AYUSH during the year.
Reform Measures The Central Government promulgated the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, (No.4 of 2018) dated 18th May, 2018. Through the Ordinance, the Central Council of Homoeopathy(CCH), the statutory regulatory body for Homoeopathy system of medicine has been superseded by Board of Governors with a view to bring necessary regulatory reforms in the field of Homoeopathy education and ensuring transparency and accountability for improving standards in Homoeopathy medical education.
In order to ensure transparency, improve the quality and functioning of AYUSH colleges, the President had promulgated the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 on 18th May, 2018 with the following objectives:-
(a) To constitute a Board of Governors by superseding the Central Council of Homoeopathy till a new Central Council was duly reconstituted within a period of one year from the date of supersession of the Central Council;
(b) To make provision for obtaining prior permission of the Central Government by all Homoeopathy Medical Colleges for admission.
In order to replace the ordinance with an Act, the Ministry introduced the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 during the Monsoon session of the Parliament. This has been approved by the President on 13th August, 2018 and the corresponding Act, namely, Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Act, 2018 published in the Gazette of India as Act No. 23 of 2018.
The foundation stone of National Institute of Homoeopathy at Narela, Delhi has been laid by MoS for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, on 16th October, 2018. Total project Cost is Rs. 259.12 crore. An All India Institute of Ayurveda, (AIIA) Phase-II SaritaVihar has also been started this year. The total Project Cost is Rs. 209.33 Crore.
Use of Information Technology in AYUSH Sector A new course on IT education was launched for AYUSH professionals in collaboration with C-DAC.
Ministry of AYUSH has registered a remarkable presence on social media. AYUSH systems have been promoted on Ministry’s various Social Media Platforms i.e. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Blog and Twitter and also at MyGov Platform to benefit the various strata of population about the AYUSH systems.
Ministry is also developing a cloud based AYUSH GRID under the digital India mission. All the AYUSH Teaching Institutes, Hospitals and industry will be linked to AYUSH Grid.
The Ministry of AYUSH was on the top spot of Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) top 10 brands during the week 25 (June 16-22, 2018) with 14,731 insertions.
An MoU between University of Mauritius and Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Sciences (CCRAS) autonomous organization under Ministry of AYUSH was signed on 14th March, 2018 for establishing AYUSH Academics Chair in Ayurveda.
An MoU between Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Government of Equatorial Guinea on cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine was signed on the 8th April, 2018.
A Country to Country MoU between Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba on cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy was signed on the 22nd June, 2018.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), Ministry of AYUSH and The Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria on 26.09.2018 at Austria to cooperation and collaboration in the field of Ayurveda.
MoU between Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Railways, Govt. of India was signed for establishment of AYUSH wings at 05 Railway Hospitals. It will open the doors of job opportunity to AYUSH graduates in Ministry of Railways. The Ministry of AYUSH also entered into an MoU with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, USA and Harvard Medical School, USA.
Ministry of AYUSH, the nodal Ministry for celebration of International Day of Yoga (IDY) across the country, successfully coordinated various IDY-2018 across the country. The National event was held at Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, Uttarakhand, wherein approximately 50,000 people participated in the Mass Yoga Demonstration, alongwith the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Apart from common people, Central Armed Police Forces ( CAPF) personnel’s, National Cadet Corpse (NCC) cadets, students of various educational institutes, Nehru Yuvak Kendra( NYKs) National Service Scheme (NSS), and various Yoga institutes were participated in this mega event. A series of Yoga programmes were conducted in national capital (Delhi).
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had organised 04 and 03 events respectively. In addition to this, one more mega event was organized by Brahmakumaris at Red Fort, with nearly 30,000 participants wherein 2000 Woman Police Force also attended. Altogether, around 65,000 people participated in the Delhi.
One of the highlights of IDY observation is the announcement of the Prime Minister’s Yoga Awards. The awards are given away each year for exemplary contribution in the field of Yoga towards the development and promotion of Yoga.
This year the Awards have been conferred on one individual and one institution, as follows: (i) Sh. Vishwas Vasant Mandalik, Nasik (National – Individual category) (ii) The Yoga Institute, Mumbai (National – Institution category)
Yoga Ambassadors’ Tour: The Yoga Ambassadors’ Tour being organized in collaboration with Kerala Tourism on 14th June, 2018. 52 participants from 22 countries joined in the Yoga Tour. The tour was culminated on 21st June, 2018 with a grand celebration of International Day of Yoga.
The Ministry of AYUSH, through Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN), had organized one-month free Yoga training programme in around 600 districts across the country through Govt. Organisations/ NGOs, ahead of IDY. It had also organized 11 one day workshop on Yoga for Women in the 40+ age group in association with Indian Menopause Society in different parts of the country.
International Naturopathy Organisation (INO) had trained more than 51 lakh people in Yoga during the IDY-2018. Several State Governments like Punjab, Haryana, UP etc. have trained people on this occasion in large numbers.
Two mobile technology based applications deployed by the Ministry, namely BHUVAN-YOGA (developed by ISRO) and Yoga Locator, contributed to the public mobilization for IDY-2018. The former helped to assess the magnitude of participation at different venues and the later helped the public to locate events near them. The data collected through these apps are being analysed and collated statistically to gather a better picture of the extent of participation in IDY-2018.
The Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY)an autonomous organization under Ministry of AYUSH organized an International Yoga Fest (IYF), a Curtain Raiser for International Day of Yoga-2018, from 21-23rd March, 2018 and Pre-Fest Yoga Workshops by Eminent Yoga Masters from 19-20th March 2018, at MDNIY & Yoga Centres at SAI Stadia. The main objective of IYF was to sensitize the masses regarding celebration of International Day of Yoga on June 21. A total of 120 workshops were conducted from 19-20th March, 2018 where 5000 Sadhaks got the benefit. International delegates of more than 16 countries across the Globe participated IYF-2018
The Ministry of AYUSH conducted a Conference of Heads of AYUSH National Institutes on 17 & 18 July 2018 with the objectives to upgrade the Standard of Education, Research & Health Care; harmonise & rationalize the infrastructure and activities of the National Institutes; fund and Resource generation for sustainable development; and networking and collaboration among the National Institutes. In addition to discussion on various issues, an MOU was signed between All India Institute of Ayurveda, SaritaVihar and Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi on Co-operation and Collaboration in the field of Research and Development in Ayurveda. Protocols on Development of Standard Operating procedures on Pre-conceptional and Pre-natal care through Ayurveda and Standard Operating procedures of Uttaravasti have been released during the session.
An “International Conference on Yoga for Public Health” was organised by Ministry of AYUSH at Panaji, Goa. The Conference was attended by 600 Indian and foreign delegates including 20 Yoga experts from 11 countries. The event provided the foreign participants an opportunity to capture and understand various dimensions of Yoga and to help them further propagate the same in their respective countries.
To ensure availability and regular supply of raw material of medicinal plants for AYUSH drugs, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) under its “Central Sector Scheme on Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” is augmenting the medicinal plants resources in the wild and also promoting their large scale cultivation in farmers’ field under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM).
The major achievements of NMPB are as under: NMPB in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) developed e-Bhuvan herbs mobile app. for geo-tagging and monitoring of the organizations funded by NMPB for carrying out various activities related to medicinal plants.
NMPB has collaborated with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to implement space based tools in monitoring & strategic decision making in the field of medicinal Plants.
Yoga protocols for separate groups, viz. pregnant ladies, lactating mothers, adolescent girls and (children in the age group of 3-6 years), were developed in consultation with Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). This protocol was forwarded to Ministry of Women & Child Development for using the same in connection with PoshanAbhiyaan.
Pursuant to the initiative taken by Ministry of AYUSH to open AYUSH Hospitals by public sector companies, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has agreed to establish five AYUSH centres at Kayamkulum, Koldam, Tapovan, Vindhyachal and Farakka.
M/o Power agreed to establish 05 AYUSH Centres/Hospitals through NTPC at different locations in the country viz. Kayamkulum, Koldam, Tapovan, Vindhyachal and Farakka.
Pharmacovigilance of ASU&H drugs: A Central Sector Scheme of ‘Pharmacovigilance Initiative for ASU&H Drugs’ has been implemented by the Ministry of AYUSH from the financial year 2017-18. The scheme has established a National Pharmacovigilance Coordination centre for collecting reports on quality aspects from 05 intermediary and 43 peripheral centres with a financial allocation to the tune of Rs 1.66 crore approved for implementation of the initiative in 2018-19.
NABH Accreditation: For the first time, the Ministry of AYUSH through its continuous efforts has got the hospitals viz., National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune, Maharashtra, National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore, Karnataka, National Institute of Yoga, Delhi and National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, NABH accredited. Ministry of AYUSH has made it obligatory for AYUSH hospitals for their accreditation to NABH standards with a view to enhancing the quality and safety aspects. Till date a total of 62 AYUSH hospitals have got the NABH accreditation.
In pursuance of the proposal of the Ministry of AYUSH the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology has decided to adopt the word “AYUSH” in Hindi and English languages for scientific and technical purposes. As approved by the Commission, the word “AYUSH” will have the meaning “Traditional and Non-Conventional Systems of Health Care and Healing which include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Homoeopathy etc.”
Development of new drugs and commercialisation: CCRAS has developed new drugs for different disease conditions. These are AYUSH Manas for Mental retardation/cognitive deficit, AYUSH QOL for improving quality of life of Cancer patients, AYUSH Rasayan A & B in geriatric health, AYUSH M-3 for Migraine, AYUSH SL for Filariasis, AYUSH A for Bronchial Asthma, AYUSH D for Type II Diabetes Miletus, Carctol S for Cancer, AYUSH K1 for chronic Kidney Diseases, Ayurveda drug for Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease and Ayurveda drug as adjuvant to ATT for hepatoprotection. These formulations are at different phases of drug development.
Commercialisation of drugs: Further CCRAS has commercialized already developed products namely Ayush-82 for Type –II Diabetes and Ayush SG for Rheumatoid arthritis NRDC in last two years and now these formulations are already available in the market for general public which are cost effective and the people are using these formulations for diabetes and Rheumatoid arthritis. The Council has also commercialised AYUSH 64.
In Central Council of Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) one project each in Collaboration Clinical Research, Medicinal plant Research Drug standardization, Literary Research have been completed. Total 4 projects have been completed during October, 2018.
Central Council of Research in Ayurveda (CCRAS) has completed Clinical Research in 1 IMR project. 1 IMR project of Drug Standardization Programme and 1 IMR project of Clinical Research, has been initiated.
Officials from Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) attended and presented the Research work of the IMR project entitled “Geo-chemical characterization of Muppu” in the 1st National Bio-Medical Research competition on the occasion of 87th anniversary of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam organized by AIIMS, Rishikesh held on 15th October, 2018 and won the Yong Researcher award.
Swasthya Rakshan Programme has been executed through 7 CCRS Institutes/Units in 3 states 2 union territories. 12 locations were covered and medical care and awareness about hygiene and health was also provided to the people.
Central Council for Research in Siddha with the support of Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India organised a National Conference on “Global Acceptance for Siddha System of Medicine: Scope and Challenges” which was held on 28th & 29th September, 2018 at AmmaArangam, Community Hall, Shenoy Nagar, Chennai.
Ministry of AYUSH organized the First Siddha Day 2018 at Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai on 4th January, 2018 through Central Council of Siddha (CCRS), Chennai to generate awareness among the people about the Siddha system of Medicine.
The Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine organized an International Conference on Unani Medicine on the occasion of Unani Day during 10th and 11th February 2018 in New Delhi. The subject of the conference was ‘Integration of Unani System of Medicine in Mainstream Healthcare’. Around 440 professionals participated in the Conference. International delegates from 12 countries attended the conference. A total of 10 AYUSH Awards were distributed in different categories of Unani Medicine.
As integral part of Celebration of 3rd Ayurveda Day, 2018, the Council has setup Ayurveda countdown corners from 16.09.2018 (50 days to go) at CCRAS Hqrs. and all 30 Research Institutes and Centres functioning under it across the country. The core activities comprise public lecture on Ayurveda & its importance, Medicinal plant exhibition, half day marathon and free distribution of sapling of medicinal plants etc. On this occasion, “The Social Media Secretariat” was formally inaugurated.
The month of September was celebrated as “PoshanMaah” in all the AYUSH hospitals/ dispensaries, teaching institutes, research councils and their peripheral units under the M/o AYUSH in accordance with the guidelines of M/o AYUSH, M/o Women and Child Development, M/o H&FW and Department of School Education and Literacy. Various state AYUSH hospitals/ dispensaries, AYUSH National institutes/ teaching institutes and five research councils and their field units organized various nutritional and health camps for adolescent girls, pregnant ladies, lactating women and children. The success of camps was also marked by a team of UNICEF who covered the activities among their video production team at Central Ayurveda Research Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases (CARICD) on 15.09.2018.
Scheduled Tribes Component across all Ministries witnesses a substantial increase from Rs. 31,920.00 Cr. in the year 2017-18 to Rs. 37,802.94 Cr in 2018-19.
Government announces important measures to revamp and expand scheme of setting up EMRSs; 462 new EMRSs to be set up
Launch of Van Dhan Yojana by Prime Minister to improve income and livelihood for about 5 crore tribal people
Two National level and four state level museums to celebrate contribution of tribal freedom fighters being set up
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal Ministry for overall policy, planning and coordination of programmes for development of Scheduled Tribes. The Scheduled Tribes comprise about 8.6% of India's population (according to the 2011 census).
In the year 2018, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs focused on education of tribal people, new initiatives to substantially step up economic empowerment of the tribal population as well as bring into spotlight the tribal culture by constructing museums to highlight the tribal freedom fighters.
A very major thrust this year has been on revamping and overhauling the prominent scheme of setting up of Eklaya Model Residential Schools to expand the reach of good quality education among the tribal persons.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs has continued with its endeavours for socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes (STs) through specially tailored schemes for education, infrastructure and livelihood to fill in critical gaps. Allocation of Business Rules (ABR) of Government now mandates this Ministry to monitor ‘Tribal Sub-Plan’ (now recoined as ‘Scheduled Tribe Component’) funds of Central Ministries based on the framework and mechanism propounded by NITI Aayog. In order to consistently improve public service delivery, Ministry of Tribal Affairs constantly reviews various schematic initiatives, recent ones being rationalization of scholarship schemes besides on boarding of same on DBT platform and online portal for NGO Grants.
Budget allocation of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has gone up from Rs. 5329.32 Crore in the year 2017-18 to Rs. 5957.18 Cr in 2018-19. Ministry has already utilized 74.69% of its allocated outlay on various developmental initiatives for STs. An amount of Rs. 2385.90 Cr (as on 09th December, 2018) has been released under two Special Areas Programme of the Ministry viz. Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme and Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution for Education, Health, Livelihood/Income Generation Activities etc. Similarly, allocation for Scheduled Tribes Component across all Ministries has witnessed an increase from Rs. 31,920.00 Cr in the year 2017-18 to Rs. 37,802.94 Cr in 2018-19.
With implementation of Public Financial Management System (PFMS), efficiency in funds allocation and monitoring its release has been improved besides enhancing transparency and accountability. All agencies receiving funds from the Ministry have been on boarded in the system. This facilitates real-time tracking of fund utilization by implementing agencies.
Allocation of Business Rules (ABR) amended in January, 2017 has mandated the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) for monitoring of STC funds of Central Ministries. An online monitoring system has been put in place by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with web address http://stcmis.gov.in for monitoring of Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP)/Schedule Tribe Component (STC) funds. The framework captures data directly from Public Finance Management System (PFMS) and provides inputs to see through expenditure vis-a- vis allocations. Monitoring of physical performance and outcome of initiatives has also been introduced in the system. A customized proforma has also been developed in MIS to capture location of ongoing projects and beneficiary details. Further, Nodal Officer have been designated in line Ministries/Departments for coordination and monitoring. Required credentials are shared with nodal officers for uploading data regarding output and outcome. Review meetings are held regularly for effective monitoring.
There are 37 Central Ministries and Departments having STC funds catering to specific tribal development in various sectors through 299 different schemes, as reflected in the Statement 10B of the Expenditure Profile of the Budget, 2018-19. Allocation for welfare of Scheduled Tribes across all Ministries has witnessed an increase from Rs. 24,005.00 crore in financial year 2016-17 to Rs. 31,920.00 crore in financial year 2017-18 and Rs. 37,802.94 crore in 2018-19. With the efforts of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the STC expenditure has gone up from 85% of total allocation at Revised Estimate stage in 2016-17 to 96% in 2017-18. During 2018-19, out of total allocation of Rs. 37,802.94 crore, an amount of Rs. 23,772.05 crore has already been released as on 09.12.2018, which is 62.88% of the total allocation.
As far as State TSP funds are concerned, vigorous efforts of MoTA has resulted in 98% increase in expenditure of State Tribal Sub-Plan funds by States during the years block of 2010-13 (wherein a total of Rs. 1,65,691.00 crore was expended) to 2014-17 (wherein a total of Rs. 3,27,574.00 crore were expended).”
As on 09.12.2018, 63% of the total allocated STC amount has been released by different Central Ministries / Departments against various development projects relating to education, health, agriculture, irrigation, roads, housing, electrification, employment generation, skill development etc.
Eklavya Model Residential School is an excellent approach for imparting quality education to ST children. Apart from school building including hostels and staff quarters, provision for a playground, students' computer lab, teacher resource room etc. are also included in the EMRSs. The scheme aims to bridge the gap in literacy level between the general population and tribal population.
A total of 284 EMRSs have been sanctioned as on date, out of which 219 have been reported functional, with about 65,231 students enrolled therein.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, in its meeting held on 17th December, 2018, has decided that by the year 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an Eklavya Model Residential School. Eklavya schools will be on par with Navodaya Vidyalayas and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.
It has also been decided to set up an Autonomous Society under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs similar to Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to run the EMRSs.
The recurring cost has also been enhanced from the existing Rs. 61,500/- to Rs. 1,09,000/- per student per year from 2019-20.
The CCEA decision also spells out reservation of 20% seats under sports quota and 10% for non-ST students.
Rolling out the proposed scheme with a financial cost of Rs. 2238.47 Crores during 2018-19 and 2019-20.
An outlay of Rs. 118.65 Crore has been made to various states under the scheme Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) and Grants under Article 275(1) for skill development of more than 31,000 male and female tribal beneficiaries in a wide gamut of trades such as (i) Planning and Management including office management (ii) Solar Technician / Electrician (iii) Beautician (iv) Handicraft (v) Skills required for day to day construction works (such as Plumbing, Mason, Electrician, Fitter, Welder, Carpenter (vi) Refrigeration and A/C repairing (vii) Mobile repairing (viii) Nutrition (x) Ayurvedic & tribal medicines (xi) IT (xii) Data Entry (xiii) Fabrication (xiv) Paramedics and Home Nurse Training (xv) Automobile Driving and Mechanics (xvi) Electric & Motor Winding (xvii) Security Guard (xviii) Housekeeping & Management (xix) Retail Management (xx) Hospitality (xxi) Eco-tourism (xxii) Adventure Tourism.
Government has conceptualized and planned setting up of permanent museums in States where Tribals lived, struggled against the Britishers, refused to bowdown to alien rule and were far ahead in making sacrifices.
Ministry has decided to construct a state-of-the-art Museums for Tribal Freedom fighters of national importance in Gujarat with a total outlay of Rs. 102.55 crore and MoTA's contribution of Rs. 50.00 crore.
The second national level museum is to come-up in Jharkhand with an outlay of Rs. 36.66 crore and MoTA's contribution of Rs. 25.00 crore.
The Ministry has also shortlisted four other states i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh for construction of State level museums.
INITIATIVES FOR PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL GROUPS (PVTGS) i. Ministry has enhanced the allocation of funds for the development of PVTGs from Rs. 240.00 crores in 2017-18 to Rs. 260.00 crores in 2018-19.
ii. State Government have been given the flexibility of utilizing the funds using the gaps identified through Base Line Surveys.
iii. In order to ensure the overall development of PVTGs, emphasis is being given on Micro planning using GIS mapping of tribes.
iv. Emphasis in the Comprehensive cum Development (CCD) approach for preserving traditional architecture, traditional health practices, cuisine besides maintaining the heritage and culture of PVTGs.
Pre Matric Scholarship · Inviting applications Online - States are either using their own portal or National Scholarship Portal (NSP) for obtaining online applications from students.
· Financial assistance enhanced from Rs. 265.00 crores in 2017-18 to Rs. 350.00 crore in 2018-19 out of which Rs. 294.58 crore is released to states as on 06.12.2018.
· Inviting applications Online - States are either using their own portal or NSP portal for obtaining online applications from students.
· Financial assistance enhanced from Rs.1347.07 crores to Rs. 1586.00 crores for 2018-19 out of which Rs. 1308.77 crore is released to states as on 06.12.2018.
Financial assistance in the scheme for 2018-19 is Rs.100.00 crores.
Top Class Scholarship scheme · Inviting applications Online - NSP being used for inviting application from students studying in identified top class institutions. · Tuition fees are being disbursed directly to the Institutes while maintenance allowance to student’s individual accounts directly through PFMS. · 87 new institutes added to the scheme during the year 2018.
Fellowship Scheme · Ministry took over implementation of scheme from UGC since 2017-18. · Inviting applications Online - Operationalised NFST portal for inviting fresh applications online and 2302 applications for the year 2018-19 have been received. · Student queries are resolved through coordination with PFMS and Banks. · High priority accorded to persons with Disabilities, PVTGs, BPL and females.
National Overseas Scholarship for ST students. · Portal has been operationalised by the Ministry and hosted on Ministry’s NIC Server. · Flexibility introduced for courses of study to be undertaken by Students. · 138 applications have been received for the year 2018-19, which are under process.
DBT · Data is being collected every month and uploaded on DBT Bharat Portal.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched a game-changing initiative for tribal people - The Van Dhan Yojana, with the launch of the first Van Dhan Vikas Kendra at Bijapur by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 14th April, 2018. It aims to provide skill upgradation and capacity building training and setting up of primary processing and value addition facility.
As per the plan, TRIFED will facilitate establishment of MFP-led multi-purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, a cluster of 10 SHGs comprising of 30 tribal MFP gatherers each, in the tribal areas. This initiative is aimed at mainstreaming the tribal community by promoting primary level value addition to MFP at grassroots level.
Through this initiative, the share of tribals in the value chain of Non-Timber Forest Produce is expected to rise from the present 20% to around 60%. About 3000 such Van Dhan Kendras are proposed to be set up in two years in the forested Tribal Districts of the country.
To begin with, this initiative is proposed to be taken up on priority in the 39 Districts with more than 50% tribal population and to then gradually be expanded to other Tribal Districts in India.The initiative aims to promote MFPs-centric livelihood development of tribal gatherers and artisans.
MFP or what may be more aptly referred to as Non Timber Forest Produces (NTFPs) are the primary source of income and livelihood for about 5 crore tribal people in the country.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs organized a National Tribal Festival named as 'Aadi Mahotsava' from 16thNovember, 2018 to 30th November, 2018 with the help of TRIFED to celebrate, cherish and promote the spirit of tribal craft, culture, cuisine and commerce at Delhi Haat, INA. This festival was inaugurated by Sh Jual Oram, Hon'ble Minister of Tribal Affairs.
More than 1000 Artisans from 20 States, 80 Tribal Chefs and 14 Dance Troupes comprising more than 250 Artists participated in the Mahotsav. Highlights of the Mahotsav were – Live demos for traditional tribal food and drink; Lac bangles; demo for 4 different schools of painting i.e. Warli, Pithora, Gond and Saura; Fashion show for tribal textiles, fashion accessories etc. Tribal products displayed at Mahotsav included heritage collection of Sarees, Men’s collection including cotton, woollen and silk Jackets, Kurtas from MP, Rajasthan and Jharkhand; Bell Metal from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh; Paintings from Gujrat, Maharashtra, Odisha and MP; Woollens from HP, Uttaranchal and J&K; Honey, spices dry fruits etc. from different States; Tribal Jewellery from Himachal, Odisha, North-East, MP, Telangana; Pottery from Manipur, Rajasthan; Home Furnishing from Rajasthan, North East, MP, UP; Bags collection from Gujrat, Telangana, Jharkhand; and Grass Mat and Coir collection from West Bengal, Jharkhand and Kerala.
At the closing ceremony of the National Tribal Festival, Hon’ble Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram felicitated tribal sportswoman - Ms. Mary Kom, for her extraordinary achievement of 6th time Women’s World Boxing Champion at Dilli Haat on 30th November, 2018, who is also Brand Ambassador for TRIBES India (Punchtantra range of products) .
It has also been proposed that National Tribal Festivals shall be conducted in 17 States/ Union territories up to March, 2019 to provide a broad platform to highlight tribal culture across India.
Implementation of Online application system “NGO Grants Online Application & Tracking System” (www.ngograntsmota.gov.in) activated for processing NGO proposals under the scheme of “Grant-in-aid to Voluntary Organizations working for welfare of Scheduled Tribes” has resulted in quicker information flow and smoother implementation of the scheme besides increasing the number of applications.
MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE FOR MINOR FOREST PRODUCE The scheme for ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and development of Value Chain for MFP” (known as MSP for MFPin short) was launched in the year 2013-14 and it then covered only ten MFP items and was applicable to the Schedule V States only. Subsequently, in October 2016 the extent and coverage of the scheme was increased by adding more MFP items and also rendering the scheme applicable country wide. The MSP of ten items that were originally incorporated into the scheme were further revised in November 2017. The issues of further expanding the list of MFP items as also further revising the MSP of the existing MFP items are being considered by the Ministry.