There are around 705 Scheduled Tribes (STs) notified in India. Apart from this, around 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are also present. ST community constituted around 8.6 % of the total population as per Census 2011. Tribals in India have seen a growth from 3 crores in 1961 to 10.4 crores in 2011. Sex Ratio which has been a matter of concern for the population as a whole has shown improvement. The literacy rates among STs of India remain below the national average of 73%. The female literacy at 49% compares poorly to 69% among the male counterparts in tribal communities.

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) was carved out of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in the year 1999 with a mission to enhance the socio economic status of the trial population in India, preserving their dignity and culture besides working towards bridging gaps in Human Development Indices (HDI) of tribals vis-à-vis other social groups through an outcome-based approach, through convergence of available resources and re-engineering of process.
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs is committed to tribal development through specially tailored educational, infrastructure and livelihood scheme to effectively plug the critical gaps.
• In addition to various provisions in the Constitution of India that not only grant equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was established through an amendment to Article 338 of the constitution by way of Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
• NCST oversees the implementation of various safeguards provided to Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution.
• The major policies of MoTA aim to ensure overall development of both ST men and women.

Access to Quality Education:

• One of the flagship interventions of MoTA, the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs), focuses on improving access to quality education. More than 50 per cent of students in these schools are girls.
• Same is the case with Ashram Schools where the focus is on ST girls.
• In order to provide an enabling environment to girl students studying in non ST specific schools, ST girls hostels have been constructed in different places.
• Financial assistance is provided to girls from the ST community to pursue their education at various levels.
• The Pre and Post Matric scholarships for ST students, majority of who are girls is to enable them to pursue their education till 12st standard.
• At college/university level, under the scheme of “National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST student:, ST students are encouraged to acquire higher qualifications like M.Phils and Ph.D. 30 per cent of the total fellowships is earmarked for ST girls. Similarly 30 per cent awards are earmarked for ST girls under the National Overseas Scholarships (NOS) for pursuing Post Graduation, Ph.D and Post-Doctoral studies abroad. Support is also given to NGOs to run schools in districts having low literacy among ST girls under the scheme of “Strengthening Education among Scheduled Tribe (ST) Girls in Low Literacy Districts”.

Schemes for Economic Development:

• The National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation is an apex organization under Ministry of Tribal Affairs for economic development of STs.
• The Corporation is having an exclusive scheme for economic development of ST women titled “Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaram Yojana” (AMSY). Under the scheme, the Corporation provides financial assistance up-to 90 per cent to projects with an outlay of Rs 1 lakh at a concessional rate of interest of 4 per cent.
• The Corporation also extends its financial assistance for women beneficiaries under other income generating schemes.
• Apart from this, schemes like Minimum Support Price to Minor Forest Produce (MSP to MFP) and support to tribal artisans by Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) also benefit the ST women largely.

Right to Forest Produce:

• The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 provides for full and unrestricted participation of women at all levels.
• Another important provision in the Act is that the “right conferred shall be registered jointly in the name of both the spouses”.
• The Forest Rights Committee provides that at least two-third members shall be Scheduled Tribes and not less than one-third of such members shall be women.
• Under the scheme of Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Scheme (SCA to TSS) and Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution, skill development and capacity building of ST women are taken up by States with complete support of MoTA.
• The Tribal Research Institutes conduct training cum awareness programmes and workshops for ST women Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) members on several issues like leadership development, women empowerment awareness on PESA, FRA etc.
• Steps are also being taken to improve the infrastructure in tribal areas including road connectivity, modernization of tribal haats (markets), improving the processing and storage facilities, etc. MoTA has encouraged tribal festivals National and State levels that serves as window for tribals including women folk to showcase rich skills and talents. In varied art forms.

Conclusion:

The Ministry is committed to fill the gaps in implementation of various programmes and supplement the efforts of other Ministries. More than 50 per cent of the budget of the Ministry is largely spent in sectors including education, health, nutrition and livelihoods benefitting the tribal population and also the tribal women in specific. Realizing the important role played by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in reaching the unreached areas, the Ministry has been supporting many NGOs who have been able to extend health and education facilities to tribals in deficient areas. Empowerment of Women is a continuous process, the gap between the general population and STs in general and amongst ST population in particular needs to be eliminated.