Speaking on the occasion, the President said that multi-pronged measures toward socio-economic empowerment have had a salutary effect in tribal areas. Still, many tribal blocks continue to rank low on human development indicators.
He emphasized that the Tribal Development Administration has to focus on human development apart from according primacy to survival issues. There has to be coordinating mechanisms cutting across different departments and agencies to ensure effective delivery of services.
Integrated Tribal Development Projects have to be fully empowered both financially and administratively to become real change agents, ensuring effective implementation and reaching out to tribal people at their doorstep.
Information and Communication Technology has to be used extensively to improve the reach of schemes and programmes.
The President said that tribal development, as one of our pressing priorities underlines the need to strengthen the existing institutions.
It calls for addressing the development and administration deficits in tribal areas to improve human development parameters of the tribal population. There are a multitude of national and state level organizations working towards tribal development.
A wider convergence mechanism at the policy level is required to leverage the resources available. He said that as much as we ought to learn from tribal people, we have a duty to empower plural tribal streams and contribute to that guiding spirit of our Constitution: “We the People of India”.
