Indian Tribal News Service
Jammu
As many as 500 tribal youths of Jammu and Kashmir will be trained under the Financial Literacy Programme proposed by the Bombay Stock Exchange and Punjab National Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced on Sunday in a ceremony wherein he conferred the first-ever Union Territory level Tribal Awards.
A Tribal Chair each at IIT, Jammu and Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri will also be established, MoUs for which were signed between the Tribal Affairs Department and the two academic institutions.
The L-G felicitated individuals and institutions for their exemplary services to tribal welfare and achievements in the field of sports, education, culture, literature and science & technology and termed the establishment of Tribal Chairs a milestone in academic research and preserving the cultural heritage of the tribal community.
“It will bridge the gap in research and institutional support. The collaboration will work towards preservation of rare books, language styles, and socio-cultural heritage. Most importantly, the documented history can be digitized,” he pointed out.
Highlighting the measures taken by the Government for the welfare of the tribal community of J&K, the L-G said, the UT Government is working tirelessly for the holistic development of tribal communities, promoting entrepreneurship amongst tribal youth and women, transforming tribal schools, developing villages and tourism besides implementing Van Dhan scheme for their empowerment.
The Lt Governor said the Tribal Research Institute in J&K is preserving tribal cultural heritage, felicitating outstanding achievers from tribal communities, identifying problems related to tribals, and pursuing research activities for capacity building to fully realize their potential.
He said, for the first time in history, ASHA health workers from the tribal community are being appointed to work for the health care of the population living in the high pasture region during the summer season.
The government has launched a Telemedicine scheme to reach out to the tribal population living in far-flung areas with the services of specialist doctors. In addition to the Tribal Health Plan started last year, Telemedicine and Mobile Medical Care Unit will bring much needed transformation in health care of tribal families, he pointed out.
Lauding the efforts of the officials of the Tribal Affairs Department of the UT, the Lt Governor called upon the Department to focus on convergence of all available welfare schemes so that maximum benefits are percolated at the grassroots level.
The Lt Governor also highlighted the recent launch of the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana for rapid and inclusive development of tribal villages and urged the UT Tribal Department to review programs related to climate action and initiate Annual Earth Care Awards, to be awarded for tribal community-based performance.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, termed the occasion as a significant beginning of the new era for the development of tribal community. The initiatives launched today were part of our endeavor to connect the tribal population with the mainstream of development, he added.
Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary to the Government, Tribal Affairs Department, highlighted various initiatives taken to empower the tribal community of Jammu & Kashmir.
The event also witnessed the inauguration and launch of various initiatives for the welfare of the tribal community including first edition of TRI newsletter, web portal of Tribal Research Institute, tribal helpline, state-of-the-art computer lab, skill development programme for tribal vulnerable groups, tele-consultation facility for migratory tribal population, smart survey app for nomadic tribal communities, and a book titled ‘Khanabadosh’.
Later, the Lt Governor flagged off 41 Ambulances for different cluster tribal villages.
