Bhubaneswar: The Centre has, in the last three years, released more than Rs 1656.8 crore for empowerment of Scheduled Tribe (ST), tribal and other vulnerable communities in Odisha, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted on Monday.
He pointed out that more than 16,700 students from vulnerable sections in Odisha have enrolled in Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) while over 6.36 lakh ST students and over 5.54 lakh students of vulnerable communities have been benefitted under the pre-Matric and post-Matric scholarship in the last three years.
The Union minister further said that more than 3.37 lakh from ST in the state have benefitted from financial assistance provided by the Modi government through voluntary organizations while several thousand have benefited from other schemes.
Thanking the Prime Minister and Union Tribal Affairs minister Arjun Munda for their relentless efforts to create an ecosystem to enable the tribal population, especially in Odisha to realize their full potential and ensure inclusive growth, development and prosperity, Dharmendra said that the Centre is committed to provide equal opportunities to the poor and disadvantaged so that they can become an important pillar of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
