President of India inaugurates the National Tribal Festival, Aadi Mahotsav
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the National Tribal
Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ in New Delhi today (February 16, 2025).
Speaking on
the occasion, the President said that Aadi Mahotsav is a key event to highlight
and promote tribal heritage. Such festivals provide a great
opportunity for the entrepreneurs, artisans, and artists of the
tribal society to connect with the market.
The
President said that the crafts, food, dress and jewellery, medical
practices, household equipment, and sports of the tribal society are the
precious heritage of our country. At the same time, they are also modern and
scientific because they show a natural harmony with nature
and the ideals of a sustainable lifestyle.
The
President said that during the last 10 years, many effective steps have been
taken for the overall development of the tribal society. The Tribal Development
Budget has increased five times to about one
lakh twenty-five thousand crore rupees. Apart from this, the Tribal
Welfare Budget Allocation has increased three times to about 15 thousand crore
rupees. The idea behind paying
special attention to the development of tribal society is that only when the
tribal society progresses, our country will also progress in the true sense.
That is why, along with increasing the sense of pride toward tribal
identity, multi-dimensional efforts are being made to develop the tribal society
at a fast pace.
The
President was happy to note that a lot of progress is being made towards the
economic empowerment and employment of the tribal society. She highlighted that
education plays the most important role in the development of any society. She
said that it is a matter of happiness that about 1.25 lakh tribal children are
getting school education through more than 470 Eklavya Model Residential
Schools in the country. In the
last 10 years, 30 new medical colleges have been started
in tribal-dominated areas. A national mission has been launched to solve a
specific problem related to the health of the tribal society. Under this
mission, the target has been set to eradicate sickle cell anemia by
the year 2047.
Aadi
Mahotsav is being organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs from February 16
to 24, 2025 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi. This
festival aims to provide a glimpse into the rich and diverse traditional
culture of the tribal communities of our country.