The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has affirmed in Parliament that the current criteria set by the Lokur Committee for including communities in the Scheduled Tribes list is adequate and requires no amendment. This procedure, albeit criticized by a government task force in 2014, has been in place without any changes.
Criteria For Inclusion in Scheduled Tribes List
As per the existing framework, the process to include tribes in the ST list commences with recommendations from the respective State governments. These recommendations are forwarded to the Tribal Affairs Ministry which reviews them and sends them on to the Registrar General of India for approval. After that, they seek approval from the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes before sending the list to the Cabinet. The eventual aim is to bring changes to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 accordingly.
The Lokur Committee stipulates certain criteria for inclusion: primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness. Despite an eight-year-long consideration to amend these criteria due to allegations of being outdated and contradictory to affirmative action, the proposal was put on hold.
Parliamentary Standing Committee Concerned About MGNREGS Budget Reduction
The Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed their concern over the reduction of Rs 29,400 crore in the budget allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for the fiscal year 2023-24. The committee’s report beckons a reevaluation of this reduction to guarantee effective execution of the scheme.
On the topic of compulsory attendance through the National Mobile Monitoring System App, the committee agrees to its necessity while highlighting challenges such as unavailability of smartphones, proper internet connectivity and the need for MGNREGS workers’ presence for both ‘in’ and ‘out’ attendance. The committee has suggested the government increase wage rates under MGNREGS by correlating it to a suitable pricing index and ensuring workdays extend beyond 100 days.
IMD Launches Services on UMANG Mobile App
Recently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has introduced seven of its services on the ‘UMANG’ mobile App for public use. These include Current Weather, Nowcast, City Forecast, Rainfall Information, Tourism Forecast, Warnings and Cyclone services.
In recent years, IMD’s initiatives have been aimed at improving their dissemination of information through various channels such as e-mail, WhatsApp groups, and social media. They have also launched apps for weather forecasting, Agromet advisory dissemination, and lightning alert.
O-SMART Scheme Implementation
The government has set aside Rs. 2177 crore for the implementation of the ‘Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)’ Scheme over a span of five years, i.e., 2021-22 to 2025-26. To achieve the objectives of this scheme, the Ministry of Earth Sciences is taking several measures.
These involve deploying various ocean observational platforms like Argo floats, Wave Rider Buoys, Automatic Weather Stations, and others. Operational services, such as Tsunami Early Warnings, Potential Fishing Zones, Ocean State Forecast, are generated using in-house data and models. The Ministry also conducts coastal surveys, deep-sea cruises, and routine public awareness campaigns to disseminate technology and policies.
