Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a project worth INR 240 billion ($2.8 Billion) for the development of vulnerable tribal groups.
The project aims to provide necessary facilities like road and telecom connectivity, electricity, sanitation, health, and education to all remotely located or inaccessible Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PM-PVTG) villages.
PVTGs are identified based on their "primitive level of technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy rates, and subsistence economy."
According to the government data, India has 75 PVTGs across 18 states and Union Territories. The largest population of PVTGs is found in Odisha, with Madhya Pradesh coming in second. In total, there are approximately four million people belonging to PVTGs in Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of Lord Munda's birth anniversary on Wednesday, Modi also paid floral tributes to his 25-foot high statue in Ulihatu Village of Jharkhand state. Modi is the first prime minister to have visited this village -- the birthplace of Lord Birsa Munda.
The birthday is celebrated as "Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas" in the country.
Modi also visited the Birsa Munda Memorial Park-cum-Freedom Fighter Museum, situated at the Old Central Jail, where Munda passed away on 9 June 1900.