November 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of 246 projects worth about ₹3,000 crore for tribal communities today, Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, which marks the 151st birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. He will join the main programme in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, by video conference at 11 am and address the gathering, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The projects include 57 Eklavya Model Residential Schools for tribal students: 38 to be opened and 19 to be started.
Key highlights
- Scale: 246 projects worth about ₹3,000 crore, covering education, health, livelihoods, tribal heritage and community infrastructure.
- Inaugurations: 173 projects, including 38 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and 100 Multi-Purpose Centres under PM-JANMAN.
- Foundation stones: 73 projects, including 19 new EMRS and 12 Tribal Multipurpose Marketing Centres.
- Heritage: a new Tribal Research Institute building in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Ropuiliani Tribal Freedom Fighter Museum in Mizoram.
- Venue: Gadchiroli, Maharashtra; the Prime Minister joins virtually.
- Occasion: the end of the Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada, held from November 1 to 15.
What is being opened and started
| Type | Inauguration (173) | Foundation stone (73) |
|---|---|---|
| Eklavya Model Residential Schools | 38 | 19 |
| PM-JANMAN Multi-Purpose Centres | 100 | — |
| Tribal Multipurpose Marketing Centres | — | 12 |
| Other PM-JANMAN and DAJGUA projects | Included | 42 |
| Heritage and research | TRI building, Itanagar; Ropuiliani museum, Mizoram | — |
The Multi-Purpose Centres under PM-JANMAN, the mission for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), are meant to serve as hubs for delivering government services and for community activities. The marketing centres are meant to help tribal producers reach buyers.
The Ropuiliani museum
The new museum honours Mizo tribal freedom fighters and showcases Mizo culture and history. It is named after Ropuiliani, a 19th-century Mizo chieftainess who resisted British colonial rule, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The fortnight that ends today
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs held the Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada from November 1 to 15. It included an interaction of about 200 EMRS students with the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a National Tribal Literary Festival in New Delhi, a Rani Durgavati Adivasi Mahila Sammelan of 500 tribal women entrepreneurs from 30 states and Union Territories, a conclave to train about 1,500 traditional healers in Hyderabad, and health and nutrition camps for PVTGs. Scholarship camps were planned in 73 districts.
The ministry also planned to launch the Jan-HIT portal, which it described as India’s first tribe-disaggregated health data platform, developed with ICMR and covering 20 states, and a National FRA Digital Platform to move forest-rights claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, to digitally signed titles.
Birsa Munda and Jharkhand
Bhagwan Birsa Munda, known as Dharti Aaba, led the Munda uprising against British rule in the late 19th century. The government declared his birth anniversary, November 15, as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in 2021. Jharkhand, his home state, was carved out of Bihar on the same date in 2000 and marks its foundation day today. Earlier national celebrations were held in Ranchi (2021), Khunti (2022 and 2023), Jamui in Bihar (2024) and Dediapada in Gujarat (2025).
Our calculation
| Question | Answer | How we got it |
|---|---|---|
| Average size of a project | About ₹12 crore | ₹3,000 crore ÷ 246 |
| Share of projects being inaugurated (not just started) | About 70% | 173 of 246 |
| EMRS in today’s list | 57 | 38 inaugurated + 19 foundation stones |
| Years since Jharkhand was formed | 26 | 2000 to 2026 |
What it means for India
Today’s list leans heavily on residential schools and service centres, with a smaller number of market-access projects. Because a large share of the projects is being inaugurated rather than only started, their effect on school enrolment and service delivery should be visible sooner. The PVTG focus matters because these are the groups the government classifies as the most vulnerable among Scheduled Tribes.
What to watch
- The Prime Minister’s address at 11 am and any new announcements.
- When the 19 new EMRS and 12 marketing centres are completed.
- The rollout of the Jan-HIT health data portal and the FRA digital platform.
A statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda in Kalyani, West Bengal (file photo). Image: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo source · Licence
Sources
- Prime Minister’s Office: PM to participate in Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas programme on 15 November
- PIB (Ministry of Tribal Affairs): Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas 2026, nationwide tribal pride celebration from November 1 to 15
The National Desk covers India's politics, governance, security and public-interest news. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
