12 August 2026·PIB

Development of Tribal Communities under PMJUGA

In this note

1. At a Glance

PM-JUGA (Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan), also called DAJGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan), is India's largest convergence-based tribal village development scheme. [1][4]
Aims to saturate infrastructure/service gaps (health, education, Anganwadi, livelihoods) in 63,843 villages across 549 districts, 2,911 blocks, 30 States/UTs over 5 years, benefiting >5 crore tribals. [1]
Administered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs but implemented via convergence of 17 line Ministries running 25 interventions. [1]
High-yield for Prelims (numbers-heavy) and Mains GS-I/II (tribal welfare, federalism, cooperative implementation).

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey informed the Rajya Sabha (12 Aug 2026) on progress made under the Abhiyan, along with state-wise annexures on blocks/villages/ST population covered and funds sanctioned. [1]

Launched by the Prime Minister on 2 October 2024 (Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary), from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. [1][3]
Originally announced/branded as DAJGUA; subsequently referred to as PM-JUGA. [1][4]
Builds on / runs alongside PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan), an earlier scheme focused on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). [2]
Implementation period: 2024-25 to 2028-29 (5 years). [3]

Parameter	Detail
Nodal Ministry	Ministry of Tribal Affairs [1]
Implementing Ministries	17 line Ministries [1]
Interventions	25 [1]
Villages covered	63,843 [1]
Districts	549 [1]
Blocks	2,911 [1]
States/UTs	30 (26 States + 4 UTs) [3]
Beneficiaries	>5 crore tribals [1]
Total outlay	₹79,156 crore (Centre: ₹56,333 crore; States: ₹22,823 crore) [3]
Village eligibility	Villages with ≥500 population and ≥50% ST share; or villages in Aspirational Blocks with ST population ≥50 [3]
Launch venue	Hazaribagh, Jharkhand [3]
Launch date	2 October 2024 [1]

Social

Targets saturation of basic services (health, education, Anganwadi, drinking water, electrification, housing) for tribal households, addressing historic infrastructure deficits in tribal-majority villages. [1]
States retain flexibility to propose inclusion of left-out eligible villages, allowing local correction of Census-based exclusion errors. [3]

Administrative

Convergence model — 17 Ministries executing 25 interventions under one umbrella — creates coordination challenges (monitoring, fund flow, overlapping mandates) typical of "Mission mode" governance. [1]
Progress tracked via Parliamentary reporting (Rajya Sabha, 12 Aug 2026) with state-wise annexures — indicates centralized MoTA oversight despite decentralized execution. [1]

Economic

Large outlay (₹79,156 crore) with Centre-State cost-sharing (roughly 71:29), signals fiscal federalism dimension in scheme design. [3]
Livelihood component (agriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, skilling) aims at income generation, not just infrastructure. [1]

Governance

Reliance on population-threshold criteria (500 population/50% ST) for village selection raises design questions on excluding scattered/small tribal hamlets — addressed partly via the Aspirational Block provision. [3]

12 Aug 2026: Minister Durgadas Uikey updates Rajya Sabha on Abhiyan progress and state-wise fund sanctions. [1]
Ongoing implementation reporting includes state-wise coverage of blocks, villages, and ST population, and funds sanctioned by Ministry of Tribal Affairs. [1]

PM-JUGA = Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan; also known as DAJGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan). [1]
Launched on 2 October 2024 (Gandhi Jayanti) from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. [1][3]
Comprises 25 interventions implemented by 17 line Ministries. [1]
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Tribal Affairs. [1]
Targets 63,843 villages, 549 districts, 2,911 blocks, 30 States/UTs. [1]
Benefits over 5 crore tribals over 5 years. [1]
Village eligibility: ≥500 population with ≥50% ST population, or ≥50 ST population in Aspirational Blocks. [3]
Total scheme outlay: ₹79,156 crore (Centre ₹56,333 crore + States ₹22,823 crore). [3]
Coverage: 26 States and 4 UTs. [3]
Distinct from PM-JANMAN, which specifically targets PVTGs. [2]
Progress reported to Rajya Sabha by Union Minister Durgadas Uikey on 12 August 2026. [1]

GS-I: Social empowerment, vulnerable sections (tribal welfare).
GS-II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors; issues arising from design and implementation; Centre-State relations/cooperative federalism in convergence schemes.
Possible question stems:
"Discuss the significance of convergence-based governance models like PM-JUGA/DAJGUA in addressing multi-sectoral deprivation among tribal communities. What implementation challenges do such models face?"
"Examine the criteria used for village selection under PM-JUGA. Does population-threshold-based targeting risk excluding the most vulnerable tribal groups?"
"PM-JUGA envisages coordination among 17 Ministries for 25 interventions. Critically analyse the federal and administrative challenges of such multi-ministerial convergence schemes in India."

PM-JANMAN — parallel scheme specifically for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs); often confused with PM-JUGA. [2]
Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution — constitutional framework for tribal area administration.
PESA Act, 1996 — self-governance in Scheduled Areas, relevant to tribal village development.
Van Dhan Vikas Yojana — tribal livelihood/forest produce scheme, complements PM-JUGA's livelihood component.
Aspirational Districts/Blocks Programme (NITI Aayog) — overlapping geographic targeting logic used in PM-JUGA eligibility.
Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) — tribal education infrastructure, likely one of the 25 interventions.
Forest Rights Act, 2006 — land/resource rights dimension relevant to tribal development discourse.

Confusing PM-JUGA/DAJGUA (broad village-saturation scheme, all tribal-majority villages) with PM-JANMAN (narrower, PVTG-specific scheme). [2]
Misattributing the nodal ministry — it is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, coordinating (not solely implementing) via 17 line Ministries. [1]
Confusing launch date (2 October 2024) with the announcement/Budget mention date, which may have preceded actual launch. [1][3]
Mixing up the two acronyms' expansions — PM-JUGA = "Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan"; DAJGUA = "Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan" — these are the same scheme under two names, not two different schemes. [1]
Numeric mix-ups: 63,843 villages vs 549 districts vs 2,911 blocks — easy to swap in MCQs. [1]