Context

Tribal affairs ministry launches e-governance website DBT Tribal to track and fulfil welfare schemes.

About

Ministry of Tribal Affairs has developed online portals namely DBT Tribal and NGO Grants Online Application & Tracking System for bringing in e-Governance in implementation of welfare schemes for Scheduled Tribes (STs) with greater efficiency and transparency.

DBT Tribal portal

• There are 3 main modules for Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship. Data sharing module is mainly meant for sharing beneficiary-data by States.
• In Communication module, the States have facility to upload documents, raise query and DBT data uploaded by States is used for faster release of funds. Monitoring module has facility of MIS reports & Dashboards.
• Ministry has further developed module for verification of students by Universities and Colleges under Fellowship scheme and Grievance Module for all stake holders including beneficiary students in 3 Central Sector schemes and Institutions.

NGO portal

• It has been developed for implementing scheme of Aid to Voluntary Organizations working for the welfare of STs, has been fully revamped & redesigned with simplified Application form, Inspection Report and Fund Processing module.
• The system has been automated and the NGOs simply need to follow specified steps to access grants.
• Other features include online grievance redressal, and it is integrated with NFS (National Fellowship), NOS (National Overseas Scholarship) and NSP (National Scholarship Portal).

Why were these initiatives launched?

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been facing multiple challenges in its functioning. There is no established mechanism for collecting data from the States or collating it.
• By this initiative, states would provide data in different formats and different mechanisms ranging from printouts to various digital formats, making collation cumbersome and prone to errors and even manipulation.
• This order has helped tribal students to get their own bank accounts. DBT Tribal is expected to address these anomalies.
• The portal is also expected to help States share beneficiary data with the tribal affairs ministry through web services. It will send SMS/email notifications to institutions and States as well as the beneficiaries. The portal also has a provision for the states and the nodal department to upload utilisation certificates (of subsidies and other grants) and issue sanctioning orders.