From Gujarat to the Nation
How Modi’s Tribal Vision Became a National Movement

When Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram recalls his early association with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his memories go beyond politics — they’re about people. “When he became Chief Minister, he used to call me often to work in tribal areas — particularly in South Gujarat: Banaskantha, Surat, Dang,” Oram says. “We worked closely with the tribal communities for their welfare and empowerment.”

Those efforts in Gujarat became the foundation for what is now India’s national framework of tribal inclusion. Under Modi’s leadership, Gujarat launched the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY) — a path- breaking model of integrated tribal development that combined livelihoods, education, housing and health into a single, community-driven mission. “He would pick one area and do all-round development — from roads to schools to welfare,” recalls Oram.

The Gujarat model was built on participatory planning and outcome-oriented governance. Local priorities determined the projects, reflecting Modi’s insistence that development should be based on felt needs, not administrative assumptions. “No project should stop for want of funds,” Oram adds, underscoring his belief in result-driven implementation.

When Modi became Prime Minister, these ideas were scaled nationally. Flagship programmes such as Vanbandhu 2.0, Eklavya Model Residential Schools and the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) continue the same logic: community-led, data-driven and locally accountable governance.

This evolution aligns closely with the framework outlined in ModiNomics – A Journey of Inclusive Growth, which describes inclusive development as resting on three interlocking pillars — Social Inclusion, Digital Inclusion and Financial Inclusion — powered by participatory governance. In practice, this means preserving tribal identity while enabling access to opportunity, leveraging technology as an equaliser and using financial inclusion to transform welfare into wealth creation.

The book carries two chapters on Tribal Development as a subject close to the heart and policies of Prime Minister Modi.

Today, the Aspirational Tribal Blocks Programme, Digital India for Tribes and the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras all echo this holistic philosophy — empowerment through integration, innovation and inclusion.

Ground-level evidence from SKOCH Development Foundation reinforces this transformation. In Sundargarh district of Odisha, SKOCH documented success stories such as the Drink from the Tap (Har Ghar Jal) initiative, Banana and Mushroom plantations boosting livelihoods and Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) at Bhawanipur and Liang. Over 100 such best practices from across India form the Digital Knowledge Repository on Tribal Affairs — spanning not only state Tribal Affairs departments but also sectors like health, education and digital governance that shape tribal life.

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