Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan

• Adi Karmayogi Abhiyan is a national movement to build a decentralized tribal leadership and governance ecosystem. 
• Coverage: It marks the world’s largest tribal grassroots leadership programme, covering 11 crore citizens in 30 States and UTs. 
•  It is world’s largest tribal grassroots leadership mission.
• Ministry: Ministry of Tribal Affairs. 
• Key Objectives
  •  Train and mobilize 20 Lakh tribal changemakers across 1 Lakh villages in 550 tribal-dominated districts
  • Facilitate Village Vision 2030 Planning & Development Action Plan
  • Promote last-mile convergence & effective service delivery
  • Capture & amplify voices of tribal communities
• Three pillars of leadership: Adi Karmayogi, Adi Sahyogi, Adi Saathi.

Issues in Tribal Governance

• Gaps in PESA implementation: Many states have been slow to adopt PESA provisions in state laws, and there is lack of awareness and capacity among local officials and communities about their rights under PESA.
  • E.g. Despite being formed in 1996, Jharkhand is yet to implement PESA.
• Limited Voice in Decision-Making: Studies have found that the formal Gram Panchayat system, often does not ensure adequate representation of tribal voices or preservation of their cultural heritage.
  • Moreover, in Fifth Schedule states, Tribes Advisory Councils (TACs) are purely advisory and have largely been ineffective in most states.
• Land Alienation and Displacement: In many areas, tribals are vulnerable to losing their land to outsiders or development projects.
  • Even in regions with special constitutional protections (like Sixth Schedule areas), land alienation, displacement, and socio-economic marginalization of tribal people have been observed.
• Poor Implementation of Welfare Policies: Schemes targeting tribal welfare, such as the Forest Rights Act (FRA), often suffer from weak execution.
  • Over 38% FRA claims for land have been rejected till November 2022 (Central Government).
• Socio-Economic Marginalization: Poverty levels are very high, about 45% of tribals in rural areas and 24% in urban areas live below the poverty line.
  • Many are excluded from economic opportunities due to low education levels (literacy rate for Scheduled Tribes in India is 72.1% according to PLFS report 2022)