‘We want tribal communities to be leaders, not beneficiaries’: Jual Oram

Once seen largely as beneficiaries of welfare schemes, India’s tribal communities are now emerging as entrepreneurs, innovators, and market leaders, says Jual Oram, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet since 2024

Steering this transformation, Oram , in an email interview with LiveMint, discusses the government’s new approach—one that combines compassion with commerce, and inclusion with innovation—to achieve sustainable growth and dignity in tribal areas across the country. Edited excerpts:

A: We are steadily moving tribal entrepreneurship from a welfare-driven model to one that is enterprise-led and market-driven. Our focus is to empower tribal communities not merely as beneficiaries, but as leaders shaping India’s economic future . Al