Witnessed participation from over 150 participants from 15 tribal communities across Central India

In the run-up to its pan-India tribal conclave Samvaad, held in Jamshedpur in November every year, the concluding session of Regional Samvaad took place here at Amarkantak. This was a two-day event held between September 23-24, 2017. Tata Steel had partnered Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) at Amarkantak for the fourth and final regional session for 2017.

As in the previous three regional rounds held across Waynad, Netrang and Guwahati, the theme for the Regional Samvaad: Central India was ‘Aspirations of Tribal Youth & Leadership for Future’. The event witnessed a participation from over 150 people across 15 tribal communities who attended discussions on preserving traditional wisdom and knowledge, social challenges in the tribal society, tribal education and livelihoods, gender issues, serving as an ideal platform for the tribal population to present their views and exchange ideas.

It is worthwhile to note here that IGNTU besides providing advanced learning to tribal students primarily, also serve a common goal of recognising tribal issues within Central India, and seeking solutions for them.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Prof Alok Shrotriya, Director, Academics & Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, IGNTU, said: “There is much in store for us to learn from a tribal lifestyle. Besides a rich heritage, modern man can take home lessons on relationship, the art of living within available means, agriculture, medicine, and several other disciplines. I welcome Tata Steel’s effort towards providing a platform to these communities, and also helping them find solutions to identified issues.”

“Tribals have lot to offer to the world. The world can learn from tribal communities how to live. It is for that reason that youth from the tribal communities must come together and take up leadership positions to preserve sustainable wisdom and practices," added, Mr Biren Bhuta, Chief, CSR, Tata Steel.

The event recorded nearly nine issues across the education, agriculture, livelihood, heritage, tribal sports, gender diversity and other. Discussion revolved around identifying a particular problem indigenous to the communities, arriving at root causes to those issues, and arriving at implementable solutions at the community levels by the youth. True to its tradition, the session concluded with a tribal cultural programme where one witnessed performances from two tribes – Baiga and Dhurwa – across Central India.

About Tata Steel: Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 27 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as on March 31, 2017. It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Group recorded a consolidated turnover of US $18.12 billion (INR 117,420 crore) in FY17. Tata Steel Group is spread across five continents with an employee base of nearly 74,000. Having bagged the Deming Application Prize and Deming Grand Prize for continuous improvement in 2008 and 2012 respectively, Tata Steel has now been recognised as the global ‘Industry Leader’ in ‘Steel category’ by Dow Jones Sustainability Index (2015). Besides being a member of the World Steel Climate Action Programmer, Tata Steel has also been felicitated with several awards including the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant for 2013-14 (received in 2017), Best Risk Management by CNBC TV18 (2016), ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ award from TIME India (2016) and the ‘Most Ethical Company’ award from the Euthyphro Institute (2016), IIM Sustainability Award (2015), among several others.
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Kulvin Suri
Chief, Corporate Communications, India & SEA
Tata Steel