The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, has given Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham the title of ‘Centre of Excellence in Tribal Empowerment through Digital Inclusion’ on October 9, 2018. The title was given by recognizing Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s significant work to uplift India’s tribal people in the fields of education, health, and e-literacy by The Government of India. The ministry also highlighted the distinctive work that has led to the fulfillment of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals through its 101 adopted villages project – Amrita SeRVe. This gives Amrita the opportunity to involve themselves in the central government’s discussions regarding framing policies related to SDG 1 – No Poverty, SDG 3 – Good health and well-being, SDG 4 – Quality Education, and SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities for the welfare of the tribal community.

Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice-Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, said, “It is an honor to receive this recognition from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Chancellor Mata Amritanandamayi Devi’s vision and service to the most impoverished remote and rural areas of the country have paved the way for this. We expect this multi-disciplinary collaboration to impact more than 9,000 beneficiaries in the next few years at the grassroots level, and culminate in policy changes at the highest level.”

“Amrita is honored to have been given this distinction by the Tribal Ministry,” said Dr. Prema Nedungadi, Director, AmritaCREATE  (Amrita Center for Research in Analytics, Technologies & Education).

“Our immediate plans are to understand baseline data and the impact of technology in areas such as digital literacy, oral-contraceptive use, oral hygiene, micronutrient deficiencies, digital safety, antenatal-health monitoring, and vaccination, as well as with our Adolescent Ambassadors for the awareness program. We have also already completed awareness training in the dangers of substance abuse to 1,000 tribal students,” she added.

The title recognizes the accomplishments of a multidisciplinary approach to empower tribal communities. The participation comes from a diverse group of Amrita’s departments, including Community Medicine, Public Dentistry, Nutrition, and Social & Data Science, as well as AmritaCREATE.