Finance
The National Conference of Chairpersons of the Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of Parliament and State Legislatures was inaugurated in Bhubaneswar, Odisha today. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the event.
For two days, the conference will go on. Odisha has hosted a nationwide meeting of a parliamentary committee for the first time since 1994. The national level conference was attended by four MLAs, five members, and the chairs of the legislative committees from every state and union territory.
It was attended today by up to thirty members of the Parliamentary Committee on Scheduled Castes and Tribes Development. Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram, Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan; Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, and Chairperson, Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SC and ST, Dr Faggan Singh Kulaste are present at the conference.
The two-day Conference (29-30 August 2025) will bring together over 120 delegates, including Chairpersons and Members of the Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from Parliament and State / UT Legislatures. The theme of the Conference is “Role of Parliamentary and Legislative Committees in Welfare, Development and Empowerment of SCs and STs.”
The Conference will conclude on 30 August, 2025 with the Valedictory Address of Governor, Odisha Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla; Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Harivansh; Chairperson, Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SC and ST, Dr. Faggan Singh Kulaste; Speaker, Odisha Legislative Assembly, Surama Padhy; Deputy Chief Ministers of Odisha, K. V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida will also address the Valedictory Session. Bhaskar Madhei, Chairperson, Committee on Welfare of SC and ST, Odisha Legislative Assembly, will deliver the Vote of Thanks.
In order to empower the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Conference will discuss ways to improve socioeconomic growth, strengthen constitutional protections, and exchange best practices. With the goal of achieving an inclusive Viksit Bharat by 2047, it will also emphasize the crucial role that State and Parliamentary Legislature Committees play in guaranteeing accountability in the execution of welfare measures.
In 1976, New Delhi hosted the First Conference of Chairpersons of Committees on the Welfare of SCs and STs. Following that, conferences were conducted in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2001, all of which contributed to a lively discussion on the various facets of welfare and constitutional protections for SCs and STs. Nonetheless, this conference is being held outside of Delhi for the first time.
