President Graces Odisha High Court 75th Anniversary Closing Ceremony

President Draupadi Murmu attended the closing ceremony of the event to mark the 75th anniversary (Platinum Jubilee) of the Odisha High Court held in Cuttack, Odisha on July 26, 2023. President Draupadi Murmu is on a state visit to Odisha from July 25 to 27, 2023.

On her arrival, President Draupadi Murmu was received at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha’s Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Apart from various official engagements President Draupadi Murmu will also visit the birthplace of Netaji Subhash Chandra bose in Cuttack and meet the members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) at the Odisha Raj Bhavan on July 27, 2023. Lodha, Mankirdia, Paudi Bhuiya and Saura tribes of Odisha are included in the PVTGs. 

About President Draupadi Murmu:

President Draupadi Murmu is from Odisha. She was born in a Santhal tribal family of Uperbeda village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. 

President Draupadi Murmu is the 15th President of India. She is the first tribal person to become the President of India and also has the distinction to be the second female President of India after Pratibha Patil Singh. 

About Odisha High Court:

• The Odisha High Court was established on 26 July 1948 with its seat at Cuttack, Odisha

• The first Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court was Justice Bira Kishore Ray. The present Chief Justice is Justice S. Muralidhar.

• Court Seat: Cuttack.

• The total sanctioned strength of judges in the Odisha Court  is 27.

• Presently there are a total of 25 High Courts in India.

• The Calcutta High Court (1 July 1862) is the oldest High Court in India.

• The Allahabad High Court has the largest number of judges with a sanctioned strength of 160  judges.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs):

Tribes which use pre-agriculture technology, are economically backward, have low levels of literacy and a declining or stagnant population are classified by the government of India as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). 

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has identified 75 PVTGs in the country residing in 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar.

From Rajasthan, Saharia tribe has been identified as PVTG.

In order to improve the socio economic conditions of the PVTGs in the country, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech announced that the government of India will launch Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission. It will be a three year mission with an outlay of Rs 15,000 crore.