President Droupadi Murmu On Three-day Tour Of Odisha

President Droupadi Murmu will be on an official visit to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh from November 20 to 22. She will inaugurate new trains and attend the Santali Writers Association at Baripada during her visit.

Official engagements of the President

• On November 20, the President will address the inaugural session of the 36th Annual Conference and Literary Festival of All India Santali Writers' Association at Baripada, Odisha. 
• She will also inaugurate an Eklavya Model Residential School at Kuliana, Odisha, on the same day.   
• On November 21, President Murmu will inaugurate a Skill Training Centre at Pahadpur village in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.  
• She will flag off three new trains: Badampahar– Tatanagar MEMU(Electric Mulitple Unit), Badampahar-Rourkela Weekly Express, and Badampahar - Shalimar Weekly Express from the Badampahar Railway station.
• She will also inaugurate the new Rairangpur Postal Division, release a commemorative cover of the Rairangpur Postal Division, and lay the foundation stone for redeveloping the Badampahar Railway station. 
• She will also attend the 15th annual convocation of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla, Sambhalpur. Odisha 
• On November 22, the President will launch the National Education Campaign – New Education for New India, organised by Brahma Kumaris, Sambalpur at Sambalpur, Odisha.
• Later, the President will visit Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, where she will attend the 42nd convocation of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.

About President Droupadi Murmu

• Droupadi Murmu is the 15th President of India. She was elected in 2022. 
• She is the first tribal person and the second woman after Pratibha Patil to hold the office of the President.
• President Murmu was born at Uparbeda in a Santhali tribal family under Mayurbhanj in Odisha.
• From 1994 until 1997, she worked as an honorary teacher at the Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre in Rairangpur. 
• President Murmu was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the Rairangpur seat in 2000 and held the position for two terms till 2009.

Santhal Tribe

• According to the 2011 census, Santhals are the 3rd largest tribal community in India after the Gond and Bhil tribes.
• 'Santhal' is formed from two words:'santha' (calm and tranquil) and 'ala' (man).
• Major states include Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal.
• Cultivation, Industrial Labour, Mining, and Quarrying are the most common major occupations of the Santhal tribe.
• Santhals speak Santhali, which has a script called Ol Chiki. Pandit Raghunath Murmu is given credit for creating the OL Chiki script. Santhali in the Ol Chiki script is listed in the Constitution's Eighth Schedule.  

Eklavya Model Residential School

• The Eklavya Model Residential School(EMRS) is the Government of India's flagship project for providing quality education to tribal children. 
• The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing the project.
• Model residential schools are set up under the project to provide quality education to the deprived  Scheduled Tribes childrenhroughout India. 
• It was launched in 1997-98 to guarantee access to quality education for the tribal children in the isolated areas of India. 

Aims: 

• To provide education in sports and skill development
• To construct schools on par with Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas, emphasising modern facilities for conserving regional art and culture.