Bhubaneswar is set to host a two-day National Conference of Chairpersons of Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on August 29–30. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the conference, along with an exhibition and the release of a souvenir.
Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Surama Padhy, will deliver the welcome address, while Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi will propose the vote of thanks.
More than 120 delegates, including Chairpersons and Members of Committees on the Welfare of SCs and STs from Parliament and State/UT legislatures, will take part in the conference. The theme is “Role of Parliamentary and Legislative Committees in Welfare, Development and Empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”
The valedictory session on August 30 will be addressed by Odisha Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Dr. Faggan Singh Kulaste, Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy, and Odisha Deputy Chief Ministers K. V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida will also participate. Odisha SC/ST Welfare Committee Chairperson Bhaskar Madhei will deliver the vote of thanks.
The conference will deliberate on constitutional safeguards, socio-economic development, and best practices for the empowerment of SCs and STs. It will also underline the role of committees in ensuring accountability in implementing welfare policies, aligned with the vision of an inclusive Viksit Bharat 2047.
This is the first time such a conference is being held outside Delhi. The first edition was held in 1976 in New Delhi, followed by subsequent editions in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2001.