Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate a two-day National Conference of Chairpersons of Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on August 29, 2025.
This landmark event, hosted for the first time outside Delhi, will bring together over 120 delegates, including Chairpersons and Members of SC/ST Welfare Committees from Parliament and State/Union Territory Legislatures, to discuss strategies for the welfare, development, and empowerment of these communities.
The conference, themed “Role of Parliamentary and Legislature Committees in Welfare, Development and Empowerment of SCs and STs,” will feature prominent leaders such as Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SC and ST, Dr. Faggan Singh Kulaste.
The inaugural session will include a welcome address by the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Smt. Surama Padhy, and a vote of thanks by Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi. Birla will also inaugurate an exhibition and release a souvenir to mark the occasion.
Deliberations over the two days will focus on strengthening constitutional safeguards, promoting socio-economic development, and sharing best practices to empower SCs and STs. The conference aims to enhance the role of legislative committees in ensuring accountability and effective implementation of welfare policies, aligning with the vision of an inclusive Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The event will conclude on August 30 with a valedictory address by Odisha Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, joined by Om Birla, Harivansh, Dr. Faggan Singh Kulaste, Surama Padhy, Odisha’s Deputy Chief Ministers, K. V. Singh Deo & Pravati Parida, and Bhaskar Madhei, Chairperson of the Committee on Welfare of SC and ST in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
This conference marks a historic milestone as the first of its kind to be held outside Delhi since the inaugural event in 1976. Previous conferences in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2001 have fostered robust dialogue on SC/ST welfare, and this edition promises to further strengthen these efforts through collaborative discussions and actionable outcomes.
