Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRI)

What is the Support to Tribal Research Institutes scheme?

Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRI) is a Ministry of Tribal Affairs scheme that funds the network of state-level Tribal Research Institutes. A Tribal Research Institute is the research arm of a state's tribal welfare administration. It documents tribal communities, languages, customs and livelihoods, runs a museum in most states, and supplies evidence to the state government on tribal policy.

According to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the scheme extends financial support to the TRIs functioning in states and union territories, with the aim of strengthening them as knowledge hubs for tribal development through research, documentation, training and capacity building. Around 27 Tribal Research Institutes currently function across the country; the Ministry's own count has been stated as high as 29 depending on the year.

Main features

• 100% grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, released on a need basis with the approval of the Apex Committee.
• TRIs prepare annual action plans and budget requirements and submit them through the State Tribal Welfare Department.
• Funded activities span research, documentation, museums, festivals, exchange visits, training and institutional infrastructure.
• A related Central Sector head, TRI-ECE (Tribal Research, Information, Education, Communication and Events), funds research organisations, universities and institutes with proven expertise to build replicable models.

Who is eligible for support under the TRI scheme?

Eligible institutions:

• State and union territory Tribal Research Institutes, which are the primary grantees under the scheme.
• Research organisations, reputed institutes and universities with a demonstrated record of pioneering research in tribal affairs, under the TRI-ECE route, for creating replicable models in education, health, livelihood and digital governance.
• Centres of Excellence designated by the Ministry in specific thematic areas, under separate guidelines issued by the Ministry.

Who cannot apply:

• Individual citizens cannot apply for a personal cash benefit. Support to Tribal Research Institutes is an institutional funding scheme; there is no beneficiary list, no scholarship and no DBT payment under it.
• A TRI cannot approach the Ministry directly, the annual action plan and research proposals must be forwarded by the State Tribal Welfare Department.
• Organisations with no prior research record in tribal or allied fields are not eligible under the research route, which is expressly for bodies that have already made a mark in their field.
• Institutions with pending utilisation certificates for earlier grants are not considered for fresh release.

Tribal students and researchers looking for individual funding should instead look at the National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students and the National Overseas Scholarship for ST students, both covered separately on this site.

What documents are required?

How to apply for funding under the TRI scheme

1. The Tribal Research Institute prepares its annual action plan for the financial year, research studies, documentation, museum work, festivals, training programmes and infrastructure needs, with a budget for each activity.
2. The TRI submits the plan to the State Tribal Welfare Department, which examines and forwards it to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Proposals sent directly by an institute are not entertained.
3. For a specific study, the institute or a research organisation files a research project proposal in the Ministry's prescribed format, following the procedure published on tritribal.gov.in.
4. The Ministry appraises the plan and places it before the Apex Committee, which approves the activities and the need-based grant amount.
5. The Ministry releases 100% grant-in-aid to the institute, usually in instalments linked to progress.
6. The institute implements the approved activities and files utilisation certificates, audited accounts and outcome reports, which condition the next release.

What TRIs do with the money

Funded activities recorded by the Ministry and by state TRIs include:

• Research and documentation on tribal communities, and preservation of tribal languages and folklore.
• Tribal museums — building, maintaining and curating artefacts and art.
• Tribal festivals and yatras that promote cultural heritage and tourism, and exchange visits by tribal community members between states.
• Training and capacity building, including youth empowerment programmes.
• Coaching for competitive examinations for tribal students, run by several TRIs.
• Research conferences and evidence inputs for state tribal policy.

Recent direction: Bhubaneswar workshop and TribeX

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs held a national workshop on strengthening Tribal Research Institutes at Bhubaneswar on 7 July 2026, aimed at producing a "Bhubaneswar Declaration" as a roadmap for revitalising TRIs as centres of research and evidence-based policymaking.

At the same event the Ministry launched TribeX, a digital learning platform offering free certificate courses and UGC-recognised postgraduate diplomas in tribal languages, arts, crafts and traditional knowledge. TribeX opened with 20 free courses across tribal art forms, with the Ministry stating an intent to expand to more than 100 courses. Union Minister Jual Oram said TRIs must become centres of excellence combining indigenous knowledge with modern research and technological innovation.

Where to get information

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs TRI portal: tritribal.gov.in; research procedure, guidelines and TRI directory.
• Your state Tribal Research Institute, for museum access, publications, coaching programmes and internships.
• State Tribal Welfare Department, for the status of an institute's annual plan and sanctions.

There is no fee and no citizen registration under this scheme. If someone offers to enrol you for a "TRI grant", it is not a government process.