Padma Shri awardee Damyanti Besra inaugurates academic wing of SCSTRTI

Bhubaneswar: Padma Shri Damyanti Besra inaugurated the academic wing building of the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Research & Training Institute (SCSTRTI) on Thursday.

Dr. Damyanti Besra, the former principal of MPC Autonomous College in Baripada, who has contributed enormously to the field of tribal literature, inaugurated the academic wing of SCSTRTI in the presence of Ranjana Chopra, Principal Secretary, ST & SC Development Department, Govt. of Odisha, Director (ST) Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar, Prof. (Dr.) A.B. Ota, Director, SCSTRTI, MD, TDCCOL Manasi Nimbhal and other senior officers of the department and the staff of SCSTRTI.

The SCSTRTI is the oldest Tribal Research Institute in the country, set up in 1952, spreading over 12 acres of land in the heart of the capital, Bhubaneswar.

The new 3-storey, 28000 sq. ft. academic wing which is getting inaugurated has been constructed with an ethnic design. It houses a state-of-the-art, 100-seater conference hall. All the facilities including fire fighting measures are in place.

The building complies with the guidelines of a differently-abled-friendly infrastructure. It has special facilities such as ramps, rails, and special toilets. Tribal paintings adorn the inner and outer walls of the building. The courtyard showcases the images of tribal leaders who had led various tribal movements before independence.

The academic wing will accommodate the research personnel of the SCSTRTI. It will also provide space for undertaking collaborative research with institutes of national and international repute.

Funding for this building has been made by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India, and the Government of Odisha through ST & SC Development Department.

It got Nodal Research Institute status in 2009 and was conferred National Resource Centre (NRC) status by MOTA in 2015. It has a national-level library with more than 25000 books on various subjects pertaining to tribal issues. The library is accessed by students and researchers from within and outside the country.

The SCSTRTI has a world-class interactive museum, Odisha State Tribal Museum with state-of-the-art technology which facilitates an immersive experience for the visitors. It also has a dedicated PVTG museum. It undertakes policy research, evaluation studies, and training programs. It provides input to the State Government and the Union Government for policy formation on STs, SCs, and Backward classes.