On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced the establishment of a Scheduled Tribes Commission, modelled after the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. The government also intends to include additional villages with substantial tribal populations in government schemes, which were previously excluded, stated a PTI report. 

Chairing a meeting with officials and concerned ministers, CM Shinde called for a comprehensive review of the present status of tribal populations across the state. Following this review, new regions, including villages, will be designated as "aspirational" districts. This move is expected to increase the number of villages with significant tribal populations compared to the existing count, the report further stated.