​​​​​​​TribeX, a first-of-its-kind digital learning platform, launched

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs began a two-day National Workshop on Strengthening Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. The workshop reaffirms the Government's commitment to strengthening institutions that preserve tribal heritage and support inclusive development.Addressing the inaugural session, Shri Jual Oram, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, said, "India's tribal communities possess an extraordinary wealth of languages, dialects, oral traditions and indigenous knowledge that must be preserved for future generations. While several tribal languages have developed scripts, many dialects survive primarily through oral tradition, making systematic documentation an urgent national priority. Tribal Research Institutes have a crucial responsibility to engage with communities, document their languages and traditional knowledge, and share best practices across States."
A key highlight of the inaugural session was the launch of TribeX, a digital learning platform to preserve and promote India's tribal arts, culture, languages and traditional knowledge. The platform includes a Digital Academy offering free certificate and UGC-aligned diploma courses in tribal art forms, and a Heritage Archive of tribal literature, oral traditions and cultural practices. The Ministry signed an MoU with Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi, to jointly develop UGC-recognised diploma programmes under TribeX on tribal languages, traditional knowledge, arts, textiles and museology. 
The Ministry also signed an MoU with KIIT Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI), Bhubaneswar, to identify, incubate and mentor tribal entrepreneurs through capacity building, market linkages and access to funding.Organised in collaboration with the Government of Odisha, the workshop brought together nearly 200 participants, including representatives from Tribal Research Institutes, State Tribal Welfare Departments, academia, research institutions, technology organisations, industry, development partners and civil society.