Bhubaneswar: A two-day national conference of Chairpersons of Committees on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Parliament and State Legislatures will begin tomorrow in Bhubaneswar, with over 120 delegates expected to attend.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the conference, along with an exhibition and the release of a souvenir, informed Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy.

Several dignitaries, including Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Shri Harivansh, and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of SCs and STs Faggan Singh Kulaste, will address the inaugural session.

Chairpersons and members of SC/ST Welfare Committees from the Parliament and State/UT Legislatures, Odisha ministers, and members of the Odisha Assembly will also participate.

The conference will focus on the theme: “Role of Parliamentary and Legislature Committees in Welfare, Development and Empowerment of SCs and STs.” Discussions will center on strengthening constitutional safeguards, advancing socio-economic development, sharing best practices, and enhancing accountability in the implementation of welfare policies — with the vision of achieving an inclusive Viksit Bharat by 2047, Padhy said.

The valedictory session will be addressed by Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Shri Harivansh, Parliamentary Committee Chairperson Faggan Singh Kulaste, Speaker Surama Padhy, Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, and Minister of health, Parliamentary Affairs, and E&IT Mukesh Mahaling.

The first such conference was held in New Delhi in 1976, followed by sessions in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2001. Notably, this is the first time the conference is being held outside Delhi.