New Delhi: The central government has approved six new residential schools for tribals in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.

According to officials from the tribal affairs ministry, the allocation for starting the Eklavya Adarsh Awasiya schools has been increased to Rs.12 crore from Rs.2.5 crore.

Madhya Pradesh has the largest tribal population in India. The population of Scheduled Tribes in the state is 154.03 lakh -- 23.27 percent of the state's total population of 661.81 lakh.

The allocation per student has also been raised.

"The annual allocation per student will now be Rs.42,000. It was pegged at Rs.17,000 earlier," the official said.

The maximum number of students per school will also be increased to 480 from the previous limit of 420. IANS