This document discusses issues and challenges related to development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India. It provides background on global and national tribal populations. PVTGs face natural and man-made vulnerabilities. 75 groups across 17 states have been identified as PVTGs, with populations ranging from just 17 people to over 450,000. Recommendations from national consultations emphasize sustainable livelihoods, participation, service delivery, and improving education for PVTGs. The discussion calls for region-specific plans, periodic assessment, local resource use, and accountability of implementing agencies to effectively develop PVTGs.

1. Paper for NATIONAL SEMINAR
On
Changing Tribal Society in India: Issues and Challenges
(7 - 8, December 2013)
ORGANISED BY
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL RESEARCH & APPLIED
ANTHROPOLOGY,
BIDISA,

2. Development of Particularly Vulnerable
Tribal Groups (PVTGs): issues and
challenges
By
Dr. Vijay Prakash Sharma
Adjunct Faculty,
NIRD, HYDERABAD

4. Global status of tribe
Present situation:
There are approximately two hundred
million tribal people in the entire globe,
which means, about 4% of the global
population.
They inhabit many regions of the world
and majority of them are the poorest
amongst poor. Among tribes, there are
so many communities.

5. Tribal in India
Tribal in India, geographically and culturally,
are at widely different stages of social as well
as economic development and their
problems differ from area to area within
their own groups. The tribesman lives not
only for himself alone, but also he is an
integral part of the community to which he
belongs.

6. Tribal communities live in about 15% of the country’s
landmass in various ecological and geo-climatic
conditions ranging from plains to forests, hills and
inaccessible areas. Tribal groups are at different stages
of social, economic and educational development.
While some tribal communities have adopted a
mainstream way of life at one end of the spectrum,
there are tribal groups, at the other, who are
characterized by (a) a pre-agriculture level of
technology, (b) a stagnant or declining population (c)
extremely low literacy and (d) a subsistence level of
economy.

7. Particularly vulnerable tribal groups
75 such groups in 17 States and 1
Union
Territory
has
been
identified
and
has
been
categorized
as
Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (earlier
known as Primitive Tribal Groups).

8. Tribal communities become vulnerable in the
following ways:
1.Natural:These
include
anthological/genetic factors (like, the
Juangs of Keonjhar), geographical
factors (remoteness of the area, difficult
terrain/physiographic, limited resources,
etc.), and environmental factors (like,
rain shadow area, low soil fertility, etc.).
2.

9. 2. Man-made: These factors include socioeconomic and socio-cultural practices (like,
food habits), customary taboos, external
interventions
such
as
mining
&
Industrialization, etc...(Rath 2012)
As per 2001 census, the 75 Particularly
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) have a
total population of 27, 68,322, and live in
remote and scattered geographical locations.

10. Table-1PVTGs With More than One Lakh Population (2001 Census)
Sl.No.
PVTGs
Population
1
Saharias are both in Madhya 4,50,217
Pradesh & Chattisgarh
2
Baigas in Madhya Pradesh / 3,32,936
Chattisgarh
3
Katkarias/Kathodis)
in 2,35,022
Maharashtra
4
Kolam in Maharashtra
1,73,646
5
Riang (Tripura)
1,65,103
6
Hill Kharia (Jharkhand)
1,64,022
7
Irulas in Tamil Nadu
1,55,606
8
Mal Paharia (Jharkhand)
1,15,093
Total
17,91,645

11. Table 2
PVTGs With More than 50,000 Population (2001 Census)
Sl.No
PVTGs
1
Konda
Population
Reddis
(Andhra 83,096
Pradesh)
2
Dongaria Khond (Andhra 85,324
Pradesh)
3
Saharia (Rajasthan)
76,237
4
Lodha (West Bengal)
84,966
Total
3,29,623

12. Table – 3
PVTGs With Less than 1000 Population (2001 Census)
Sl. No.
PVTGs
Population
1
Birjia (Bihar)
17
2
Sentinelests
39
3
Great Andamanese
43
4
Onge
96
5
Birhor (Madhya Pradesh)
143
6
Asur (Bihar)
181
7
Mankidias (Orissa)
205
8
Jarawa
240
9
Cholanaicken (Kerala)
326
10
Shompen
398
11
Birhor (Bihar)
406
12
Savar (Bihar)
420
13
Raji (Uttaranchal)
517
14
Sauria Paharia (Bihar)
585
15
Birhor (Orissa)
702
16
Korwa (Bihar)
703
17
Todas (Tamil Nadu)
875
18
Kota (Tamil Nadu)
925
19
Raji (Uttar Pradesh)
998
Total 7819

13. Table – 4
Ranking of the PVTG Population in Different States (2001 Census)
Sl.No.
State
No. of PVTGs Population
2001 Census
Ranking
populationwise
1
Chattisgarh + MP
08
7,85,720
1
2
3
Maharashtra
Jharkhand
03
09
4,08,668
3,87,358
2
3
4
Andhra Pradesh
12
3,34,144
4
5
Tamil Nadu
06
2,17,937
5
6
7
8
Tripura
Gujarat
West Bengal
01
05
03
1,65,103
1,06,775
85,983
6
7
8
9
10
11
Rajasthan
Orissa
Uttaranchal
01
13
02
76,237
68,745
47,288
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Karnataka
Kerala
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Manipur
Andaman & Nicobar
02
05
09
02
01
05
45,899
20,186
10,873
5,365
1,225
816
12
13
14
15
16
17

14. The National Advisory Council, Government of India,
organized two national level Consultations on Developmental
Challenges Specific to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
(PVTGs); first on 21st February, 2013 at the National Institute of
Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, and second in the
Planning Commission, New Delhi, on 15th May, 2013.
The objective of holding these two consultations was to evolve
a sensitive and appropriate policy framework for PVTGs that
addresses the concerns of protecting their livelihoods, cultural
identity and habitats while facilitating their access to
development programmes and services and to improve their
quality of life.

15. Recommendation 1
Create an environment in which the state and non-state actors realize their responsibilities to respect, protect,
and fulfill PVTGs' rights.
Recommendation 2
Develop sustainable livelihood strategies for the PVTGs
Recommendation 3
Participatory development approach should be followed
Recommendation 4
Evolve effective service delivery mechanism for the development of the PVTGs
Recommendation 5
Separate Census for the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) should be undertaken
Recommendation 6
All Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) should be given the status of Scheduled Tribes
Recommendation 7
Prepare vulnerability indices of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
Recommendation 8
Control factors that contribute to decline in the population of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
(PVTGs).
Recommendation 9
Launch special drive to improve educational status of the PVTGs

16. Discussion:
The PVTGs are in need of special and undivided attention
on priority for their protection and development in view of
their fragile living conditions emerging out of their
prevailing socio-economic backwardness, vulnerability and
diminishing numbers.
The current notion of tribal development is largely
based on ‘area development’ and ‘community
participation’. That there are different landholdings
groups or classes, that there are big and small tribes in
each village, or mandal, or district, those women have to
be treated specifically are all issues that need to be fully
built into the philosophy of tribal development. This
will contribute to more equitable and sustainable
development

17. Serious and urgent measures must be taken by
the Government to maintain the physical and
social assets created under the TDP. In terms of
natural resource management, as well as social
programmes, much has been achieved, but the
achievements are still fragile. In order to be
sustainable,
further
investment
in
infrastructure, training programmes and
adaptive research is essential. It is also essential
that the levels of competence and commitment
of the senior officers, in particular the ITDA
project officers, be maintained

18. The Government must continue its commitment to
participatory
approaches
to
development
programmes and to a step-wise transfer of
decision-making to the local level, with a
concurrent emphasis on capacity-building .
The sustainability of community institutions
must be viewed in terms of a much longer timescale than simply the seven years of project
duration. Further, such community institutions
should not be designed only for service delivery
or acceptance purposes, but should be seen
more broadly as platforms for community
participation and empowerment.

19. Conclusion and recommendation:
In addition to above following points may be considered for development of
PVTGs:
•Plan must be region based with a slant towards ethnicity and co-existence.
•Plan should be such that socio-economic barriers and carriers be focused to
have a desirable change within a limited time e.g. Hill settlers to be settled in
plain areas- example Hill Korwa in CG.
•Periodic assessment of plans to make any change when required.
Phase wise implementation work with provision for follow up schemes so that
hostile communities should not be disturbed.
•Local resources should be tapped to develop a sense of belongingness, the
present practice of outside men and material be discouraged.
• Long gestation character of schemes be discouraged o minimize public
expenditure ratio.
•All ITDAs must be made functional and accountable to govt. and people with
strong monitoring mechanism by the ministry.
•Special fund allocation for PTGs should not be deviated to admin functions as
in practice in many states

20. References:
1. Ratha . Bikash, 2012 The Regional Consultation On
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups Of Odisha And The
National Rural Livelihood Mission, RCDC, Bhubaneswar
2. NAC draft recommendations on Development
Challenges Specific to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal
Groups (PVTGs), 2013, Jun 19,
3. Sharma. V.P 2012 Participatory Development, Ramesh
Chandra edited book Tribal Development and
Administration and Management, DEC,
National
Institute of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural
Development, Government of India, Hyderabad (AP),