Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups:
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs requested the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) to consider enumerating Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) separately in the upcoming Census.
- PVTGs are a sub-category of Scheduled Tribes (STs) and are more vulnerable among the tribal groups in India.
- The criteria for identifying Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups are:
- A declining or stagnant population,
- Geographical isolation,
- Use of pre-agrarian practices (such as hunting and gathering),
- Economic backwardness and relatively low literacy
- This category was created based on the recommendations of the Dhebar Commission (1960-61) — led by former Member of Parliament U N Dhebar.
- At present there are 75 tribal groups considered as PVTGs and they are currently spread across 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- As per the recent survey, there were an estimated 47.5 lakh PVTGs across India.
- Madhya Pradesh had the highest estimated population of PVTGs, followed by Maharashtra with an estimated population of 6.7 lakh, and Andhra Pradesh.
- PVTGs depend on various livelihoods such as food gathering, Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), hunting, livestock rearing, shifting cultivation and artisan works.
