PM-PVTG Development Mission

Indian Society Social Justice

Context:

India’s Prime Minister (PM) launched the PM-PVTG Development Mission, Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra and Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (JANMAN) on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.

Aim: Overall development of around 28 lakh people from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG).
- To bring critical infrastructure like power, water, road connectivity, housing, education, and healthcare to the PVTG communities living in remote villages.
- The government had allocated ₹24,000 crore for the scheme, about 11 interventions like the PM-Gram Sadak Yojana, PM-Gram Awaas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, and others will be taken to these target villages.

Other Initiatives

Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra: There will be concerted efforts in the PVTG villages to ensure saturation of schemes like PM-Jan Arogya Yojana, Sickle-Cell Elimination Campaign, TB elimination campaign, 100% immunisation, PM Surakshit Matritva Yojana, PM Matru Vandana Yojana, PM Poshan, PM Jan Dhan Yojana and others.
JANMAN: Prime Minister launched PM JANMAN which aims at comprehensive development of PVTG.
- Objective: Preserving and cultivating tribal communities on the cusp of extinction.
- Significance: It focuses on the welfare and development of these vulnerable groups, many of whom inhabit remote jungles.
- The PM-Janman has identified 75 tribal communities and primitive tribes, underlining the extensiveness of the operation.

In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, which are less developed among the tribal groups. In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
Criteria for identification of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups:
- Pre-agricultural level of technology
- Low level of literacy
- Economic backwardness
- A declining or stagnant population.
Population: According to the 2011 Census, there are 2.8 million Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups belonging to 75 tribes across 22,544 villages in 220 districts across 18 states and Union Territories in India.
- Odisha has the largest population of PVTGs. It is followed by Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana).
- The largest PVTG is Odisha’s Saura community, numbering 535,000.
Characteristics: Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups have some basic characteristics -they are mostly homogenous, with a small population with zero or negative growth and extremely low level of literacy, relatively physically isolated, social institutes cast in a simple mold, absence of written language, dependency on hunting, gathering for food and having a pre-agriculture level of technology, etc.

About ‘Bhagwan’ Birsa Munda

The Government of India has declared 15th November as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas in 2021 dedicated to the memory of brave tribal freedom fighters.
The date is the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda who fought against the exploitative system of the British colonial system and spearheaded a movement against British oppression giving a call for ‘Ulgulan’ (Revolution).
His Works: Reforming the religious practices, discouraging many superstitious rites, bringing in new tenets, and new prayers, reforming many habits, and restoring the tribal pride.
Promoted Tribal Sovereignty: He invoked the sovereignty of the tribals’ ancestral autonomous control over the land.
This struggle compelled the British Raj to introduce the ‘Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act of 1908’ which restricted the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals.