Rajya Sabha Passed Bill to Include PVTG Tribes in ST Lists

February 7, 2024

GS Paper II Indian Polity and Governance

Context:

Recently, Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order Amendment Bill, 2024 and Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order Amendment Bill, 2024.

Bills to Include PVTGs of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in Scheduled Tribes

Several new communities were added to the Scheduled Tribes list of Odisha and the inclusion of synonyms and phonetic variations of existing tribes in the ST lists of both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

PVTG Tribes In ST List

State	Synonym/Sub-Tribes Added	Existing Tribe
Odisha	Pauri Bhuyan and Paudi Bhuyan	Bhuyan tribe
	Chuktia Bhunjia	Bhunjia tribe
	Bondo	Bondo Poraja tribe
	Mankidia	Mankirdia tribe
Andhra Pradesh	Bondo Porja Khond Porja	Porja tribe
Andhra Pradesh	Konda Savaras	Savaras tribe

Highlights of the Bill

Addition of PVTGs: The names of four PVTG groups in Odisha and three in Andhra Pradesh had been specifically added as synonyms or sub-tribes of communities already on the ST lists of these States.
New Entries:
- Tamadia and Tamudia communities of Odisha has now been included in the Scheduled Tribes list shifted from Scheduled Castes list.
Expansion of Odisha’s ST List: The Muka Dora community and the Konda Reddy community of Odisha were also added in Odisha’s ST list.
- The Bill also added synonyms, phonetic variations and sub-tribes of at least eight existing communities in the State’s ST list.

About Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups PVTGs

As per the recommendation of the Dhebar Commission in 1973, the Government of India created a separate category of Tribes ie. Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs), who were less developed among the tribal groups in 1975.
- In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
Criteria for Identification:
- Pre-agricultural level of technology
- Low level of literacy
- Economic backwardness
- A declining or stagnant population.
PVTGs Population: They have a scattered population and as per 2001 census it is approximately. 27,68,322.
- 12 PVTGs have a population above 50,000 and the remaining groups have a population of 1000 or less.
- PVTG of Sahariyas has the highest population while Sentinels and Andamanese have the smallest.
Total pvtg tribes in India: 75 PVTGs spread over 17 states and one Union Territory (UT) with Odisha supporting 13 PVTG groups with No PVTG found in Punjab and Haryana.

Also Read: PM-PVTG Development Mission

News Source: The Hindu

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