Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India

Defining Features

One of the defining characteristics of PVTGs is their pre-agricultural level of technology. Many communities continue to rely on traditional hunting, gathering, and subsistence practices, with minimal adoption of modern agricultural techniques. This dependence often leads to economic backwardness and low literacy levels, limiting access to mainstream opportunities for growth and development.

Criteria for Identification

The Dhebar Commission report played a pivotal role in formulating the criteria to classify a group as a PVTG. These includes:

• Pre‑agricultural level of technology: Communities primarily dependent on hunting–gathering or very rudimentary subsistence practices, with minimal adoption of settled or modern agriculture.

• Declining or Stagnant population: Demographic trends showing zero growth or decline over time, indicating heightened vulnerability.

• Extremely low literacy: Literacy levels far below other Scheduled Tribes, often reflecting severe educational exclusion.

• Subsistence‑level/economic backwardness: Very low and fragile incomes with subsistence economies, limited market integration, and high livelihood vulnerability.

An example is the Shompen tribe of the Nicobar Islands, which relies heavily on hunting and gathering and has a very small population base.

Government Recognition and Policy Framework

To address these vulnerabilities, the Government of India created a sub-category within Scheduled Tribes for PVTGs. This ensures:

• Targeted allocation of tribal development funds.

• Specialized schemes for education, healthcare, and livelihood support.

• Collaboration between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and state governments to empower PVTGs.

• Enhanced participation in decision-making by tribal communities themselves.

Developmental Challenges and Needs

The key issues faced by PVTGs include:

• Economic vulnerability: Livelihoods are often limited to subsistence gathering, shifting cultivation, or minor forest produce with weak market linkages, leading to chronic poverty and exploitation by middlemen (e.g., low returns on sal seed or tendu leaves among central Indian groups).

• Low literacy and learning barriers: School access is hampered by remoteness, language gaps, and lack of female teachers/hostels, resulting in very low literacy—especially among girls (e.g., scattered hamlets and non‑standard calendars hinder attendance for hill and forest PVTGs).

• Demographic stress: Many groups show stagnant or declining populations due to high infant/maternal mortality, disease burden, and limited public health outreach (e.g., island and forest PVTGs facing malaria, anaemia, and undernutrition without regular clinical camps).

• Infrastructure and service gaps: Difficult terrain and dispersed settlements mean poor roads, drinking water, sanitation, and digital/energy access, restricting mobility, emergency care, and welfare delivery (e.g., monsoon‑cutoff habitations delaying rations, immunisation, and PDS portability).

These challenges underline the need for a comprehensive development approach, which balances cultural preservation with socio-economic upliftment.

Read more on A & N Islands PVTG Jarawa Tribe : Jarawa Tribe