IMPACT OF COVID ON PVTGs

​NEWS:

• So far 21tribals from 8 different tribes in Odisha were found infected with Coronavirus.

• These tribes include: Bonda, Dongria kondh etc.

• Anthropologists and activists had already warned of the spread among these tribes as they live in tiny huts and the spread can be at much faster pace.

• Odisha is home to 62 tribal groups out of which 13 are PVTGs. As per the census of 2011, odisha is the homeland of 9% of India’s tribal population.

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PVTGs: PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL GROUP

• Tribals constitute around 8-9% of India’s population, out of this the more primitive and vulnerable are grouped as PVTGs.

• India overall has 75 PVTGs.

• Their special grouping was created by the Dhebar Commission  in  1973, as Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category. In 2006, the Government of India changed the terminology to PVTGs.

• Highest no. of PVTGs are found in Odisha.

• Characteristic of PVTGs:

  • They have a declining or stagnant population.

  • They have a low level of literacy.

  • They are generally living at a pre-agricultural level of technology.

  • They are economically backward.

  • They reside in remote localities having poor infrastructure and administrative support.