Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

Topic: Spread of Corona virus in PVTGs in Odisha

Why in News?

• ‹‹COVID-19 infections are being reported among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Key Highlights

• As many as 21 tribals across eight different PVTGs in the State have so far tested positive, including two from the Bonda tribe.
• Bondas live in highlands, 3,500-feet above sea level, in Malkangiri, the southernmost district of Odisha.
• Four members of Dongria Kondh, another PVTG, have tested positive.

Tribal in Odisha

• Odisha has among the largest and most diverse tribal populations in the country.
• Of the 62 tribal groups residing in Odisha, 13 are recognised as PVTGs.
• According to the 2011 Census, Odisha’s share of the country’s total tribal population was 9%.
• Tribals constitute 22.85% of State’s population. In terms of numbers of its tribal population, Odisha occupies the third position in India.
• The PVTGs such as Bonda, Birhor, Chuktia Bhunjia, Didayi, Dongaria Kandha, Hill Kharia, Juang, Kutia Kondh, Lanjia Saora, Lodha, Mankirdia, Paudi Bhuyan and Saora have been identified on the basis of stagnant or diminishing populations, subsistence level of economy associated with pre-agricultural stages of hunting, food gathering and shifting cultivation, and relative physical isolation.

PVTGs in India

• ‹‹In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups. However, in 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs.
• Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number are found in Odisha (13), followed by Andhra Pradesh (12).
• According to the Census 2011, tribal population makes up for 8.6% of the total population in India.