In a big move for India’s most marginalised tribal groups, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) has asked the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) that Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) be enumerated separately in the next Census.
According to a report by The Indian Express, this step will mark the first time that PVTGs are distinctly enumerated in India’s Census history, if finalised.
The separate enumeration will help the government design and implement more focused welfare schemes for these groups, who have long been left behind in terms of education, health and development.
Who are PVTGs?
India boasts 75 PVTGs distributed over 18 states and one Union Territory (Andaman and Nicobar Islands). The groups were identified years ago on the basis of criteria such as low literacy, economic backwardness, geographical remoteness and a pre-agricultural mode of life.
But so far, all of them were simply enumerated under the larger Scheduled Tribes (STs) category, which did not provide any concrete information on their actual number or way of life. For instance, during the last Census of 2011, some 40 PVTGs were listed as part of notified STs, but the others went unnoticed in official documents.
Experts say this lack of data makes it difficult to plan effective schemes for them. “Many PVTGs are actually sub-groups within bigger ST communities. Since they are not separately recorded, the government does not get accurate numbers on their population or living standards,” said Professor A. B. Ota, a retired IAS officer and former director of Tribal Research Institute and Odisha State Tribal Museum.
Modi government’s push for better Data
The Tribal Affairs Ministry has now asked the Census Commissioner to make special arrangements in 2027 Census to capture not just the number of PVTG households, but also their cultural and socio-economic details.
This comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced some efforts to raise PVTGs. In November 2023, the Prime Minister introduced the PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) program in Jharkhand. This program will saturate core facilities in PVTG habitations in three years, ranging from road construction and electrification to establishing health centres and schools.
It is being implemented through nine ministries and covers over 200 districts across the country. The Prime Minister had also emphasised that the development of these tribal groups is a priority for his government, and that no community should be left behind in India’s growth journey.
Rising population estimates
When PM-JANMAN was launched, the Centre had estimated the total population of PVTGs at 28 lakh. But after a special survey using the PM Gati Shakti mobile app, the figure turned out to be much higher. Based on habitation-level data collection, MoTA recently informed Parliament that the PVTG population is now estimated at 45.56 lakh.
Madhya Pradesh leads the count with 12.28 lakh PVTGs, followed by Maharashtra with 6.2 lakh and Andhra Pradesh with 4.9 lakh. This new data itself indicates why a thorough Census count is needed in a hurry, so that government policies can be supported by proper figures.
Experts view on the move
Experts in tribal affairs have welcomed the move to separately count PVTGs but also suggested that the criteria for identifying them should be reviewed.
Professor Kamal K. Misra, former director of the Anthropological Survey of India, said, “There are overlaps across states due to nomenclature, and in some cases, omission of certain groups. Currently, there are 75 groups identified in PVTGs, and this number could have increased or decreased. Thus, only a revision of the criteria can help update the information.”
He also added that once the Census provides data, a development index should be created to identify which PVTG groups require the most urgent support, since not all of them face the same level of deprivation.
The government has already notified that the 2027 Census will be conducted in two phases, house listing and housing Census from April 2026, followed by the main population enumeration. Along with this, a caste-based survey will also be carried out.
If the Census does include PVTGs in a separate enumeration, it will be a milestone move. Not only will it enable the government to refine such welfare schemes as PM-JANMAN, but it will also provide these communities, long underprivileged, a long-awaited recognition and assistance.
