Annual report of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs

According to the latest annual report of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the tribal population In India lags behind other social groups on various social parameters, such as child mortality, infant mortality, number of anaemic women.

Highlights of the report:

• Tribal population, with a vast majority engaged in agricultural labour, has a higher incidence of anaemia in women when compared to other social groups.
• The community also registered the highest child mortality and infant mortality rates, when compared to other social groups, the data indicates.
• While educational achievement on the whole has improved, statistics cited elsewhere in the report shows that the gross enrolment ratio among tribal students in the primary school level has declined from 113.2 in 2013-14 to 109.4 in 2015-16. Besides, the dropout rate among tribal students has been alarming.
• While the overall poverty rates among the tribal population have fallen compared to previous years, they remain relatively poor when weighed against other social groups.
• Health infrastructure has also been found wanting in tribal areas. At an all-India level, there is a shortfall of 6,796 sub-centres, 1,267 primary health centres and 309 community health centres in the tribal areas as on March 31, 2015, the report points out.
• Further, it exposes the gap in rehabilitation of tribal community members displaced by various development projects. Out of an estimated 85 lakh persons displaced due to development projects and natural calamities, only 21 lakh were shown to have been rehabilitated so far, the Report states.
• In 2014, the Central government initiated the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana for the holistic development and welfare of tribal population on a pilot basis. However, the Annual Report points out that the token budgetary provisions being made under the scheme to the tune of Rs.100.00 crore and Rs.200.00 crore for 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively, is minuscule and barely sufficient to meet the purpose of the Scheme given that it intends to cover 27 States across the country.
• The Ministry has emphasised that more funds be provided for the Scheme from the year 2016-17 onwards.

By: Vishal