Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India

Source-This post on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India has been created based on the article “A door to a housing scheme, tribals find hard to open” published in “The Hindu” on 26 May 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-2– Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes;

Context-The article highlights the issues with the PM-JANMAN Housing Scheme. The PM-JANMAN aims to provide essential services to PVTGs, including safe housing, clean drinking water, and sanitation through 11 critical interventions.

What are the PVTGs in India?

There are 75 groups identified as PVTGs across different states, comprising around 14.6 lakh households. These tribes reside in remote, inaccessible areas and rely on pre-agricultural methods for their livelihood.

Identification-They are characterized by low literacy rates, economic backwardness, and stagnant populations.

What are some of the government initiatives for welfare of PVTGs?

1) PVTG Development Mission– The Government of India announced the Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission in 2023-24 to improve their socio-economic conditions.

2) The Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN)-

A) It was launched in November 2023 with a budget of ₹24,000 crore. The scheme aims to reach 4.90 lakh PVTG households by 2026, with each household entitled to receive ₹2.39 lakh in three installments.

Read more- PM launches ₹24,000-crore project for development of vulnerable tribal groups

B) The government has given a mobile app called ‘Awaas+’ to block/panchayat-level officials to register PVTG households for the PM JANMAN Housing scheme. The app collects beneficiary data in 3 main areas.

What are the issues with the PM-JANMAN Housing Scheme?

1) Enrollment challenge-PVTGs and frontline officials encounter difficulties when utilizing a mobile app to enroll in the ‘Housing scheme,’ the largest Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiative under PM-JANMAN.

2) Inclusion & Accessibility Challenge-Collecting data (registering) for Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) is vital for providing entitlements to citizens. However, in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, there are challenges for PVTGs and frontline officials in ensuring inclusivity and accessibility during this process.

What are the challenges in using the Mobile App?

1) Differences in the count of inhabited villages between the app and MGNREGA job cards cause confusion among both beneficiaries and officials.

2) The app requires names as per Aadhaar but does not provide guidance for those without Aadhaar.

3) The app does not capture explicit information about PVTGs, resulting in non-PVTGs registrations.

4) The geo-tagging option is causing chaos due to network issues.

5) The cumbersome process of selecting banks and their branches introduces unnecessary complexity.

6) The omission of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) from the list of banks, despite the government’s emphasis on its role in financial inclusion.

What should be the way forward?

1) There is a need to streamline the registration process, updating the mobile app, and incorporating IPPB as an option to facilitate greater participation of PVTGs in the scheme.

2) Proactive measures should be undertaken to reinstate deleted job cards and community engagement initiatives involving gram sabhas to improve the scheme’s effectiveness.

PM-JANMAN presents an opportunity to revolutionize the lives of PVTGs and facilitate their access to the advantages of India’s developmental journey.

Question for practice

Highlight the issues associated with the PM-JANMAN Housing Scheme?