Which one of the following is not one of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) of Madhya Pradesh ?
- (a)Saharia
- (b)Baiga
- (c)Bharia
- (d)Asur
Correct — D, Asur. Madhya Pradesh has exactly three notified Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups: Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya (Saharia). The Asur are a PVTG of Jharkhand — a Chotanagpur-plateau community traditionally known as iron-smelters — and do not appear on Madhya Pradesh's list. So Asur is the one name here that belongs to another state's PVTG roll.
- (a)Saharia — Sahariya is a notified PVTG of Madhya Pradesh, concentrated in the Gwalior–Chambal belt (Sheopur, Shivpuri, Morena, Gwalior and neighbouring districts) and spilling across into Rajasthan.
- (b)Baiga — Baiga is a notified PVTG of Madhya Pradesh, concentrated in Dindori, Mandla, Balaghat, Umaria and Shahdol — and the first community in India to be granted habitat rights under the Forest Rights Act.
- (c)Bharia — Bharia is a notified PVTG of Madhya Pradesh, whose core habitat is the Patalkot valley of Chhindwara district (the very subject of the next question in this paper).
PVTG is not a constitutional category but an administrative sub-classification within the Scheduled Tribes. Following the Dhebar Commission's concern about the most backward tribal pockets, the government began identifying 'Primitive Tribal Groups' from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1975); the label was changed to 'Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups' in 2006. Identification rests on four criteria: a pre-agricultural level of technology, a stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence economy. India now has 75 notified PVTGs.
The trap in these questions is never a fictitious tribe — it is a real PVTG borrowed from a neighbouring state. Asur, Birhor, Korwa, Sauria Paharia and Parhaiya all belong to the Jharkhand list. So the safest preparation is not to learn who is a PVTG in general, but to memorise your own state's short list as a closed set: for Madhya Pradesh it is exactly three names — Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya.
- Madhya Pradesh's three notified PVTGs: Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya.
- India has 75 notified PVTGs, spread across 18 States and the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- Identification criteria: pre-agricultural technology, stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, subsistence economy.
- Asur is a PVTG of Jharkhand, not of Madhya Pradesh.
- PM-JANMAN, launched in 2023, is the central mission targeting PVTG habitations with basic services.
- Assuming MP's largest tribes — Bhil and Gond — must be PVTGs; they are not, precisely because their populations are large and growing
- Mixing PVTG lists across states: Asur, Birhor, Korwa and Sauria Paharia are Jharkhand's, not MP's
- Confusing the count of PVTGs (75) with the number of Scheduled Tribe communities in India (over 700)
Almost always as an odd-one-out — 'which is NOT a PVTG of state X'. Lock the state's list as a fixed set; the wrong option will be a genuine PVTG from somewhere else.
Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India: 1. PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory. 2. A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status. 3. There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far. 4. Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 2, 3 and 4
- (c) 1, 2 and 4
- (d) 1, 3 and 4
Answer(c) 1, 2 and 4 — statement 3 is wrong because the notified number is 75, not 95.
The same PVTG concept at UPSC level — it fixes the 18-States-plus-one-UT spread, the population criterion and the correct count of 75.
Consider the following statements: 1. The definition of "Critical Wildlife Habitat" is incorporated in the Forest Rights Act, 2006. 2. For the first time in India, Baigas have been given Habitat Rights. 3. Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officially decides and declares Habitat Rights for Primitive and Vulnerable Tribal Groups in any part of India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(a) 1 and 2 only — the Baiga were indeed the first community in India granted habitat rights.
Tests one of Madhya Pradesh's own PVTGs — the Baiga — through the habitat-rights route, the main policy instrument attached to PVTG status.
Which of the following districts does NOT have a Baiga Development Agency?
- (a) Mandla
- (b) Shahdol
- (c) Raisen
- (d) Balaghat
Answer(c) Raisen
The administrative side of the same fact — MP runs dedicated development agencies for its PVTGs, and the Baiga agencies sit in the districts where the Baiga actually live.
- practice — not a real PYQ
How many Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are officially notified in India?
- (a)52
- (b)62
- (c)75
- (d)95
Answer(c) 75 — the list grew from the 52 groups first identified in the Fifth Plan period.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following is NOT a criterion used to identify a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group?
- (a)Pre-agricultural level of technology
- (b)Stagnant or declining population
- (c)Extremely low level of literacy
- (d)Residence in a Sixth Schedule area
Answer(d) Residence in a Sixth Schedule area — the Sixth Schedule concerns autonomous councils in the North-East and has nothing to do with PVTG identification.