According to the 2011 Census, how many tribes are there in Madhya Pradesh (except particularly vulnerable tribal groups)?
- (a)46
- (b)45
- (c)44
- (d)43
Correct — D, 43. The arithmetic the commission is testing is simple once the bracket is read: Madhya Pradesh's Scheduled Tribe list is counted at 46 communities, and three of them — Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya — are separately notified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. Take those three out, as the question expressly asks, and 43 remain. The state's Tribal Affairs Department keeps the three PVTGs in a category of their own, recording them in 2,314 identified villages with a population of about 5.51 lakh, served by dedicated development agencies — which is precisely why the exam can ask for the count 'except' them.
- (a)46 — The right number for the wrong question — 46 is the full count of the state's tribe list, PVTGs included. It is the option candidates pick when they skim past the bracket 'except particularly vulnerable tribal groups'.
- (b)45 — No recognised classification of Madhya Pradesh's tribes yields 45. It would require exactly one PVTG to be subtracted, and the state has three.
- (c)44 — Likewise unsupported — this would mean two PVTGs. Madhya Pradesh's PVTGs number three (Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya), so 46 minus 3 is the only defensible subtraction.
Scheduled Tribes are notified state by state. Under Article 342 the President, by public notification (and for a State, after consulting the Governor), specifies the tribes deemed Scheduled Tribes for that State or Union Territory, and thereafter only Parliament can add or remove a community by law. That is why a community can be an ST in one state and not in the next — and why every state has its own count. Within the ST category the Centre has separately identified the most vulnerable communities as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (originally 'Primitive Tribal Groups'), using criteria such as pre-agricultural level of technology, low level of literacy, a stagnant or declining population and extreme economic backwardness. There are 75 PVTGs in India, spread across 18 States and one Union Territory; Madhya Pradesh's three are Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya.
This is a reading question disguised as a memory question. The full list count and the net-of-PVTG count are both examinable numbers, and MPPSC has planted the full count (46) as option (a) right at the top, where the eye lands first. Fix the trio in memory as one line — 46 in all, 3 PVTGs, 43 others — and the question answers itself whichever way the bracket is worded. Note also that 'PVTG' is an administrative sub-category inside the Scheduled Tribes, not a separate constitutional category: a PVTG is always an ST as well, which is what makes subtraction the correct operation here.
- MPPSC's arithmetic: 46 tribes on Madhya Pradesh's list − 3 PVTGs = 43
- Madhya Pradesh's PVTGs are Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya
- The state Tribal Affairs Department records the three PVTGs in 2,314 identified villages with about 5.51 lakh people
- India has 75 PVTGs, residing in 18 States and one Union Territory
- Scheduled Tribes are notified State-wise under Article 342; only Parliament can amend the list by law
Both numbers are examinable. 46 is the whole list; 43 is the list once the three PVTGs are counted separately.
- Missing the bracket 'except particularly vulnerable tribal groups' and answering 46
- Treating PVTG as a category outside the Scheduled Tribes — a PVTG is a sub-set of STs, which is why they are subtracted, not added
- Assuming a tribe scheduled in Madhya Pradesh is automatically scheduled in the neighbouring state
MPPSC asks the counts and the three PVTG names almost every cycle; UPSC leaves the counting alone and asks who notifies an ST, what the PVTG criteria are, and how many PVTGs and states are involved.
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 of PVTGs is 75, not 95.
The exact category MPPSC asks you to subtract — UPSC tests the PVTG count, spread and criteria instead of the state-wise tribe list.
Consider the following statements: 1. It is the Governor of the State who recognizes and declares any community of that State as a Scheduled Tribe. 2. A community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in a State need not be so in another State. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(b) 2 only — the President notifies STs under Article 342 (not the Governor), and ST status is state-specific.
Explains why every state has its own tribe count at all: ST lists are notified State-wise under Article 342, so 'how many tribes in MP' is a meaningful question.
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 — habitat rights for PVTGs are decided under the Forest Rights Act machinery, not by the Environment Ministry.
Centres on the Baiga, one of the three Madhya Pradesh PVTGs being subtracted here, and on the special legal treatment that sets PVTGs apart from other STs.
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 flip side of the same fact — MP's PVTGs are counted separately because each has its own dedicated development agencies in specified districts.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following sets correctly names the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of Madhya Pradesh?
- (a)Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya
- (b)Bhil, Gond, Korku
- (c)Kol, Kamar, Panika
- (d)Bhilala, Barela, Patelia
Answer(a) Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya — the state's three PVTGs, each with its own development agency.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under which Article of the Constitution are Scheduled Tribes specified for a State or Union Territory?
- (a)Article 341
- (b)Article 342
- (c)Article 244
- (d)Article 366(25)
Answer(b) Article 342 — the President specifies STs for a State or UT by public notification, and only Parliament can amend the list by law. Article 341 does the same job for Scheduled Castes.