With the 2021 Census indefinitely delayed, the government’s attempt at using the PM Gati Shakti portal to estimate the total population of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) across the country is hitting one wall after another.
This has led the government to arrive at three different estimates for the total PVTG population in the last three months — around 28 lakh in November, 36.75 lakh in mid-January, and 44.64 lakh by the end of January. Officials say this figure is not final.
The information on population is crucial to the implementation of the government’s ₹24,000 crore PM-JANMAN package for PVTGs. This data is needed for accurate gap assessment and to sanction certain infrastructure projects that have a population criteria that need to be met.
