Great Andaman tribe test positive
Source : The Hindu
Prelims : About Tribes, PVTG, Schemes
GS II : Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources

What is the News ?

Great Andaman tribe test positive. Five members of the Great Andamanese tribe, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal group (PVTG), have tested positive for COVID­ 19.

COVID19 and Great Andaman tribe test positive

• The Great Andamanese are one of five PVTGs that reside in the Andamans archipelago.
• This is one of the first cases of COVID­19 infection among the endangered PVTGs of the region.
• Some members travel between Port Blair and Strait Island and a few do odd jobs in the city.
• They are only 74 in number and speaks Jeru as their language. 

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal group

75 tribal groups have been categorized categorized by Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG)s. PVTGs reside in 18 States and UT of A&N Islands. In India, tribal population makes up for 8.6% of the total population.

• Some tribal groups have some specific features such as
  • Dependency on hunting.
  • Gathering for food.
  • Pre-agriculture level of technology.
  • Zero or negative growth of population.
  • Extremely low level of literacy.
• Identification Procedure : State governments or UT governments submit proposals to the Central Ministry of Tribal Welfare and after ensuring the criteria is fulfilled, the Central Ministry selects those groups as PVTGs.
• Five PVTG’s identified in Andaman and Nicobar
  1. Great Andamanese
  2. Jarawas
  3. Onges
  4. Sentinelese
  5. Shom Pens
• Schemes for PVGT : Development of Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) aimed to adopt a holistic approach to the socio-economic development of PVTGs.

Current Affairs Compilation : 28 August 2020

See Also : Covid-19 in Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

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