Shahapur’s Katkari tribe

IN NEWS:

• With the help of Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana, a group of tribal youth from the Katkari community in Shahpur has come together to market Giloy, a herb used in treatment of viral fever, malaria as well as diabetes.

ABOUT THE TRIBE:

• The Katkari are an Indian Tribe mostly belonging to the state of Maharashtra. Small numbers of Katkari also live the states of Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
• In Maharashtra the Katkari have been designated a Particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG).
• Historically, they are nomadic, forest-dwelling people, who were listed under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 by the British Raj.
• The Katkari are one of only a few tribal groups in India that eat rodents and have created a cultural festival, the Undir Navmi, dedicated to the rodent.

PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL GROUPS:

• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups. In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs.
• PVTGs have some basic characteristics: they are mostly homogenous, with a small population, relatively physically isolated, social institutes cast in a simple mould, absence of written language, relatively simple technology and a slower rate of change etc.
• 75 tribal groups have been categorized by Ministry of Home Affairs as PVTGs.
• The Ministry implements the Scheme of “Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)” exclusively for them.

PRADHAN MANTRI VAN DHAN YOJANA (PMVDY):

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED. It was launched in 2018 and seeks to improve tribal incomes through value addition of tribal products.
• As per the plan, TRIFED will facilitate establishment of multi-purpose ‘Van Dhan Vikas Kendras’, a cluster of 10 SHGs comprising of tribal Minor Forest Product (MFP) gatherers each, in the tribal areas.
• Working capital and training is provided to add value to the products. The stock will then be connected to higher level processing units or big corporates.

PRELIMS QUESTION:

Q. Which of the following pairs tribe and their corresponding state/UT is incorrectly matched?

1. Irular               : Kerala
2. Gujjar              : Himachal Pradesh
3. Bhil                  : Andaman & Nicobar
4. Apatani           : Arunachal Pradesh

Answer to Prelims question C

Source: PIB