2021 Status of Adivasi Livelihoods Report – Jharkhand and Odisha

Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), a non-governmental organisation based out of New Delhi, published this report on April 18, 2022. The report focuses on the livelihood of Adivasi communities in the states of Jharkhand and Odisha. It is the first report in a series planned to study the livelihoods of Adivasis across the country. The report is based on a survey of 4,994 households (4,135 Adivasi and 859 non-Adivasi), conducted between March and May 2021 across 16 districts in Jharkhand and Odisha. Focus group discussions with Adivasi communities in 28 villages, and interviews with 40 intellectuals familiar with issues concerning Adivasi communities also form the basis of the report. The displacement and dispossession of Adivasis is a result of the ‘modern development paradigm’ forced on them, the report notes. It also identifies areas like access to public services, income, food security and diet, in which households belonging to the Adivasi community and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) are considerably deprived. PVTGs are those tribal groups which have a stagnant or declining population, forest-based livelihoods and extremely low literacy rates...