PDS, public infrastructure helping Adivasis of Chhattisgarh, MP live with dignity despite lower income: PRADAN Report
The Adivasis of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, two states in the heart of India that are home to significant tribal populations, are able to live with dignity in spite of their incomes being much lower than the national average. The reason: government interventions like the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Food subsidy through PDS has reduced the stress that Adivasi households would have faced due to lower income, according to a new report Status of Adivasi Livelihoods Report 2022 released by the non-profit PRADAN in a webinar on January 11, 2024.
In Madhya Pradesh, 51 per cent of Adivasi, 63 per cent non-Adivasi, and 50 per cent of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) villages have PDS outlets. In Chhattisgarh, the figures are 63 per cent, 88 per cent, and 36 per cent, according to the report.