• Dr. N. Sundara Ramaiah
• G. Anantha Varalakshmi

India has the second-largest concentration of tribal population in the world, next only to Africa. For thousands of years, they lived in forests and hilly regions with little or no contact with centers of civilization. According to the 2001 Census, the Scheduled Tribe (ST) population was 84.3 million, representing 8.2% of the country’s total population. This figure increased to 8.6% in the 2011 Census. Scheduled Tribes (STs) are population groups in India explicitly recognized by the Constitution under the Presidential Order of 1950, which listed 744 tribes across 22 states in its First Schedule. In the newly carved state of Andhra Pradesh, there are 34 recognized tribes with a population of 27,40,133 (5.53%) as per the 2011 Census. The tribal population is distributed across all thirteen districts of the state, though unevenly. The majority are concentrated in the Tribal Sub-Plan (Scheduled) areas of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Kurnool, Prakasam, Guntur, and Nellore districts. The tribes of Andhra Pradesh possess a rich cultural heritage and lead simple, innocent lifestyles. Owing to their habitation in forests and hill areas, they exhibit certain distinct characteristics such as primitive traits, unique cultural practices, shyness of contact with other communities, geographical isolation, and socio-economic backwardness. To address these challenges, both central and state governments have been implementing various developmental programs and schemes since 1951. After the Ministry of Tribal Affairs was constituted in 1999, there has been greater focus on the development of Scheduled Tribes across India, with special emphasis on Andhra Pradesh. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the status of the Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh with respect to population size, gender distribution, sex ratio, literacy levels, work participation rate, child population, Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups, and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). This study is based on secondary data collected from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the Statistical Abstract of Andhra Pradesh, and various Census reports. The analysis makes use of district-wise data on the Scheduled Tribes population, literacy levels, and work participation. The study is limited to data from the 2011 Census.

Scheduled Tribes (STs), Population, Gender, Sex Ratio, Literacy Rate, Work Participation Rate, Scheduled Tribe Groups, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

"Status of Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Tribes-Groups and Partiularly Vulnerable Tribe Groups (PVTGs) in andhra pradesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 9, page no.d718-d731, September-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2509393.pdf

"Status of Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Tribes-Groups and Partiularly Vulnerable Tribe Groups (PVTGs) in andhra pradesh", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 9, page no. ppd718-d731, September-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2509393.pdf