Addition of tribes to ST list

Why is in news? Parliament passes Constitution (STs) Order (Second Amendment) Bill to include Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran communities in list of STs in Tamil Nadu

Parliament has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill 2022 with the Rajya Sabha approving it. The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.

The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu. The bill includes Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu.

The process to include tribes in the ST list begins with the recommendation from the respective State governments, which are then sent to the Tribal Affairs Ministry, which reviews and sends them to the Registrar General of India for approval.

This is followed by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ approval before the list is sent to the Cabinet for a final decision.

Some newly included tribes in the list include Hattis (Himachal Pradesh), Binjhia (Chhattisgarh), Gond Community (Uttar Pradesh), ‘Betta-Kuruba’ (Karnataka).

Benefits in the Inclusion in the ST List:

The move will enable members of the communities newly listed in the revised list of Scheduled Tribes to derive benefits meant for STs under the existing schemes of the government.

Some of the major benefits include post-matric scholarship, overseas scholarship and the national fellowship, besides education, concessional loans from the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, and hostels for students.

In addition, they will also be entitled to benefits of reservation in services and admission to educational institutions as per the government policy.

Status of Scheduled Tribes in India:

As per Census-1931, Schedule tribes are termed as "backward tribes” living in the "Excluded" and "Partially Excluded" areas. The Government of India Act of 1935 called for the first time for representatives of "backward tribes" in provincial assemblies.

The Constitution does not define the criteria for recognition of Scheduled Tribes and hence the definition contained in 1931 Census was used in the initial years after independence.

However, Article 366(25) of the Constitution only provides process to define Scheduled Tribes: “Scheduled Tribes means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution.”

Article 342(1): The President may with respect to any State or Union Territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor, by a public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within tribes or tribal communities as Scheduled Tribe in relation to that State or Union Territory.

The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution lays out provision for Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

The Sixth Schedule deals with the administration of the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.