Livelihood, Poverty and Multiple Deprivation among Tribals in Odisha

The present study seeks to examine the livelihood pattern, incidence of poverty and multiple deprivation among the tribal communities or Scheduled Tribes (STs) of Odisha by using secondary data collected from the various rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS), Census of India reports, District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLFS) reports, etc. It evaluates the contributions of the different sources of livelihood on level of living, quality of life and economic well-being of the tribals. Methodologically, the study employs the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) class of poverty measures to examine the incidence and magnitude of poverty among the tribals. It finds a strong relationship between livelihood pattern and poverty among them. Though there has been a decline in the incidence of poverty (head count ratio) among the tribals over a period of time, the rate of decline has been slower among the tribal communities than the other social classes. The tribals are confronted with low levels of income and higher levels of poverty due to their subsistence level of livelihood. Most of them are engaged in low-paid works, and suffer from chronic poverty and multiple deprivation. Finally, the study concludes with suggestions on how potential policy options can improve the livelihood condition of the tribals and redress the problem of heavy incidence of poverty among them.