CHANGING SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF TRIBAL COMMUNITIES: A CASE STUDY ON KANDHA TRIBALS OF RAYAGADA DISTRICT IN ODISHA

In this article, an attempted has been made to analyse the socio-economic status of the Kandha tribes using the data over the last ten years. The findings from the study reveal little change in the socio-economic status of the tribe. Agriculture is the main source of income for the tribal households in all villages. Only 7% of households earn an annual income between 25,000 and 30,000. Sex ratio of the study area is too high, with 1210 female per 1000 male, while the literacy rate of the study area is only 39.5%. Housing conditions have improved for 38% of the sampled households after the government allocated funds in 2017 to build pacca houses. 11% of sampled households have moved from a situation of no house to having a house in the last 10 years. 62% of sampled households have a separate kitchen and 38% of households currently have an attached kitchen in the study area. Only 17% of households use government provided toilets, which was nil prior to the last ten years. 69% of indigenous households still do not use a mobile phone in the study area. Sanitation is also an important issue in the study area, where only 41% had access to water from tube well in the last 10 years. The overall socioeconomic status of tribal communities has not changed to date.