India : Population (Part – VI)

As per Census 2011, the State of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh jointly have the highest number of Scheduled Tribes population in the above mentioned pairs of States of India.

As per Census 2011, Scheduled Tribes (ST) population as percentage of its total population in given States is as follows:

As per Census 2011, the largest Scheduled Tribe in India is Bhil tribal group with 17071049 population. After that, population of Gond tribal group (13256928) is next in the sequence, while population of the Santhal tribe (6570807) is the third largest in India.

in India after Bhil. They are mostly found in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, Bastar district of Chhattisgarh and parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Ben- gal and Odisha. Their staple foods are two kinds of millet: kodo and kutki. Rice is mostly consumed during festival feasts. Gonds believe that earth, water and air are ruled by Gods.

The criteria for identifying some of the scheduled tribes as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are:

1. Pre-agricultural level of technology,

2. Low level of literacy,

3. Economic backwardness,

4. A declining or stagnant population.

Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Among all Indian States, Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tribal habitations (55770) fully covered with the safe drinking water facility.

According to 1991 Census data and as per 2011 Census, option (d) is the correct answer. According to the final figures of Census 2011, the lowest literacy rate in India is in Bihar (61.8%) and the State with highest population density is also Bihar (1106 persons/sq. km). The State with the highest sex-ratio is Kerala (1084/1000) and the State with the highest population growth rate is Meghalaya (27.9%).

As per Census 2001, the State with the highest percentage of Scheduled Castes in the total population of India was Punjab (28.9%) and not Bihar (15.7%). Hence, Statement (a) is incorrect. India's decadal population growth rate was 21.54% during 1991-2001. Hence Statement (b) is incorrect. The least populous State of India is also Sikkim and not Mizoram. Hence, Statement (c) is also incorrect. Among the Union Territories, Puducherry had the highest female-male ratio (1001: 1000). Hence the correct answer was option (d). As per final data of Census 2011, India's decadal population growth during 2001- 2011 is 17.7%. The least populous State of India is Sikkim (610577) and Puducherry has the highest female to male ratio (1037: 1000) among all Union Territories. As per Census 2011, the State with the highest percentage of Scheduled Castes is Punjab (31.9%).

India adopted the new National Population Policy (NPP) in February 2000. The NPP 2000 originally aimed to bring the total fertility rate (TFR) to replacement level by 2010 and to achieve a stable population by 2045 (which is later modified to 2070), at a level consistent with sustainable economic growth, social development, and environmental protection.

In February 2000, the Government declared the National Population Policy, 2000. This policy includes 3 objectives, 4 new structures, 12 policy related subjects, 14 national socio- demographic targets for the year 2010, 16 incentive measures for achieving small family and 101 action measure i.e. 150 key facts in total. One of these key facts was the reduction in crude birth rate by 2010 to 21.0 per thousand.