Quality of Life, Social Exclusion and Chronic Poverty among Tribals in Odisha

The study examines the quality of life, social exclusion and chronic poverty among the tribals of Odisha by using secondary data collected from various rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS), published information of the Sample Registration System (SRS) Bulletins, Population Census Reports, National Family Health Survey (NFHS) Reports, Human Development Reports, etc. It analyses the magnitude, incidence, depth and severity of poverty among different social groups and across different NSS regions of the state using the estimates of Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) class of poverty measures such as head count ratio, poverty gap ratio and squared poverty gap ratio in per capita terms for each social group separately for the NSS regions as well as for the rural and urban sectors of the state. The study reveals that the tribals of the state have a long history of chronic poverty, social exclusion and inequality, all of which have a direct bearing on their quality of life and level of living. Several social, economic and institutional obstacles have remained major obstacles to the proper distribution of the benefits of economic growth among different social groups in the state. The trend in head count ratio (poverty ratio) in the state is influenced significantly by the differential trend in the social group poverty ratio.