Social Exclusion and Household Poverty among the Vulnerable Tribal Groups in Odisha

The main objective of this paper is to examine the levels of deprivation and incidence of poverty among the Kandha tribe located in the Gajapati district of Odisha. About 200 sample households belong to Kandha, Sudha Savar and other communities were interviewed to understand the depth and breadth of their poverty. This paper also examines the factors that are responsible for persistence of poverty among these households. It is found that the levels of deprivation and incidence of poverty among the Kandha households are significantly higher than that of other communities. The main factors responsible for persistent poverty among them are lack of resource endowments and exclusion of communities from basic economic benefits. It is suggested that adequate attention should be given to the more vulnerable groups in terms of their access to various public provisions/opportunities, which will enable them to enhance resource base and reduce the depth and breadth of poverty.