International Journal of Business and Economics Volume 24, No. 3 December, 2025

Impact of Indigenous tribes and castes on the income of households

Dr Nishi Malhotra

Assistant Professor, IIM Sambalpur

Abstract

This study aims to empirically test and discuss the impact of indigenous tribes and castes on the income of the households, within the Indian context. With the goal that no one should be left behind, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are important for indigenous communities and people. Globally, Indigenous people find it challenging to achieve higher economic growth and aim for a decent standard of living due to a lack of livelihood, occupation, and means of living. These indigenous people face several conflicts in proclaiming their indigenous rights on land and other natural resources. In this study, the difference in difference methods has been used to assess the influence of caste and tribes through the PM Jan Jati Mission scheme during COVID-19 on household income in India. 3,322 households from CMIE People dx and Consumer Aspiration dx databases were used for the analysis. The data was collated from May to August 2019 as the pre-Covid-period, and May to August 2021 as the post-COVID-19 period. The findings revealed that during COVID, household income from both scheduled castes and tribes increased manifold as compared to the income of people from the upper class and category. During COVID-19 the Government introduced various schemes for the upliftment of the poor belonging to the castes and tribal communities.

Keywords：Self-Help Group, Social Inclusion, Indigenous Tribes

JEL Classifications：O21

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