Commission for Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes

Why in News?

The National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) prepares the state-wise list of castes belonging to a particular tribe. It submitted its report in 2018 finding that there are 1262 communities identified as denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities. This was discussed in the Parliament. 

1.About

• A committee has been established by the NITI Aayog to study the denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes

• This task of gathering information about various tribes in the country has been assigned to the Anthropological Survey of India which is a premier institute for anthropological research in bio-cultural studies operating under the Ministry of Culture

2.Importance

• It suggested a permanent commission at the centre for denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities

• Setting up separate departments in every state for the above-mentioned communities

• The definition of notified and denotified tribes must be put forth with uniformity in their categorisation under SC/ST/OBC

• It recommends a caste-based census to enumerate the population of these communities

There needs to be more awareness among these communities for their inclusion in the mainstream and their access to several welfare schemes.