The Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) is a concept and a sub-classification of Scheduled Tribes (STs) in India, created to identify the most disadvantaged tribal communities for targeted development. The category originated from the Dhebar Commission (1960-61), which noted that some tribal groups were significantly less developed than others. To address this disparity, the government created the sub-category of Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) in 1975, initially identifying 52 groups. The name was officially changed to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in 2006 to remove the derogatory connotation of "primitive".
The identification of a PVTG is based on four specific criteria: a pre-agricultural level of technology (such as hunting-gathering), a stagnant or declining population, low literacy, and economic backwardness. Currently, there are 75 officially notified PVTGs spread across 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The concept connects directly to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and specific schemes like the 'Development of PVTGs' Scheme and the recent Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN), launched in November 2023 with a budgetary outlay of ₹24,104 crore. A key legal provision connected to PVTGs is Section 3(1)(e) of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), which provides for the recognition of Habitat Rights for PVTGs. While the classification criteria have remained the same since the last addition of groups in 1993, a significant recent development is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs' request to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India to enumerate PVTGs separately in the upcoming Census to ensure better implementation of targeted schemes like PM JANMAN.