Food and Social Security at the Margins: The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand

A recent survey of all Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) households in two blocks of Jharkhand reveals that their existence remains precarious due to disrupted livelihoods, limited access to education and other public services, and continued exploitation. The public distribution system has become an important source of support for them: most PVTG households have ration cards and receive the bulk of their monthly food rations. Social security pensions also help, but exclusion rates are higher and pension payments have recently been disrupted by Aadhaar-related problems, as have a range of other schemes. In spite of these useful social security measures, food insecurity remains common among PVTGs: more than 40 per cent of households reported that some members had slept hungry ‘a few times’ or ‘many times’ during the three months preceding the survey.