Discuss specific social services for disadvantaged sections in society.
Answers
4.1.1 Empowerment of the Socially
Disadvantaged Groups viz., the Scheduled Castes
(SCs), the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and the
Minorities continues to be on the priority list of country’s
developmental Agenda, as they still lag behind the rest
of the society due to their social and economic
backwardness. Their share in the country’s total
population is quite substantial, as SCs account for
179.7 million, representing 17.5 per cent and Minorities
being 188.9 million, representing 18.4 per cent in 2001
(projected on the basis of the trend of their decadal
growth rates, in the absence of the data of 2001
Census). The population of OBCs, as estimated by
the Mandal Commission, constitutes 52 per cent of
country’s total population (appears to be on a high side
because of the possibility of certain communities of
SCs and Minorities featuring in the list of OBCs).
POPULATION PROFILE
4.1.2 According to the 1991 Census, SCs
account for 138.2 million, of whom 81 per cent live
in rural areas, but spread all over the country, except
in the state of Nagaland and the two UTs of Andaman
and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. Uttar
Pradesh alone accounts for 21.2 per cent of the
total SC population in the country. Nearly 84 per cent
of total SC population live in ten states viz. Andhra
Pradesh (7.7 per cent), Bihar (9.1 per cent),
Karnataka (5.3 per cent), Kerala (2.1 per cent),
Madhya Pradesh (7.0 per cent), Maharashtra (6.3
per cent), Rajasthan (5.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu (7.8
per cent), Uttar Pradesh (21.2 per cent) and West
Bengal (11.6 per cent). In a few states, they
constitute more than 20 per cent of state’s total
population. These include - Punjab (28.3 per cent),
Himachal Pradesh (25.3 per cent), West Bengal
(23.6 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (21.0 per cent).
4.1.3 OBCs, as per the Government of India’s
Notification No. 12011/68/93/BCC(C) dated 10
September 1993, consist of castes and
communities which are common to both the Lists
contained in the Report of the Backward Classes
Commission (Mandal Commission) and those of
the State Governments prepared for the purpose.
So far, Central Lists of OBCs in respect of 21 States
and 5 UTs have been notified.
4.1.4 The Minorities, as per the 1991 Census,
constitute 145.31 million or 17.2 per cent of the total
population of the country. While Muslims represent
12 per cent of the total population, Christians
account for 2.3 per cent, Sikhs 2 per cent and
Buddhists 0.8 per cent. The Zoroastrians number
around 1 lakh. The Muslims constitute 94.3 per
cent of total population in Lakshadweep, 64 per cent
in Jammu & Kashmir, 28.4 per cent in Assam, 23.6
per cent in West Bengal and 23.3 per cent in Kerala,
far above the national level average. A sizeable
Muslim population is also found in Uttar Pradesh
(25 million), West Bengal (18 million) and Bihar (13
million). The 20 million Christian population is
predominantly found in Mizoram (85.5 per cent of
the state’s population)), Meghalaya (64.8 per cent)
and Nagaland (87.6 per cent). There is also a
substantial Christian population in Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Goa and the Union Territory of Andaman &
Nicobar Islands. The Sikhs, numbering about 16
million, constitute 63 per cent of the population in
Punjab and 20 per cent of the population in the
Union Territory of Chandigarh. Their population
ranges between 1 and 6 per cent of the population
in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana, while
it is below 1 per cent elsewhere in the country. The
total population of Buddhists in the country is 6.76
million. There are two categories of Buddhists
in the country. The traditional Buddhists are
concentrated in the hilly areas of Ladakh, Madhya
Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal
Pradesh, while the newly converted Buddhists are
mainly found in Maharashtra (6.3 per cent of the
state’s population), Uttar Pradesh (0.2 per cent),
TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN 2002-07
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Madhya Pradesh (0.3 per cent) and West Bengal
(0.3 per cent). The largest Buddhist concentration
is in Sikkim, which has 27 per cent of the total
Buddhist population in the country, followed by
Arunachal Pradesh with 13 per cent. The presence
of Zoroastrians is very negligible in most of the
states, except for Maharashtra (about 60,000),
Gujarat (about 13,000), West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh and Daman & Diu, where their number is
about 3,000 in each