• The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Tribal Affairs, Mr. V. Kishore Chandra Deo on December 17, 2013.

• Article 342 of the Constitution empowers the President to specify tribes which will be deemed as Scheduled Tribes through a notification.  It also empowers the Parliament to include or exclude tribes from the list of Scheduled Tribes.  In accordance with Article 342, the list of Scheduled Tribes was notified in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh through the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. 

• The Bill adds new communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.  It adds: (a) Narikovan community, grouped with Kurivikkaran community to the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu, and (b) the Dhanuhar and Dhanuwar communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh.  The two communities in Chhattisgarh have been added as synonyms or equivalent names of the Dhanwar community which is currently listed as a Scheduled Tribe in Chhattisgarh.

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