Previous Year Question
Which one of the following states has the lowest percentage of Scheduled Tribes population as the percentage of its total population according to Census 2011?
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
According to Census 2011, among the four States given, Uttar Pradesh had the lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribe population in its total State population at 0.6%.
The comparison among the options is—
Uttar Pradesh — 0.6%
Tamil Nadu — 1.1%
Bihar — 1.3%
Kerala — 1.5%.
Thus, the ascending order is—
Uttar Pradesh 0.6% < Tamil Nadu 1.1% < Bihar 1.3% < Kerala 1.5%
Census 2011 recorded the total population of Uttar Pradesh at 199,812,341, while its Scheduled Tribe population was 1,134,273. This works out to approximately 0.6% of the State's population.
A question does not ask which State contributes the smallest share to India's total Scheduled Tribe population. It asks which State has the lowest ST percentage within its own total population. These are different indicators.
According to Census 2011, India's total Scheduled Tribe population was about 104.5 million, constituting approximately 8.6% of the country's population. Uttar Pradesh's State-level proportion of 0.6% was therefore substantially below the national ST proportion.