Breaking down the question
The question asks for the main objectives of the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). It is a focused, descriptive question, but a good answer places the TSP within the wider debate on tribal development and explains why a separate, targeted strategy was thought necessary.
Main objectives means the goals the TSP was designed to achieve — accelerating tribal development, protecting tribes from exploitation, and closing the gap between tribes and the rest of society. The framing should reflect the policy consensus that emerged after independence, steering between isolation and forced assimilation.
How to approach it
Open by explaining what the TSP is and the problem it responded to — the persistent backwardness of tribal areas and the failure of general development to reach them. Then set out its main objectives clearly — socio-economic development, protection, closing the gap, and infrastructure. Close by locating it within the integration-with-autonomy approach, drawing on the note on tribes, integration and autonomy.
Model answer
The Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) was introduced in the Fifth Five-Year Plan as a strategy of targeted development for Scheduled Tribes. It responded to a clear problem — despite general development programmes, tribal areas remained among the most backward in the country, and the benefits of growth were failing to reach tribal communities. The TSP earmarked funds and framed a dedicated approach with several main objectives.
Socio-economic development. The primary objective was to accelerate the socio-economic development of Scheduled Tribes — raising incomes, improving agriculture, land and forest-based livelihoods, and extending education, health and employment. Development was to be planned specifically for tribal needs rather than left to trickle down from general schemes.
Protection from exploitation. A second objective was the protection of tribes from the exploitation that had historically impoverished them — land alienation, indebtedness to moneylenders, bonded labour and the encroachment of outsiders. The TSP sought to safeguard tribal land and forest rights and to shield communities from predatory interests.
Closing the development gap. A third objective was to narrow the gap between tribal communities and the general population across key indicators — literacy, income, health and infrastructure. The aim was to bring tribes up to par with the rest of society within a defined time frame.
Infrastructure and earmarked funds. The strategy required that a share of plan outlays, proportionate at least to the tribal population, be earmarked for tribal areas and pooled from central, state and sectoral sources, and channelled through Integrated Tribal Development Projects. Building roads, schools, health centres and irrigation in remote tribal tracts was a central concern.
Underlying these objectives was a distinct philosophy of integration with autonomy — the middle path between Verrier Elwin's protective isolation and forced assimilation, associated with the Nehruvian tribal panchsheel. The TSP aimed to develop tribes without destroying their identity, culture and institutions. Its record has been mixed — funds have been diverted or underspent and the gap has narrowed only slowly — but its core objectives of targeted, protective and identity-sensitive development remain the framework for tribal policy. For fuller treatment, see the note on tribes, integration and autonomy.
Examiner's perspective
Examiners look for a clear statement of the TSP's objectives — socio-economic development, protection from exploitation, closing the gap, and earmarked funds for infrastructure — rather than a vague account of tribal welfare. Explaining briefly why a separate, targeted plan was needed shows understanding beyond mere recall.
The strongest scripts locate the TSP within the integration-with-autonomy philosophy, gesturing to Elwin and the tribal panchsheel, and offer a balanced closing note on its uneven implementation. Precision about objectives and a sociological frame separate the top band in this ten-mark answer.