Karutha, a senior citizen from Pathrachal tribal settlement located in Edavaka grama panchayat of Mananthavady in Wayanad district of Kerala, has not been receiving foodgrains under the public distribution system (PDS) for over six months now.

When tribal welfare activists tried to address this, they found a tricky problem. Her fingerprints could not be matched with the electronic point-of-sale scanner at the local fair price shop to authenticate her identity. “Since the names of none of her immediate family members are on the ration card, Ms. Karutha is forced to depend on her neighbours and other relatives for foodgrains now,” says one of the activists.

This is among the many examples of a crisis being faced by the tribal communities in Kerala even as uniform digital policies are implemented in a rather one-size-fits-all manner.

C. Manikandan, an educationist from Wayanad, says, “Linking one’s Aadhaar card with a mobile number for OTP verification is mandatory to receive government benefits and services such as health cards, ration cards, and widow pensions. However, a majority among the tribal population does not own a mobile phone or possess a permanent number,” he says. Even if they have smartphones, network coverage is not available in many places.

Health card access

Mr. Manikandan points out that consequently, even patients in hospitals are unable to obtain health cards on time during emergencies. “They are even pushed to a point where their health condition is seriously compromised. They don’t seek medical treatment at all. In the absence of any external help, these communities are being driven into a state of complete helplessness,” he says.

School admissions too hit

Problems crop up when children seek school admissions too, for which birth certificate and Aadhaar card are mandatory. A parent at Cheruvayal in Wayanad, who does not wish to be quoted, says that Aadhaar card applications are being rejected over spelling variations in place names on birth certificates. Some of these parents, who have not completed school education, are then being asked to produce their school leaving certificate to authenticate their identity.

Mr. Manikandan claims that due to the digital disconnect, eligible people are unable to renew their ration cards or apply for social security pensions.

The problem is not unique to Wayanad; it also exists in districts such as Palakkad, Malappuram and Idukki. K. Santhosh Kumar, an activist, points out that 24% of the tribal community in Kerala are living in forests, where digital access is difficult.

“A similar problem confronts members of the community who stay in tribal settlements or colonies that are adjacent to forests. Even if they have smartphones, many of them are yet to be made aware of using the gadgets for various utilities,” he says.

Mr. Kumar says that the designing of government policies is problematic as geographical and technological limitations faced by these communities are often overlooked during the process. “They don’t take into account the communities’ concerns. An end result is the exclusion of the tribespeople from the schemes,” he adds.

Published - July 24, 2026 11:23 am IST