According to sources in the government, Union Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo has said the committee should submit an interim report in six months, besides expanding its mandate to include issues like mining in Schedule V areas.

The government has constituted a seven-member committee under the NAC member Virginius Xaxa with terms and conditions similar to those of the Sachar Committee that had examined the socio-economic status of Muslims.

The committee will also take into account the findings of the Bhuria Panel and the Mungekar Committee.

The panel has been asked to look into issues concerning the tribal population, including, identifying regions where tribals live and "visible changes" that have occurred the in the wake of "involuntary displacement" as well as "enforced migration", comparing their assets and income to other social groups, identifying causes of disparity and assessing if there are adequate structures for implementation of protective legislations. The committee will also take into account the findings of the Bhuria Panel and the Mungekar Committee.

The Tribal Affairs Minister had written to PM Manmohan Singh in July last year suggesting setting up of a "Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission" to look into the "gamut of administration of development programmes for tribals".