The Constitution of India seeks to secure for all its citizens, among other things, social and economic justice, equality of status and opportunity and assure the dignity of the individual. Several provisions have been incorporated in the constitution for safeguarding and promoting the interests of the scheduled tribes in various spheres so as to enable them to join the national mainstream. [In our study the income and expenditure relationship examined across different income groups indicates that there is a decline in the share of food expenditure as the income increase, indicating an inverse relationship between per capita income and share of food expenditure. Agriculture is the prime and predominant occupation of tribals and the culture of the tribal communities is reflected in their agricultural practices. The agro-climatic conditions and the resource potentialities differ from one tribal area to another. This is due to the nature of soil, fertility, availability of water etc. Due to prevalence of unemployment and underemployment, agriculture alone cannot sustain them throughout the year. So, the tribals must rely on labour works and the forest produce which occupies and plays an important role in their daily life. Hence, the tribal economy may rightly be called as agro- forest- based economy. The isolated location of the tribes from the mainstream of life is hindering their economic activities. The illiteracy among the tribals and the rich forest produce have tempted the money lenders and small traders to exploit the tribals. [The present paper attempts to examine the human development among tribal communities in Andhra Pradesh. 

Keywords: Schedule Tribes; Andhra Pradesh; Agriculture; Forest based economy