Delivery Care for Scheduled Tribe Women in India: A Disaggregated Regional Analysis

India has a high pregnancy and childbirth related maternal mortality rate. The present paper, based on the data from the District Level Household Survey-Reproductive and Child Health (DLHS-RCH) 2002-2004, asserts that tribal women received low delivery care vis-à-vis non-tribal women. Multivariate analysis shows that educational level, standard of living, and ante-natal care visits have a significant effect on safe delivery care. The majority of the scheduled tribe women, being socially and economically backward, are at a distinct disadvantage in getting safe delivery care. The degree of their disadvantage, which also varies spatially, is very high in the central-Indian tribal belt.