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Centre launches initiatives aimed at tribal welfare, new headquarters for TRIFED
The new TRIFED office premises at NSIC Complex in New Delhi's Okhla is around 30,000 square feet in area and has state-of-the-art infrastructure, equipped with two conference rooms for video-conferencing and other latest amenities.
The ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’ initiative, also known as 'Mission Van Dhan', was introduced by the central government on Tuesday, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aim to establish a sustainable livelihood for India's tribal population. The initiative was launched in New Delhi by the Union minister for tribal affairs Arjun Munda. The launch event also witnessed the inauguration of several other programmes, including the new premises of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) headquarters.
Speaking on the occasion, Munda remarked, “I am delighted to inaugurate the new premises of TRIFED and unveil some noteworthy initiatives that TRIFED has been working towards, such as Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan." The Union minister said that the implementation of this crucial mission will definitely result in the transformation of the tribal ecosystem in the country. "Today is definitely a momentous day for tribal people, as today sees the culmination of such valuable efforts the TRIFED team has put in consistently over the past years. It is commendable that the ministry of tribal affairs and the TRIFED team has achieved this, despite the difficult circumstances of the past two years,” he added.
Union minister of state for tribal affairs Renuka Singh, who was also present at the event, said, “It is noteworthy that the new initiatives being unveiled today take care of all aspects of tribal empowerment, be it spreading awareness about the richness of tribal lifestyle and natural produce with the Immunity Boost product hampers and the attractively designed H&G products which are not only sustainable; or preserving the culture through the vivid colourful Coffee Table book.”
Bhaskar Khulbe, the advisor to the Prime Minister, also complimented the TRIFED team for their new premises and said, “I am happy that a slew of initiatives, all benefitting the tribal population are being launched today.”
The new TRIFED office premises at NSIC Complex in New Delhi's Okhla is around 30,000 square feet in area and has state-of-the-art infrastructure, equipped with two conference rooms for video-conferencing and other latest amenities. It houses office space for the Union minister for tribal affairs, the managing director, senior officials, and all the staff.
“Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan”
TRIFED has been implementing several noteworthy programmes for the empowerment of the tribals, according to an official release. Over the past two years, the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ has impacted the tribal ecosystem in a major way, the release stated. TRIFED has also injected ₹3000 crores into the tribal economy, even during such difficult times, aided by government push.
The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, a component of the same scheme, have emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans.
In less than two years, 37,362 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs), subsumed into 2,240 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) of 300 forest dwellers each, have been sanctioned by TRIFED out of which 1,200 VDVK clusters are operational. Under retail marketing, a total of 134 Tribes India outlets have been opened to date, which has made a total sale of ₹53.66 crore. Besides, two TRIFOOD Projects at Jagdalpur and Raigarh (Maharashtra) are being shortly commissioned for undertaking value-addition of various forest products being procured by beneficiaries of Van Dhan Kendras. As a result of the above, an estimated amount of Rs. 3800 Cr. has so far been injected in the tribal economy and has impacted the lives of 50 lakh tribal population, the release stated.
TRIFED now plans to expand its operations through the convergence of various schemes of different ministries and launch various tribal development programs in Mission Mode under “Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan”. Through this mission, the establishment of 50,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, 3,000 Haat Bazaars, 600 Godowns, 200 Mini TRIFOOD Units, 100 Common Facility Centres, 100 TRIFOOD parks, 100 SFURTI clusters, 200 Tribes India retail stores, e-commerce platforms for TRIFOOD and Tribes India brands is being targeted.
The other initiatives launched on Tuesday include the Van Dhan Software Application. Designed to receive and process the Van Dhan proposals online, the software application has GIS integration, can monitor Van Dhan Project implementation activities, and can generate related reports. A Digital Connect programme under which a two-way communication process is proposed to be established was also launched.
'Tribes India' outlets
Union minister Munda also inaugurated 7 more Tribes of India outlets, two in Jagdalpur, three in Ranchi, one in Jamshedpur, and one at Sarnath. Showcasing tribal products from all over the country, the outlets will have specific GI and Vandhan corners and will display a large variety of GI-tagged and natural products from different parts of the country. The Sarnath outlet is the first successful collaboration with the Ministry of Culture at an ASI heritage site. With these outlets, the total number of Tribes India outlets has gone up to 141.
A Tribes India Coffee Table Book which showcases the rich cultural tribal heritage and highlights the journey of various tribal artisans practicing different arts and crafts and how TRIFED has impacted their livelihoods was also unveiled. With the mission to make Tribes India the ultimate gifting destination, TRIFED has compiled a hamper of Unique handicrafts, GI products, and immunity boosters from different parts of the country.
During the pandemic, efforts were made for the skill development of the tribal artisans, and 17 training Programs were approved for benefitting 340 tribal artisans and developing 170 new designed products. Twenty-five newly designed products from the recently completed Design workshop training programs for the Boksa tribal artisans at Rishikesh and Meena tribal artisans at Jaipur were also launched.
Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED said speaking on the occasion, said, “TRIFED is working consistently on its mission towards making the tribals Atmanirbhar and self-reliant. These are just a glimpse of the activities it has undertaken in this regard. The team is striving in this direction and will continue to do so.”
