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Govt taking steps to enhance production, marketing of forest produce: Pradhan
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is takins steps to engage with e-commerce players to push the sales of forest produce of tribal communities
Union education and skill development minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said that the government is taking several steps to enhance the production and marketing of forest produce of tribal communities and engaging with e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart to push their sales.
“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is giving long-due honour to the tribal population of the country. The quantum leap in funding of centrally sponsored schemes is aimed at the welfare of tribal population. The allocation for STC funds has been increased from ₹19,437 cr in 2014-15 to ₹87,585 cr in 2022-23 and the allocation for ministry of tribal affairs has also been increased from ₹3,832 cr in 2014-15 to ₹8,407 cr in 2022-23,” he said at a press briefing in New Delhi.
While speaking about the increased allocation, he said that for the government ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka prayaas’ initiative is not merely a slogan but a “guiding philosophy”. He also said that this is reflective of the government’s commitment to the upliftment of tribal populations by touching aspects including protecting their culture, respecting their identity, education, health and self-employment.
“The government is taking steps to increase production of their produce, improve packaging, branding, and marketing. We are using platforms like Amazon and Flipkart also for tribal products,” he said.
Speaking about education, Pradhan said that education in local languages and mother tongue is one of the key focus areas of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of which tribal population will be a key beneficiary. He also spoke about the Eklavya Model Residential Schools for tribal population in which over 1 lakh students are enrolled.
Pradhan also spoke about the contribution of tribal leaders in the freedom struggle and the government’s efforts to honour this rich legacy and history including by opening tribal museums, observing Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas and other initiatives. “Other initiatives like the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, development of searchable tribal digital document repository, SFRUTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) scheme and the setting up of the first-ever National Tribal Research Institute are also there,” he said.
“The recently announced International Year of Millets on the initiative of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will go a long way in empowering the tribal population, who contribute majorly to millet cultivation,” he added.
