28-Apr-2022: TRIFED organizes National Conclave on “Wild and Forest Honey” in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and National Bee Board

The Minister of Tribal affairs, Shri Arjun Munda has said that for the areas covered under Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana, we need to ensure that the extraction of Natural Honey and Bee Keeping is brought within ambit of Community Forest Rights under FRA. He was addressing at the  National Conclave on “Wild and Forest Honey” organized by TRIFED in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and National Bee Board.  Shri Arjun Munda  virtually addressed the conference.

Shri Arjun Munda further said “Beekeeping activity has been recognized as one of the important activities by Government of India for its promotion and development to achieve “Sweet Revolution” in the endeavour of enhancing the income of bee farmers and honey gatherers”.

Shri Arjun Munda also said “Our strength is plant based food in which honey stays on the top with  high medicinal values. Honey plays an important role in Ancient Ayurvedic system of treatment and it is used not only in our food but also has medicinal values”.

He further explained that our challenge is to maintain the quality of honey and avoid adulteration; and  directed the concerned authorities to prepare and maintain a database of those who naturally extract Honey and areas which specialize in honey gathering and extraction. We should also geo-tag these areas which specialise in wild and forest honey production to generate awareness about wild and forest honey production, he said.

 “I am happy that TRIFED has joined hands with Ministry of Agriculture and National Bee Board, to accelerate the implementation of such new and key initiatives that will go a long way in empowering the underprivileged tribals”, said Shri Arjun Munda, Minister for Tribal Affairs, while delivering the key note address at the National Conclave on “Wild and Forest Honey” today.

Shri Arjun Munda  thanked TRIFED for organising the event and said "I hope TRIFED as an implementing agency for formation of 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) will assist in taking ahead the vision of our Prime Minister in making country AtmaNirbhar. The formation of Honey FPOs will prove to be a boon for tribal beekeepers and honey gatherers by bringing a Madhu Kranti". He also emphasized on the need for sustainable development of the sector.

The conclave was organized by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs in conjunction with National Bee Board (NBB) as a part of campaign of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare’s “Kisan Bhagidari, Prathmikta Hamari”.

The campaign is a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations and will run from 25th  to 30th  April, 2022. Supported by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) & National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the objective of this National Conclave is to create awareness about the production of forest and wild honey and of the tribals engaged in honey gathering.

Smt. R. Jaya, Managing Director, TRIFED & Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Dr Geetha Meetina, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Dr. Prabhat Kumar, Commissioner, Horticulture, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare also graced this conclave with their presence. Besides, senior officials of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED also attended this conclave. This event was also attended by members of Honey Farmer Producer Organisations who shared their experiences in the seminar.

Speaking on this occasion, Smt. R Jaya, Managing Director, TRIFED added  “TRIFED has had an association with wild & forest honey with its tribal gatherers and beekeepers producing different forms of quality honey. We assure that the formation of 14 FPOs by TRIFED will lead to definite income augmentation of the tribal beekeepers & gatherers while ensuring quality honey for consumers”

The second half of the conclave featured technical sessions on topics like Honey Bee Colony and Floral Honey; production of Wild and forest honey; wild honey collection and wax processing and capacity building of  tribal communities in bee keeping.

One of the key initiatives of TRIFED that was launched by Shri Arjun Munda,  Minister of Tribal Affairs in December, 2021, was the formation of 14 Honey Producer Organisations in States of Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat. These 14 Honey FPOs are a part of the central scheme “Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

Wild and forest Honey ranks among the most popularly and widely used sweetener around the world with enormous health benefits. Honey apart from being a nutritional source, also carries with it antifungal and anti-bacterial properties while being considered a good source of antioxidants. Several cultures around the world use Wild and forest Honey and it also serves as a base for many traditional forms of medicines like Ayurveda, Siddha etc. The health benefits of honey has been valued since ages. While being a handy cure for cough, cold, sinuses, eczema and many such health problems, honey is also used in Indian households for nourishing the skin and hair. Beekeeping activity has been recognized as one of the important activities by Govt of India for its promotion.

Under this scheme, special emphasis has been laid on beekeeping by the formation of FPOs in identified potential Districts/States. The National Bee Board (NBB), under the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), has planned to develop the scientific bee-keeping value chain for honey across 100 clusters in the country.  TRIFED has been made the implementing agency by Ministry of Agriculture to undertake the formation of 14 Honey FPOs alongside NAFED and NDDB in the states of Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat.

TRIFED has been implementing several noteworthy programmes for the empowerment of the tribals. In a short span of two years, it has sanctioned 3225 Van Dhan Kendras comprising of 55036 Van Dhan Self Help Groups (VDSHGs) covering 9.263 lakh beneficiaries in 28 States/UTs. These Van Dhan Kendras are at different Stages of development and many success stories have emerged till date. The Kendras in Maharashtra, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Tripura, Gujarat, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, to name a few, have begun producing many varieties of products. Under Retail Marketing, a total number of 119 Tribes India Outlets are functional as on date. Besides, two TRIFOOD Projects at Jagdalpur and Raigarh (Maharashtra) are under implementation for undertaking value-addition of various forest produces being procured by beneficiaries of Van Dhan Kendras. They are likely to be commissioned in the next few months.

TRIFED, as the nodal agency working towards tribal empowerment has been striving to transform the emphasis of the  Prime Minister on Vocal for local and building a Atmanirbhar Bharat through various initiatives aimed at augmenting the income and improving the livelihood & lives of the tribal communities, while preserving & promoting their way of life, culture and heritage.

30-Dec-2021: TRIFED takes up initiative for carrying out research projects around tribal development

TRIFED has been carrying out several programmes and initiatives to improve the livelihoods of the tribals and work towards their empowerment.  A major game-changing initiative that has been implemented by TRIFED in the recent past is the Van Dhan programme, which is spearheading in 25 States and 307 Districts with availability of MFPs as well as significant forest dwelling tribal population.

In a bid to expand its activities and help more tribals, TRIFED has signed an MoU with Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini- Nation First Policy Research Centre (RMP-NFPRC) on December 29, 2021 for a collaborative effort in leveraging knowledge, expertise and institutional strengths. The span of the joint venture will comprise the following strategic areas:

• Development and execution of research projects around tribal development and related activities.
• Engage in assessing and reviewing the existing and upcoming government schemes like Van Dhan Yojana.
• Publish research findings in the form of joint reports, or any other publication(s).
• Promote and disseminate research, conduct sessions, and meetings with experts on the topic.
• Jointly hosting conferences, seminars and other such activities pertaining to the research.
• The exchange of information, provide access to personnel(s) and data relevant to the research in hand.
• To forge collaborations with other like-minded entities outside this agreement, if found mutually desirable.
• Allowing the access of information from regional offices, state implementing agencies and other entities relevant to the scope of the project.

The ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme, have impacted the tribal ecosystem as never before. Implemented by TRIFED in association with State Government Agencies across 21 states of the country, the scheme has injected more than Rs 3000 crores directly in the tribal economy since April 2020. Aided by the Government push in May 2020 wherein the prices of Minor Forest Produce (MFPs) were increased by up to 90% and the inclusion of 23 new items in the MFP list, this flagship scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which draws its strength from The Forest Rights Act of 2005, aims to provide remunerative and fair prices to tribal gatherers of forest produces.

The Van Dhan Vikas Yojana, further complements MSP skillfully and has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. The objective of the programme is to ensure that the proceeds from the sales of these value-added products go to the tribals directly.

TRIFED is exploring convergences with organisations, government and non-government and academic, to continue its mission towards tribal empowerment. TRIFED continues to work towards generating income and livelihoods for tribal people through such flagship schemes like the MSP for MFP and the Van Dhan Yojana.

23-Dec-2021: Shri Arjun Munda inaugurates 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations(FPOs) of TRIFED

Several noteworthy initiatives of TRIFED were launched by Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs on December 23, 2021, in the presence of Shri Ramsinh Rathwa, Chairman TRIFED, Shri Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF India, Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED and other dignitaries in New Delhi.

Initiatives included the launch of the TRIFED Van Dhan Chronicle, an in-depth resource on the Van Dhan Yojana and TRIFED’s activities in this important scheme; 9 promotional videos on TRIBES INDIA, TRIFOOD, MSP for MFP and Van Dhan Yojana made by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and 14 Honey  Farmer Producer Organisations. In addition, UNICEF and TRIFED signed an MoU on Tribal Samvaad Network.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Munda remarked, “I am delighted to launch all these noteworthy initiatives that TRIFED has been working towards, such as TRIFED VAN DHAN Chronicle.  Implementation of this crucial resource will definitely result in communicating about the large number  of livelihood activities  that TRIFED has undertaken which have impacted the life of more than 16 lakh tribals; and also serve as a manual for the officers who will work on these activities in future. The Launch of the comprehensive MIS portal will also ensure ready availability of procurement data that can help in effective decision making and enhancing overall transparency.  It is commendable that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the TRIFED team has achieved quite a lot over the past few years despite the difficult circumstances.”  

The Minister further remarked that collaboration with UNICEF will help in connecting, interacting and bringing prosperity among the tribals who have suffering from neglect over a long period of time.

He also said that as the nation celebrates Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav ,there is need to intensify the programmes and activities for welfare of tribal people  to achieve a prosperous India when it completes 100 years of independence.

TRIFED has been implementing several noteworthy programmes for the empowerment of the tribals. In a short span of two years, it has successfully now sanctioned 52976 Van Dhan SHGs subsumed into 3110 VDVKCs covering 9.27 lakh beneficiaries & 27 States/UTs. These VDVKCs are at different Stages of development and many success stories have emerged till date. The VDVKCs in Maharashtra, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Tripura, Gujarat, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, to name a few along with all the 27 participating States have begun producing almost 600 varieties of products. Under Retail Marketing,  a total number of 144 Tribes India Outlets have been opened till date. 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.

TRIFED Van Dhan: A Chronicle of Tribal Grit & Enterprise: The TRIFED Van Dhan Chronicle documents the work done for the promotion of tribal enterprises in the country and the achievements of tribal entrepreneurs under the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana. The chronicle gives an in depth illustration of the activities undertaken by TRIFED which has impacted the life of almost 16 lakh tribals; including the introduction of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for select forest produces, training imparted, value addition that began in VDVKCs, new product lines developed, new ideas for packaging and marketing implemented, achievements so far and future plans.

Promotional Videos on Tribes India, TRIFOOD, MSP for MFP & Van Dhan Vikas Yojana: 9 Promotional Videos to spread the word and communicate effectively on Tribes India, TRIFOOD, MSP for MFP & Van Dhan Vikas Yojana were also launched today. These attractive informational videos have been developed by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and will soon be on air.

MIS Portal on Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produces (MFPs): The MIS Portal for Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produces, which was launched today, is a ready dashboard for the authorised users of The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED. In this dashboard, data is available on a real-time basis, pertaining to the list of procurement centres and their locations (including display pins on maps), and the procurement of MFPs being done across the country. This portal is being launched to ensure ready and online availability of procurement related data for analysis and fast and effective decision making and will go a long way to ensure transparency in the procurement activities and give a reflection on the performance and efficiency of the different states and districts.

Formation of 14 Honey Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs): Beekeeping activity has been recognized as one of the important activities by Govt of India for its promotion and development to achieve “Sweet Revolution” in the endeavor of enhancing income of farmers. A central scheme titled “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” was launched to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next five years. Under this scheme, special emphasis has been laid on beekeeping by the formation of 100 FPOs in identified potential Districts/States. The National Bee Board (NBB), under the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NHBM), has planned to develop the scientific bee-keeping value chain for honey across 100 clusters in the country.  TRIFED has been made the implementing agency by Ministry of Agriculture to undertake the formation of 14 Honey FPOs alongside NAFED and NDDB in the states of Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat. These 14 Honey FPOs were launched by the  Minister today.

Partnership with UNICEF for taking forward ‘Tribal Samvaad network’: In continuation with its partnership with UNICEF, TRIFED rolled out a campaign “Covid teeka Sangh, Surakshit van, Dhan Udyam” which was aimed at accelerating Covid-19 vaccination in tribal communities. The focus of the campaign is on three key Js i.e., Jeevan (Life), Jeevika (Livelihood) and Jagrookta (Awareness and the mantra of the campaign was “Samvad se Sambandh.” It had been launched by. Minister of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO and is being currently rolled out in 100 tribal districts across India.

Given the success of ongoing partnership, UNICEF and TRIFED have come together to launch “Tribal Samvaad network” - Tribal network for Social and Behaviour Change  (A people-to-people ‘prosperity’ platform built on the emergent digital, social, alternate and mobile revolution). Using this vast network which includes more than 90 million tribals, 52,976 Van Dhan SHGs, 3110 VDVK Clusters, market associations, Haat bazaars and the Tribes India network and the State agencies, TRIFED and UNICEF aspire to create a robust communication system and platform that encompasses not only the VDVKs but also this huge base of 90 million people.

TRIFED and UNICEF will use multiple channels and communication strategies and tools for economic and social empowerment of tribal communities. An Understanding was signed between TRIFED and UNICEF today to seal this partnership.

Research Report prepared in collaboration with JD Center of Arts on Tribal Livelihood of Odisha: TRIFED in collaboration with JD Centre of Arts undertook a socio-cultural research work and anthropological study of tribal art and tradition in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh, Koraput and Rayagada districts of the state of Odisha. The research report titled, ‘Tribal Livelihoods: From Sustenance to Sustainability’, highlights the creative capabilities of tribal groups and their interconnectedness with the surrounding environment. This report constitutes a knowledge repository of tribal art and craft and also encompasses the elements that govern the tribal lifestyle and livelihood to promote socio-development of the tribal communities. The knowledge repository encompasses cultural, social and historical background of 7 musical instruments, 2 paintings and textiles, 3 livelihood art and craft, more than 20 sets of tribal jewelry and 72 MFPs with medicinal properties. The research report was unveiled by the  Minister of Tribal Affairs also today.

13-Oct-2021: TRIFED is working to get GI tag for 177 potential tribal products

The GI initiative taken up by TRIFED aims at protecting and reviving the traditional mastery that the Indian tribal folks possess, in producing some of the most exotic products. TRIFED, through marketing GI tagged products of tribal origin or source, is working extensively towards realizing the importance of protecting and promoting agricultural, natural or manufactured goods with specific geographical characteristics thereby contributing in preservation of invaluable treasures of Incredible India.

The 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' corner in the High Commissions is being set up as part of a global initiative, in collaboration with TRIFED, to promote products that tribal groups across India have been creating for centuries.

TRIFED’s GI intervention and setting up of Atmanirbhar corner in Indian Missions abroad aims at:

1. To safeguard the interests of the original producers as well as that of the product and ensure that the producer avails optimum cost for their premium goods even in the highly competitive market scenario.
2. To ensure recognition of indigenous products both in India and global market.  
3. To revive diminishing art and craft from a Tribal specific geographical location.

At present, TRIFED markets 56 GI tagged products, owing to their tribal origin/involvement, from among the 300+ registered Indian GIs through its well-established network of 141 Tribes India retail outlets and various E-Commerce platforms. It has facilitated authorized user-ship for 94 artisans till date and are persevering to increase the authorized user base to 500 in the near future.

In addition to marketing 56 GI products, TRIFED is also working to get GI tag for the 177 potential products that have been identified from the states under operational areas of our Regional Offices across the country namely North-East(88), Uttarakhand(14), Jharkhand(11), Madhya Pradesh(11), Maharashtra(10) Odisha(6), West Bengal(9), Gujarat(7), Chhattisgarh(7), Andhra Pradesh(4), Rajasthan(4), South(3) and North(3).

Also, GI registration of 21 potential products from the states of Gujarat, Assam, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand has already been initiated under the mentorship of Padma Shree Dr. Rajnikant Dwivedi. This will increase the number of GI products marketed by TRIFED to 77 GI products which it sources from empanelled Tribal suppliers. The activities undertaken under GI initiative is to align with the “Vocal for Local” and building an “AtmaNirbhar Bharat” based on the clarion call of  Prime Minister as per the set vision of India@75 Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Convergences for strengthening the GI initiative

TRIFED – PMO - LBSNAA: TRIFED has partnered with PMO to promote and market GIs of tribal origin and transform them into a brand which symbolizes empowerment of tribal artisans. A dedicated event, GI Mahotsav in association with LBSNAA, Ministry of culture& Ministry of textile was organized for sensitization of trainee officers that will ensure administrative level support and formulation of policies that safeguard the interest of GI products in their region.

TRIFED – NABARD: TRIFED and NABARD have joined hands with the purpose of providing acceleration and strength to the GI initiative by sharing resources available at their disposal. The partnership aims at carrying out a range of activities such as development of FPO/PO of GI tagged products, providing training and capacity building of tribal artisans, organizing exhibitions for promotion of GI products to name a few.

TRIFED – Ministry of External Affairs: TRIFED in association with MEA aims at promoting the rich tribal culture and its heritage on a global platform through Indian Consulates abroad. The resolutions are being realized by identifying heritage GI products of tribal origin for gifting and other purposes at the two counterparts. Also, TRIFED  has successfully set up AtmaNirbhar corner at Indian Consulates in Ottawa, Kuwait, Bangkok & Croatia for promotion and marketing of tribal GI along with variety of exotic tribal products.

7-Oct-2021: TRIFED to sign MoU with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir for the implementation of Van Dhan Yojana

As a part of its mission to improve the livelihoods of the tribals(both forest dwellers and artisans) and work towards tribal empowerment, TRIFED has been carrying out several programmes and initiatives. One such initiative is the Van Dhan programme, which TRIFED is spearheading in 25 States and 307 Districts with availability of Minor Forest Produces as well as significant forest dwelling tribal population.

TRIFED and Government of Jammu and Kashmir will soon enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana and to promote tribal enterprise in the region. 11.91% of the total population of Jammu &Kashmir constitutes of Scheduled Tribes according to 2011 Census. The tribal dominated districts in J & K include Kupwara, Baramulla, Badgam, Rajauri, Udhampur and Kathua. Most of the tribal areas consist of dense forests and hills which also provides for the availability of MFPs in abundance. Apart from this the valley is also known for its richness in art and craft. The tribals residing in this region are skilled in making traditional artefacts with limited reach to the market.

TRIFED’s intervention envisages to establish 1500 VDSHGs that can nurture 30,000 tribal startups in the UT. This is aimed to enhance the existing skill set of tribals, and inculcate entrepreneurial skills among them and help their produces reach national and international markets. The plan has been set in motion with the visit of Sh. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary Tribal Affairs, J&K, to TRIFED Head Office on October 4, 2021 where the Blue Print plan on implementation of Van Dhan Program in Jammu & Kashmir was exchanged with Sh. Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED.

The Van Dhan Yojana is a component of ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ (MSP for MFP scheme). The fundamental model of this scheme is to set-up tribal community-owned Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) in predominantly forested tribal districts, where one VDVK Cluster shall constitute of 15 Van Dhan Self Help Groups, each comprising of up to 20 NTFP gatherers i.e. about 300 beneficiaries.

Through this initiative, TRIFED will directly benefit 2,50,000 tribals in Jammu & Kashmir. In addition to this TRIFED aims to set up 2 TRIFOOD Parks with 10,000 gatherers each, open 5 retail outlets in the valley and empanel 1000 suppliers whose products will be sourced and marketed through Tribes India chain of retail outlets and online on www.tribesindia.com. The traditional products from the UT will be a part of items on display at the Atmanirbhar Bharat corner of TRIFED in Indian Missions abroad which will give these tribal handlooms and handicrafts from J&K a global exposure.

TRIFED will also facilitate setting up of PMU in the UT for better execution of tribal development activities helping in all round welfare of regional tribal communities. Similar efforts have been initiated in Leh and Ladakh as well and a team from TRIFED will be visiting the UT in the next week for doing the ground work needed to link the traditional knowledge and skills of the tribals to the international market by encouraging value addition and resulting in higher sales of products through branding and packaging. TRIFED has been already sourcing the dry fruits, Pashmina, apricot juice etc. from the region. With the onboarding of this region under the gamut of this scheme, TRIFED aims to benefit a larger number of tribals through its initiatives.

TRIFED continues to work towards generating income and livelihoods for tribal people through such flagship schemes like the MSP for MFP and the Van Dhan Yojana.

2-Oct-2021: Indian Tribal Art and Crafts to be promoted in Canada

To mark Gandhi Jayanti today, an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' corner, to showcase exquisite GI-tagged tribal art and craft products from India was inaugurated at the High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada, The Atmanirbhar Corner , promoted by TRIFED was inaugurated by the  High Commissioner of India to Canada, Mr. Ajay Bisaria. The corner displays a sampling of tribal handicraft and products, offers lists and literature on the products as well as information about commercial purchase and distribution of such products in Canada.  The initiative will help connect tribal artisans from India with the market in Canada.

The 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' corner in the High Commission has been set up as part of a global initiative, in collaboration with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), to promote products that tribal groups across India have been creating for centuries.

The corner will continue to display, for public viewing, a range of tribal handicraft of India in the historic Pillai Memorial Consular Hall of the High Commission, located at 10, Springfield Road, Ottawa.

Commercial enquiries can be directed to the Commercial Wing of the High Commission (hciottawa.gov.in).

20-Sep-2021: TRIBES India Van Dhan to expand Online marketing in a big way by tying up with Big Basket, MoU Signed between TRIFED and Big Basket

The Union Minister of Tribal affairs Shri Arjun Munda has said, “The government is taking up ambitious transformational programmes which will prove to be game changer for the tribal livelihoods in times to come”. Shri Arjun Munda was speaking at the onboarding of two major initiatives for boosting tribal livelihoods, one with signing of MoU between TRIFED and Big Basket and the other of MoU between TRIFED and PurtyAgrotech of Jharkhand in New Delhi today.

Addressing on the occasion, the Minister added that as we celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it is the vision of the Prime Minister that we reach out to the person at the last mile and works towards establishing an Atmanirbhar Bharat. He further remarked that it is in this spirit that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED are working on a war footing to bring about social and economic empowerment of tribal people through large number of such initiatives.

The MoU between TRIFED and Big Basket is for the promotion and sale of the natural Van Dhan products through Big Basket platform while MoU between TRIFED and PurtyAgrotech will promote the art of growing pearls among other tribal entrepreneurs across India and tap the potential of this market.

The Union Minister explained that the Tribal artisans, tribal producers, their products and livelihood programmes are the focus of the Prime Minister. He further elaborated that now the tribal products are being brought into the market through value addition and ensuring outstanding quality with the help of research and design through TRIFED and various initiatives of M/o Tribal Affairs. The tribal people have hidden talents and a great potential for making excellent products and they believe in “Mera Van - Mera Dhan - Mera Udhyam”. As a nation, it is our duty to ensure that their skills, arts and crafts are not lost for posterity, therefore these programmes have been launched today to benefit the tribals countrywide, the Minister added.

Speaking at the occasion Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED said that TRIFED is working day and night to find new and better marketing opportunities both domestically and internationally for the unique tribal products and Minor forest produce. He further added that these two new initiatives will become operational from 2nd October this year and will give a new thrust to tribal livelihoods.

TRIFED is continuing to forge partnerships with different organisations to create synergies together, as a part of its ongoing efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods of the tribals and tribal empowerment. In this context, TRIFED has tied up with Big Basket, an established E-grocery platform that will also work for the promotion and sale of the natural Van Dhan products being made available to them from VAN DHAN production units.

TRIFED and Big Basket have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on 20 September, 2021. The MoU was exchanged between Sh. Seshu Kumar, Chief Merchandising Officer(CMO), BIG BASKET and Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED in the presence of Shri Arjun Munda, Minister for Tribal Affairs and senior officials of both organisations. TRIFED by converging with Big Basket can leverage their infrastructure, expertise and reach in order to make the Organics, Naturals and TRIFOOD Van Dhan products available to a wider clientele across the country. It will also enable Big Basket to enrich its portfolio by inclusion of hand-made authentic forest products sourced by the tribal population. This collaboration will also promote Big Basket’s social cause by means of promoting tribal entrepreneurship and generating livelihood opportunity for the tribals.

MoU Signing between TRIFED and Big Basket

E-grocery has been one of the fastest-growing segments in the consumer e-commerce space and its growth is propelled by India’s rising consumption and digital penetration. The current pandemic has further accelerated its adoption as consumers seek the convenience of ordering quality groceries delivered safely at home. BigBasket was founded in 2011 in Bangalore and has expanded its presence to 25+ cities across India since then. In the e-grocery space, BigBasket provides one of the largest assortments (and provides customers the convenience of home deliveries on preferred dates and time slots). This partnership will give a great opportunity to modern-day consumers who are more aware and particular about their health and lifestyle needs. Healthier alternatives like The potential product categories can be Van Dhan Naturals, Food grains, Oils, Bakery, Beverages, Snacks, Cleaning and Household, Beauty & Hygiene, Gourmet, etc.

Customers can look forward to the multiple offerings through an exclusive range of the TRIFED – TRIBES INDIA - VAN DHAN on BigBasket.com.

As India moves ahead with its strategy for India@75 and focuses on converting development into a mass movement, TRIFED is working with its roots in ground realities and emphasizing the welfare both in design and implementation. With the focus on “Vocal for Local” and building an “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, TRIFED is undertaking several path breaking activities, while re-dedicating its efforts towards tribal empowerment.

Another such collaboration in this direction has been done with M/s PurtyAgrotech of Jharkhand. TRIFED has also entered into a MoU with Shri Buddhan Singh Purty of PurtyAgrotech. Shri Buddhan Singh Purty, an origin of “Ho tribe” from East Singhbhum district, Jharkhand is a tribal entrepreneur who has a unique business for developing pearl cultivation. In order to promote the art of growing pearls among other tribal entrepreneurs and tap the potential of this market, TRIFED plans to create a market for this unique craft and at the same time assisting Shri Buddhan Singh Purty of PurtyAgrotech in developing a more professional and business-oriented enterprise with this collaboration. The two organizations have partnered to work jointly towards the overall upliftment of the tribal community in the following areas:

MoU Signing between TRIFED and PurtyAgrotech

1. TRIFED will empanel PurtyAgrotech as supplier to TRIBES INDIA and procure pearls which shall be sold through the network of 141 Tribes India outlets and various ecommerce platforms.
2. Under the tech for tribal initiatives, Shri Buddhan Singh Purty will be developed as a Master Trainer and transfer of technology and techniques in the form of knowledge sharing with more tribal SHGs in order to promote aqua culture in self-reliant tribal entrepreneurs.
3. PurtyAgrotech can be further developed into Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Cluster and further value addition and processing leveraging SFURTI scheme of MSME.
4. VDVK Clusters engaged in pisciculture where the pond is available can be used for oyster breeding which can be taken up simultaneously as an additional business activity.
5. Besides, it is planned to develop 25 VDVKCs in Jharkhand where such aquaculture business for pearl farming activities can be carried out.

The breeding of oysters and development of pearls is a sustainable business and can easily be emulated by those tribal gatherers who have access to nearby water body. TRIFED plans to handhold those VDVK Clusters involved in pisciculture by initially identifying them and help them further develop oyster breeding in it.

With the successful implementation of these collaboration, TRIFED hopes to empower the tribal beneficiaries by developing their skills and help in generating income and livelihoods. Through such and other activities, TRIFED is working towards a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

17-Sep-2021: TRIFED enters into an MoU with Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FIIT) of IIT-Delhi and M/s Rusicaa Beverages to commercialize Mahua Nutra Beverage in the State of Jharkhand.

TRIFED has entered into a collaborative project with Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FIIT), a unit established by IIT Delhi and M/s Rusicaa Beverages Private Ltd, Purbi Singhbhum, Jharkhand to commercialize the production of Mahua Nutra beverage – A Heritage Drink in the State of Jharkhand.

TRIFED, as the nodal agency working for the empowerment of tribals, has been focusing its efforts on  finding new ways to improve the lives and the livelihoods of the tribal people.

TRIFED, FITT and Rusicaa Beverages have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on September 16, 2021 to work together to enhance the income of tribals of Jharkhand through the commercial production and sale of Mahua nutra beverage, a value added product made out of Mahua flowers in the state. Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED; Shri Anil Wali, Managing Director, FIIT and Shri Doman Tudu, Director, Rusicaa Beverages signed the MoU in the presence of National Head-Banking & Finance, DICCI and senior officials from the three organisations.

TRIFED in association with FITT has developed this value added product Mahua nutra beverage made out of Mahua flower so that the tribals can benefit maximum from the value addition of MFPs and development of technologies. FITT acts as the interface to foster, promote and sustain commercialization of this technology and now the technology is being licensed to M/s Rusicaa Beverages Private Ltd of Jharkhand for commercialization of this Mahua N

nutra beverage in Jharkhand. As a part of this project, M/s Rusicaa Beverages Private Ltd shall be procuring Mahua flower for production of Mahua Nutra beverage from Tribal forest gatherers of Jharkhand engaged in collection of Mahua flower and it’s processing in VDVK Clusters at price not below MSP price.

This is the first of its kind of initiative in the State of Jharkhand and the country by TRIFED. This opens up opportunities for partner entrepreneurs in other States looking for starting up nutra beverage unit as well for benefit of tribal communities across the country. The Mahua Nutra beverage in its improvised form is blended with Pomegranate fruit juice, which enhances the nutritional value and masks the flavour of Mahua beverage by improving its aroma and texture.

Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer is a unit established by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) as an Industry interface body to foster, promote and sustain commercialization of research results in the Institute. FITT has been authorized by IITD for exploring commercialization and societal outreach.

As a part of its various initiatives, especially the TRIFOOD project and the Van Dhan start-ups scheme, TRIFED has been focusing on enhancing the income of tribals through better utilization  and value addition to the MFPs collected by the tribal forest gatherers. TRIFED also outsources R&D projects to scientific organisations /universities, etc. to develop value added products, process technologies, so that the tribals benefit maximum from the value addition of MFPs and development of technologies. And it is under this objective that this collaborative project with FIIT and M/s Rusicaa Beverages has been initiated.

Among its flagship programmes and implementations, The ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme, in particular, has already emerged as a beacon of change and has positively impacted the tribal ecosystem as never before. Implemented by TRIFED in association with State Government Agencies across 21 states of the country, the scheme has injected crores of rupees directly in the tribal economy since April 2020. Aided by the Government push in May 2020 wherein the prices of Minor Forest Produce (MFPs) were increased by up to 90% and the inclusion of 23 new items in the MFP list, this flagship scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which draws its strength from The Forest Rights Act of 2005, aims to provide remunerative and fair prices to tribal gatherers of forest produces.

The Van Dhan Vikas Yojana, also a component of the same scheme, further complements MSP  and has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. The crux of the programme is that it ensures that the proceeds from the sales of these value-added products go to the tribals directly.

To take this to the next logical phase, TRIFED is exploring convergences with organisations, government and non-government and academic, to continue its mission towards tribal empowerment. The aim is to pooling strengths together and undertake work that will help in boosting the income and livelihoods of the tribal people.

With the successful implementation of this collaboration, this unique, nutritional product will reach households across the country and become a common name and thus contribute to the transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods.

17-Aug-2021: To mark 75 years of Independence, TRIFED adds 75 new tribal products  to Tribes India catalogue

As India celebrates its 75 years of Independence, there are various initiatives being launched and events being organized to commemorate this landmark day through the Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative fuelled by the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Atmanirbhar Bharat is a mission that TRIFED continues to strive towards as a part of its continued endeavour to support and sustain tribal incomes and livelihoods. In a small contribution to recognize the craftsmanship of the tribal artisans and provide a fillip to their livelihoods, TRIFED has been procuring and marketing of tribal art and craft items through its network of Tribes India retail network – both offline and online.

As India steps into 75 years of Independence, 75 new tribal products were launched by TRIFED and added to the already extensive, attractive Tribes India catalogue. Sourced from all across the country, the products launched exquisite and attractive items such as metal figurines, handmade jewelry, decorations such as hangings; handcrafted apparel such as shirts, kurtas, masks and also organic produce such as spices, processed juices and other herbal powders.

In addition, TRIFED in alignment with the objectives of INDIA@75-The People's Movement, has also identified 75 products of Tribal origin or source which will be registered for Geographical Indication (GI) Tag under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, India. The Tribal products for GI Tagging have been identified from twenty Indian states and out of 75 identified Tribal products, 37 such products belong to eight states of North East. From Tribal heartland states, 7 products from Jharkhand and 6 products from Madhya Pradesh have also been identified for GI Tagging.

Moreover, TRIFED is about to set up an Atmanirbhar Bharat corner in 100 Indian Missions/ Embassies across the world. The corner will be an exclusive space to promote GI tagged tribal art and craft products besides natural and organic products.  Catalogues and brochures that showcase the richness and variety of tribal products have also been shared with the Missions and embassies. Among the missions and embassies contacted, 42 of them, from countries such as Jamaica, Ireland, Turkey, Kenya, Mongolia, Israel, Finland, France, and Canada, have reverted. TRIFED is in the process of dispatching the first set of tribal products for the corner.

In its mission to empower the downtrodden tribal people, by promoting the economic welfare of their communities across India (through development of marketing and the sustained upgradation of their skills), TRIFED has been procuring and marketing of tribal art and craft items through its network of retail outlets called Tribes India. From a single flagship store at 9 Mahadev Road, New Delhi in 1999, there are now 141 retail outlets across India.

It is hoped that with these additional efforts, these unique tribal products get a international and national market and the larger vision of “Vocal for Local, Buy Tribal” can be achieved which will be truly transformational in the areas of Sustainable Income generation and Employment of tribal people in the country. This is TRIFED’s hope and mission as we at Team TRIFED wish everyone on India’s 75th Independence Day!

14-Aug-2021: TRIFED to make available ecofriendly Pankhas for eminent dignitaries and guests who will attend the Independence Day Celebrations at the Red Fort

August is a special month, more so this year, as India is  celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to mark 75 years of Independence.  

Atmanirbhar Bharat is a mission that TRIFED continues to strive towards as a part of its continued endeavor to support and sustain tribal incomes and livelihoods. In a small contribution to recognize the craftsmanship of the tribal artisans and provide a fillip to their livelihoods, TRIFED is collaborating with the Ministry of Defence once again to make available handmade pankhas for eminent dignitaries and guests who will attend the Independence Day function of the Prime Minister at Red Fort, Delhi. This is the fourth year of this collaboration.

Sourced from artisans across the country from states such as Rajasthan, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat and Jharkhand, these pankhas are eco-friendly and have been made out of natural, organic materials. As a memorabilia, these pankhas help revive memories of the past when these were an integral part of Indian households and offered comfort in the scorching heat.

The Tribes India pankhas are also available for sale in TRIBES India retail outlets across the country and also on its e-commerce platform (www.tribesindia.com).

In its mission to empower the tribal people, by promoting the economic welfare of their communities across India (through development of marketing and the sustained upgradation of their skills), TRIFED, as the national nodal agency for tribal welfare, started the procurement and marketing of tribal art and craft items through its network of retail outlets called Tribes India. From a single flagship store at 9 Mahadev Road, New Delhi in 1999, there are now 141 retail outlets across India.

The collaboration is yet another effort in TRIFED’s cap as it continues working towards tribal upliftment. All are invited to take a look at the available pankhas and it is sure to bring back memories of childhood when these pankhas were a permanent fixture in every household.

10-Aug-2021: TRIFED to collaborate with State of Assam to establish a comprehensive network of Van Dhan Kendra clusters and 5 TRIFOOD Tribal Food Parks in the State

A meeting of a delegation of TRIFED led by MD, TRIFED Shri Pravir Krishna was held with Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, at Assam House, New Delhi on 8th August, 2021. The objective of the meeting was to identify the contours of setting up a comprehensive Van Dhan network of 7000 Van Dhan Self-Help Groups  subsumed under 350 VDVKCs, 5 TRIFOOD Tribal Food Parks and a digital marketing network. 7 Members of Parliament of the region were also present during the meeting

Shri Pravir Krishna made a presentation which explained the Van Dhan Model of Tribal Development and how it can benefit the state of Assam at the meeting.

The presentation touched upon the importance of Minor Forest produce in the tribal economy and the various initiatives that have been undertaken. A holistic model of MFP-led Tribal Development, which includes the MSP for MFP scheme and the Van Dhan Yojana and has put in place several schemes for the same were touched upon. The MSP for MFP scheme envisages fixation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the selected MFPs which provides both subsistence and cash income for large number of people who live in or near forests and depend on the forests for livelihood.

Currently in Assam the total procurements achieved is Rs. 34.79 lakhs under the MSP for MFP scheme with key produces procured being Thatch, bamboo, cane, hill broom, medicinal plants, Ahoi and Koroi. Under the Van Dhan Yojana TRIFED has setup 128 VDVKCs benefiting over 37,786 households.

As a follow up to this meeting, TRIFED and State Government of Assam will be developing an Enterprise model for Van Dhan Yojana incorporating components of forward linkages including setting up of Common Facilities at District HQs for Handling / Packaging, Testing, Demonstration centers for Minor Forest Produces/ Silk/ Lac/ Agri produces, cluster level Tertiary processing units, marketing and branding. The initiatives will be implemented in convergence with Ministry of Tribal affairs, TRIFED, Govt. of Assam, MSME, MoFPI and MoRD. The presentation spoke in detail about these plans.

In addition, TRIFED has proposed to develop a Marketing and Logistics Plan for promoting Tribal Products from North-East Region where it plans to empanel more than 4,000 artisans and identify tribal products which can be registered under Geographical Indication having proposed budget of Rs. 150 Crore. It was iterated during the meeting that Assam can hugely benefit from this scheme and take lead in empaneling artisans and provide impetus to its tribal products using the scheme. TRIFED has entered into MoU with different ministries where in convergences are proposed to further develop the value chain for the established Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters. Currently in Assam, under convergence with MSME Ministry, 100 trainings have been identified. Under the SFURTI scheme, 2 proposals are under development. In convergence with MoFPI, 10 Mini-TRIFOOD units have been proposed and with 4 Honey FPOs have been allocated, in conjunction with Ministry of Agriculture.

With regard to the intervention "Marketing and Logistics Development for promoting tribal products from North Eastern Region", it will be implemented across all the 8 North Eastern States including Assam. Through that TRIFED will procure tribal products worth Rs. 6.625 Cr. from over 250 Tribal suppliers in the next year. These products will be sold through the chain of Tribes India outlets. There are plans of setting up new Tribes India outlets in the major cities/towns of Assam. A Tribal Mall is being planned to be opened to promote tribal artisans and create a brand recognition for the heritage products that the tribals produce. To preserve the tribal heritage and generate local employment, at the same time protecting the interests of tribal producers, TRIFED is also working towards promoting Geographical Indication products in the State of Assam. 11 new products have been identified for GI tagging and more number of tribal suppliers will be supported to register as authorized users.

The fruitful meeting thus outlined the plans that TRIFED has in the state of Assam and the  support of the Chief Minister was sought. It is hoped that the implementation of these beneficial schemes can be accelerated with to the leadership and patronage of the  CM, the entire tribal population in Assam will be benefitted.

In the past two years, the revamped ‘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 positive way. The Van Dhan Yojana is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing the wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan. The programme envisages to establish tribal entrepreneurs for generating livelihoods leading to enhanced income generation among tribal people and cover over 5.3 lakh tribal households.

TRIFED as the nodal agency that is working towards tribal empowerment, has been implementing several noteworthy initiatives in this direction. TRIFED has been providing necessary marketing interventions for the tribal products on which tribal livelihoods depend. The main philosophy behind this approach is to empower tribal communities with knowledge, tools and pool of information which further aids them to undertake their operations in a more systematic and scientific manner.

9-Aug-2021: TRIFED has established 141 Outlets including franchisee outlets across the country till date for marketing of tribal products

To increase the sale of tribal crafts and products and visibility and export thereof  the Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides funds to Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) for marketing of tribal products by empaneling tribal suppliers comprising of individual tribal artisans, tribal Self Help Groups (SHGs), Organisations / Agencies / NGOs working with tribals etc. under the scheme ‘Institutional Support for Marketing and Development of Tribal Products / Produce’. TRIFED is also engaged in direct sale of tribal products, including art & craft items through its network of Tribes India Showrooms, exhibitions, Aadi Mahotsav. Further, marketing is done through online e-commerce portal developed by TRIFED and also online retailers like Amazon, Flipkart etc.

The following efforts have been made by TRIFED to increase sales of tribal craft and products:

1. TRIFED has established a network of 141 Outlets including franchisee outlets located across the country as on 30.06.2021. During 2019-20, 1662 tribal suppliers were empanelled and procurement of Rs. 5167.83 lakhs worth of tribal products was made. During the financial year 2020-21, procurement for an amount of Rs. 1709 lakh was made and 2802 tribal artisans were empanelled.
2. Tribal Artisan Mela (TAM) are organized with a view to identify new artisans and new products at the sourcing level in States/Districts/Villages for expanding the tribal producers base. During financial year 2019-20, 21 TAMs were organized in different States, wherein 610 artisans participated and exhibited their crafts. For expansion of supplier base, suppliers’ conference was organized at New Delhi in 2020-21 where about 250 tribal suppliers participated from across the country to finalise the supply orders for each Region. In 2020-21, 24 virtual and three on ground TAMs were organized by TRIFED across the country.
3. During pandemic, TRIFED launched an e-market place www.tribesindia.com for tribal artisan/suppliers to sell their products.
4. TRIFED organises National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ –Festival of Craft, Culture, Cuisine and Commerce in all major cities across the country. The event comprises of display and sale of tribal art and craft, tribal medicine and tribal cuisine etc. Sixteen (16) such events were organized during the financial year 2019-20 in different parts of the country. These Aadi Mahotsavs resulted in providing direct benefit to 2733 Tribal artisans who participated in the events where combined sale was Rs.12.51 Crores and purchase orders worth Rs.12.50 Crores for the participating artisans. In August, 2019, a mega tribal event Aadi Mahotsav was organized at Leh – Ladakh wherein more than 200 tribal artisans from across the country participated and realized a sale of Rs. 34.92 Lakhs.
5.  During the month of the November, 2019, TRIFED also organized Aadi Mahotsav from 16th to 30 November, 2019 at Palika Park and Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi wherein 444 tribal artisans/cooks from across the country participated. The festival featured exhibition-cum-sale of tribal crafts and products through over 200 stalls. In the course of 15 days, Tribal Artisans transacted business worth Rs. 20 crores. Due to pandemic situation across the country, during the financial year 2020-21 TRIFED organized only one Aadi Mahotsav from 1st February to 15th February, 2021 at Dilli Haat INA, New Delhi wherein 1000 tribal artisans/cooks from across the country participated.
6. TRIFED has established its own E-commerce portal www.tribesindia.com and also present on all major e-commerce portals like Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Paytm, and Gem for promoting tribal crafts and products. As part of this initiative, TRIFED made sales of Rs. 71.50 lakhs in financial year 2019-20.
7. TRIFED has received inquiries from 18 Indian Missions/ embassies abroad for variety of products. TRIFED has already dispatched stocks amounting to Rs.8.34 lakhs to New York for International Yoga Day, Rs. 2.48 lakhs to Budapest Embassy Hungary, Rs. 3.34 lakhs to Embassy of Croatia and another order of Rs. 2.56 lakhs to India Consulate New York, USA.
8. A workshop on “Strategies for Promoting & Marketing of Tribal products” conducted on 14 February, 2020 bringing together various stakeholders including central Ministries, corporations, academia, industry associations, advertising consultants, designers, ecommerce groups like Snapdeal, Flipkart, etc. to revamp and expand the TribesIndia # GoTribal campaign.
9. “Go Tribal by TRIBES INDIA” was launched on 28.06.2019 to promote use of tribal handicrafts, handlooms and natural products.
10. Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram, an initiative under the Scheme ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP’, targets livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing the wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan. Under this programme, tribal community owned Minor Forest Produce centric multi-purpose Kendras are set up through Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) in the districts with significant tribal population. The Kendras acts as common facility centres for procurement cum value addition to locally available Minor Forest Produce. Value addition of raw produce helps increasing the value of the MFP considerably and consequently the income of the gatherers. State-wise details of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras established in the country.

5-Aug-2021: TRIFED to set up Atmanirbhar Corner in Indian missions and embassies around the world

With the focus on  “Vocal for Local” and building an “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, TRIFED has been actively collaborating with several ministries such as Ministry of Culture,   Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce; India Posts;   Ministry of Tourism and Office of the Prime Minister to take up the cause of promotion of GI Tag products along with tribal products and transform them into a brand, symbolizing empowerment of tribal artisans.

In this context, in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs, TRIFED is about to set up an Atmanirbhar Bharat corner in 100 Indian Missions/ Embassies across the world. The corner will be an exclusive space to promote GI tagged tribal art and craft products besides natural and organic products.  Catalogues and brochures that showcase the richness and variety of tribal products have also been shared with the Missions and embassies. Among the missions and embassies contacted, 42 of them, from countries such as Jamaica, Ireland, Turkey, Kenya, Mongolia, Israel, Finland, France, and Canada, have reverted. TRIFED is in the process of dispatching the first set of tribal products for the corner.

Recently as a part of celebrations for International Yoga Day, the Consulate General of India in New York organized a day-long event to showcase Yoga, holistic health, Ayurveda and wellness at New York’s Times Square. Attended by over 3000 people, the event at the iconic location in New York was very successful. A particular attraction was the stalls on display which showcased unique natural tribal products including immunity boosters, and Ayurvedic products. The stall put up by Tribes India included a range of tribal products, comprising both organic, essential natural immunity-boosting products such as millets, rice, spices, honey, Chyavanprash, amla, ashwagandha powders, herbal teas and coffee and accessories such as yoga mats, wind flutes, herbal soaps, bamboo aromatic candles etc. The stalls also saw a great amount of footfall  and a lot of interest was expressed in knowing about the uniqueness of Indian tribes and tribal products. A consignment worth about Rs.8.5 lakhs of tribal products  had been ordered by India Consulate New York for the event.

Earlier, in February 2021, keeping in line with the  Prime Minister’s vision for Vocal for Local and a self-reliant India, and introduce the rich tribal heritage to international audiences, a Tribes India Conclave had been organized in association with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India at the Tribes India Aadi Mahotsav. The event, which was well-received, was attended by over 120 diplomats from more than 30 foreign missions in India besides senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs also visited the Aadi Mahotsav.

Dignitaries included diplomats from countries such as Taipei, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bolivia, Zambia, Finland, Poland, Brazil, Egypt, Costa Rica, Cambodia, Kenya, Malta, Philippines, Laos, Tunisia, Croatia, Togo, Afghanistan, USA, Ghana, Turkey, Uzbekistan, UK, Iran, France to name a few. There were delegates from international organizations such as  UNHCR and UNDP as well.

India has a rich legacy of indigenous products, be it handicrafts, handlooms, and other produce. As the national nodal agency TRIFED has been working extensively to help market and promote the indigenous products that tribal groups across the country have been producing since centuries. It is in this context that Geographical Indication or GI tagging has acquired even more of an importance.

In this context, Tribes constitute over 8% of our population however, they are among the disadvantaged sections of the society. An attitude that pervades among the mainstream is the erroneous belief that they have to be taught and helped. However the truth is otherwise – the tribals have a lot of teach urban India. Characterised by natural simplicity, their creations have a timeless appeal. The wide range of handicrafts which include hand-woven cotton, silk fabrics, wool, metal craft, terracotta, bead-work, all need to be preserved and promoted.

The Geographical Indication, which has been recognized by the World Trade Organization, is used to denote the geographical territory from where a product, be it an agricultural produce, natural product or manufactured, and also conveys assurance of qualities or attributes that are unique to  that specific geographic region.  India became a signatory to this convention, when, as a member of the WTO, it enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection Act), 1999, which came into effect from September 15, 2003.

With this promotional boost, it is hoped that these unique products get a larger market and the  larger vision of “Vocal for Local, Buy Tribal” can be achieved which will be truly transformational in the areas of Sustainable Income generation and Employment of tribal people in the country.

11-Jun-2021: 2 New TRIBES India outlets inaugurated at Daman and Silvassa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu: the first in the Union Territory

To help the tribal artisans and forest dwellers cope with these unprecedented times,  and as a part of its ongoing initiatives to  promote the livelihood of the tribal artisans through marketing and provide support to tribal produce and products, TRIFED is expanding its retail operations across the country. In this context, two new outlets were inaugurated at Daman and at Silvassa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli by Shri Praful Patel,  Administrator to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on June 7, 2021.

“I am happy that TRIFED is continuing its efforts to better the lives of the tribal people and enable them to get better access to larger markets, especially during these times when the pandemic is impacting their income and livelihoods.” – Shri Praful Patel said during the inauguration.

“The empowerment of the tribal people is the main objective of TRIFED. All our efforts, be it in getting better prices for their produce, helping them add value to the basic produce, or enable them to get access to larger markets, are targeted at achieving this. It is with this in mind, that we are continuously working to expand our retail operations.” – Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED said, reiterating the organisation’s mission to help tribal brethren.

The two showrooms,  the first of its kind in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will showcase the best of authentic tribal handicrafts and handlooms from traditions such as Maheshwari, Pochampally, Chanderi, Bagh from across all the states of India, and also feature natural, organic produce and products Van Dhan essentials and immunity boosters such as organic grains, spices, herbal teas, besides exquisite bell and metal work items. Categorised into attractive segments, there are dedicated counters for textiles, sarees and stoles such as Bagh print, readymade garments for men, women and children, exquisite tribal jewellery, metal work, iron items, pottery paintings, Van Dhan natural produce in this large store.

From a single flagship store at 9 Mahadev Road, New Delhi in 1999 to 137 retail outlets across India, the TRIBES India brand is growing rapidly.

In its mission to empower the tribal people, by promoting the economic welfare of their communities across India (through development of marketing and the sustained upgradation of their skills), TRIFED, as the nodal agency for tribal welfare, had started the procurement and marketing of tribal art and craft items through its network of retail outlets under the Tribes India brand.

24-May-2021: TRIFED and NITI AAYOG to partner for implementing the Van Dhan initiative in  Tribal Clusters of all Aspirational districts of India

Keeping in line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister's call for “Atmanirbhar Bharat” aligned to the slogan of “Be Vocal for Local Buy Tribal”, towards realizing the goal of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”, TRIFED will now be partnering with NITI Aayog to implement the Van Dhan Yojana in the districts that have been identified as aspirational districts by NITI Aayog.

Based on the discussions held recently between Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED, it has been decided that a dedicated team from TRIFED along with the NITI Aayog team will work out the follow-up-plan for the implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana in each of the 39 Tribal Aspirational Districts. These include districts in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Telangana and Tripura. To this accord, a VC will be planned with the District Collectors of all districts in the first week of June.

As a part of this association, a special focus will be on these aspirational districts where tribal population constitutes more than 50%. Under the expansion plan of tribal development program, an additional 9900 VDVKs subsumed into 659 VDVK Clusters spread out in these tribal aspirational districts are envisaged. At the moment, 5325 VDVKs subsumed into 355 VDVK Clusters have been established in these districts. This is expected to give a boost to the employment generation to nearly 2 lakhs tribal families.

Through this association, NITI Aayog will also support TRIFED in the concept of convergence for the Mission with Article 275(1), DMF, and STC component of different Ministries, and will help in professionally monitoring and promotion for effective implementation and feedback.

The Van Dhan tribal start-ups and the Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) Through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme that provides MSP to gatherers of forest produces and introduce value addition and marketing through tribal groups and clusters are among the many initiatives of TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs that have proved helpful by generating employment and income for the tribal population.

The Van Dhan tribal start-ups is a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes.

37,259 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs), subsumed into 2224 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) of 300 forest dwellers each,  have been sanctioned by TRIFED as of date. A typical Van Dhan Vikas Kendra includes 20 tribal members. 15 such Van Dhan Vikas Kendras form 1 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra cluster. The Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters will provide the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras economies of scale, livelihood and market-linkages, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities to nearly 6.67 lakh Tribal forest gatherers in 23 states and 2 UTs. 50 lakh tribals have been impacted by the Van Dhan start-ups programme up until now.

6-May-2021: Van Dhan Vikas Kendras playing a pivotal role in turning around the Rural tribal forest economy

Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director TRIFED was speaking as the Chief Guest in the inaugural session of the International Conference on “Rural Transformation: From Natural to Cultural on May 5, 2021.”

The International Conference on Rural Transformation: From Natural to Cultural has been organized by Center for Rural Development and Innovative Sustainable Technology (CRDIST), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and is an online conference being held on May 5 and May 6 2021.  The themes being discussed in this two-day online conference include transforming rural livelihood generation;  hard and soft infrastructure planning and implementation; convergence of traditional and modern technical knowledge for social well-being; sustainable natural resource (water, forest, land) planning and rural health and hygiene.

During the inaugural address as Chief Guest, Shri Krishna largely spoke about the transformational role of Van Dhan Yojana in changing the rural forest dwelling tribal economy. He explained the rationale and the concept behind the Van Dhan Tribal Start-ups programme. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups programme or Van Dhan Yojana isa component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme. A flagship scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, drawing its strength from The Forest Rights Act of 2005, it aims to provide remunerative and fair prices to tribal gatherers of forest produces, almost three times higher than would be available to them from middle men, trebling their incomes. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, also a component of the same scheme, is a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes. It further complements MSP beautifully as it has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and tribal artisans.

Over the past 18 months, the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana has gained tremendous ground with its quick adoption and robust implementation aided by the state nodal and implementation agencies across India.

33,360 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs), subsumed into 2224 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) of 300 forest dwellers each, have been sanctioned by TRIFED as of March 31, 2021. A typical Van Dhan Vikas Kendra includes 20 tribal members. 15 such Van Dhan Vikas Kendras form 1 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra cluster. As per TRIFED, the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters will provide the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras economies of scale, livelihood and market-linkages, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities to nearly 6.67 lakh Tribal forest gatherers in 23 states and 2 UTs. As stated by TRIFED, all in all, as of now, 50 lakh tribals have been impacted by the Van Dhan start-ups programme up until now.

Manipur, in particular has emerged as the Champion state where the Van Dhan programme has emerged as a major source of employment for the local tribals. Since the time that the programme was launched in the State in October 2019, 100 Van Dhan Vikas clusters have been established, out of which 77 are operational. These constitute 1500 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters, which are benefitting 30,000 tribal entrepreneurs, who are involved in collection, processing, packaging and marketing of value-added products from Minor Forest produce. A plus point is the scalability and replicability of the implementation model of the scheme, which has aided in its expansion across India.

The North-East is leading the way with 80% of the established VDVKs. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh are other states where the scheme has been adopted with overwhelming results.

Moreover the  beauty of the whole exercise is that it has managed to create market linkages. Many of these tribal enterprises are connected to markets. A wide array of products ranging from fruit candy (amla, pineapple, wild apple, ginger, fig, tamarind), jam (pineapple, amla, plum), juice & squash (pineapple, amla, wild apple, plum, Burmese grapes), spices (Dalchini, turmeric, ginger),  pickles (bamboo shoot, king chilly), processed Giloy, all of which have been processed and packaged in Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have reached the market and are even being marketed on TribesIndia.com and through the Tribes India outlets.

During his address, Shri Krishna also spoke in detail about the  “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village & Digital Connect Drive. Starting from April 1, 2021, this 100 day drive has 150 teams (10 in each region from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies/Mentoring Agencies/Partners) that are visiting ten villages each. 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages in the country will be covered in the next 100 days. The main aim of this drive is to activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in these villages. Aim is to achieve Rs 200 crore Sales during the next 12 months from Van Dhan units. The visiting teams will also identify locations and shortlist potential VDVKs for clustering as TRIFOOD, SFURTI units as larger enterprises. 

He also spoke about the convergences TRIFED is driving with different ministries and organisations. It has MoUs in place with different ministries such as MSME, MoFPI and Ministry of Rural Development to align the scheme with similar programmes of these Ministries, resulting in the convergence of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and its clusters with SFURTI, ESDP from MSME, Food Parks Scheme of MoFPI and NRLM, within M/o Rural Development.

Shri Krishna concluded his address by reiterating his deepest wish that through the successful implementation of these planned initiatives in the next year, TRIFED effects a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country!

4-May-2021: Benefiting the tribal livelihoods of Odisha through the Van Dhan Yojana

As a part of TRIFED’s “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village & Digital Connect Drive, teams (comprising officials from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies/Mentoring Agencies/Partners) have been visiting villages  to activate and understand the status of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras. The visits are taking place across the country and have helped Team TRIFED to oversee the ground-level implementation of the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras.

A state where the implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana is gaining quick ground is Odisha. With 660 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, subsumed into 22 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters, more than 6300 tribals are being positively impacted in the state.

Over the past few months, training, procurement of machinery required for processing, branding and packaging has been going on in these clusters which are spread across the state in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Rayagada, Sundergarh and Koraput. Production and processing of raw materials by the tribals has commenced earlier this month.

In Mayurbhanj district, tribal beneficiaries in three clusters, Luguburu VDVKC, Maa Dharithri VDVKC and Bhimakund VDVKC will work on processing Sal leaf, Sal seeds, Kusum seeds and wild honey to produce plates, cups made of Sal leaves, Kusum oil and processed honey. In Keonjhar districts, tribal beneficiaries of  the Anchalika Khandadhar VDVKC will process raw mango, mustard and turmeric into Aampapad, mango pickle, turmeric powder and mustard oil. In Ban Durga VDVKC cluster the MFPs which will be value added are tamarind, Sal seeds and char seeds to be made into deseeded tamarind, tamarind cake, Sal shampoo and packed char seeds.

Other value-added products that will be processed in the VDVK clusters in the districts of Koraput, Rayagada and Sundargarh include tamarind cake, mahua oil, organic packaged rice, Mahua oil, neem oil, neem cake, deseeded chironji and turmeric powder.

Among the many initiatives, TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs is implementing to generate employment and income generation among the tribal population is the Van Dhan tribal start-ups programme, a component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme.

The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, also a component of the same scheme, is a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes.

Over the past 18 months, the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana has gained tremendous ground with its quick adoption and robust implementation aided by the state nodal and implementation agencies across India.

With the VDVKCs gaining ground and starting production in Odisha with these clusters, the benefits of this programme will reach the tribals of this Eastern State and help in improving their lives and livelihoods.

16-Apr-2021: Van Dhan Vikas Yojana – Promoting and backing tribal entrepreneurship

“We will establish 50,000 ‘Van Dhan Vikas Kendras’ in the tribal areas of the country to ensure the availability of primary processing and value addition for forest produce and to provide employment for tribals and increase tribal income,” Prime Minister , Shri Narendra Modi.

 This had been the Prime Minister’s Sankalp as a part of his vision for overall development of the country and to make each section of society self-reliant and empowered.

As per TRIFED, in less than 18 months, 33,360 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, subsumed into 2224 VDVKCs of 300 forest dwellers each, have been sanctioned by TRIFED as of March 31, 2021. TRIFED states that a typical Van Dhan Vikas Kendra includes 20 tribal members. 15 such Van Dhan Vikas Kendras form 1 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra cluster. The Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters will provide the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras economies of scale, livelihood and market-linkages, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities to Tribal forest gatherers in 23 states and 2 UTs.

The remaining16,640 Van Dhan Kendras (on boarding of 3.3 Lakh Tribal households), against the target of 50000 VDVKs, subsumed in approximately 600 VDVKCs is now being expedited with respective State Nodal Departments and State Implementation Agencies under TRIFED’s Sankalp Se Siddhi initiative. These are expected to be sanctioned within the next three months. 

Among the many initiatives, TRIFED is implementing to generate employment and income generation among the tribal population is the Van Dhan tribal start-ups programme, a component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme.

The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, also a component of the same scheme, is a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes.

Over the past 18 months, the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana has gained tremendous ground with its quick adoption and robust implementation aided by the state nodal and implementation agencies across India.  Many success stories from different parts of the country have come to the fore.   

Among the states, Manipur, in particular, which has emerged as the Champion state where the Van Dhan programme has emerged as a major source of employment for the local tribals. TRIFED has stated that since the time that the programme was launched in the State in October 2019, 100 Van Dhan Vikas clusters have been established, out of which 77 are operational. These constitute 1500 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters, which are benefitting 30,000 tribal entrepreneurs, who are involved in collection, processing, packaging and marketing of value-added products from Minor Forest produce. A plus point is the scalability and replicability of the implementation model of the scheme, which has aided in its expansion across India.

The North-East is leading the way with 80% of the established VDVKs. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh are other states where the scheme has been adopted with overwhelming results.

Moreover the  speciality of the whole exercise is that it has managed to create market linkages. Many of these tribal enterprises are connected to markets. A wide array of products ranging from fruit candy (amla, pineapple, wild apple, ginger, fig, tamarind), jam (pineapple, amla, plum), juice & squash (pineapple, amla, wild apple, plum, Burmese grapes), spices (Dalchini, turmeric, ginger),  pickles (bamboo shoot, king chilly), processed giloy, all of which have been processed and packaged in Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have reached the market and are even being marketed on TribesIndia.com and through the Tribes India outlets.

State governments have also been spurred, due to the success of the Van Dhan programme, to activate the MSP For MFP scheme where over the course of the pandemic, there has been a record procurement of varieties of MFPs  providing tribal gatherers a direct benefit transfer in just 10 months!

TRIFED has now launched “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village & Digital Connect Drive. Starting from April 1, 2021, this 100 day drive will entail 150 teams (10 in each region from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies/Mentoring Agencies/Partners) visiting ten villages each. 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages in the country will be covered in the next 100 days. The main aim of this drive is to activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in these villages. Aim is to achieve Rs 200 crore Sales during the next 12 months from Van Dhan units. The visiting teams will also identify locations and shortlist potential VDVKs for clustering as TRIFOOD, SFURTI units as larger enterprises. 

To further the “Be Vocal for Local Buy Tribal” to create an “Atmanirbhar Bharat” call, TRIFED is working on the transformation from the Van Dhan mode to

Tribal enterprise mode. By clustering these Van Dhan Vikas Kendras into Van Dhan clusters and enterprises, the aim is to achieve economies of scale and promote high value addition produce.

To further institutionalise the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters, TRIFED, under the aegis of Ministry of Tribal Affairs is driving convergences with different ministries and organisations. It has MoUs in place with different ministries such as MSME, MoFPI and Ministry of Rural Development to align the scheme with similar programmes of these Ministries, resulting in the convergence of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and its clusters with SFURTI, ESDP from MSME, Food Parks Scheme of MoFPI and NRLM, within M/o Rural Development.

These initiatives will be centred around the constitutional obligations under the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) to empower tribals living in the forest areas.

TRIFED, in association with Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is also implementing two “TRIFOOD” projects at Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and Raigad in Maharashtra under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana. These two MFP processing units will operate in a hub and spoke model with the Van Dhan units which will be the feeder units. This will benefit the associated Tribal households. TRIFED is exploring the setting up of similar MFP based Industrial parks in partnership with State Governments of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and other states.  

The Enterprise approach will provide economies of scale and help in fostering Tribal entrepreneurship in large scale with participation of NGOs, creating tribal owned , tribal managed  production units while leveraging all existing funds and resource pools.

The Mission envisages setting up of 200 Van Dhan Producer Companies under a Special Purpose Vehicle with a network of 3000 MFP Collection centers in Haat Bazaars,  600 Godowns under MSP for MFP scheme, Setting up of 200 Mini TRIFOOD Units and 100 Common Facility Centers, Setting up of 100 TRIFOOD parks within 275 (1) districts and DMF,  Development of 100 embellishment (SFURTI) clusters under MSME,  Setting up of 200 Tribes India retail stores and building ecommerce platforms for TRIFOOD and Tribes India brands.

Through the successful implementation of these planned initiatives in the next year, TRIFED is working towards a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country!

8-Apr-2021: Van Dhan Vikas Yojana – Empowering Tribals across India

A story that once again showcases the Van Dhan tribal start-ups programme, a component of the, The ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme,  has emerged as a major source of employment for local tribals is the success of VDVK Adivasi Eakatmik Samajik Sanstha, Shahapur.

VDVK Adivasi Eakatmik Samajik Sanstha, Shahapur is a perfect example of tribal entrepreneurship and demonstrates how cluster development and value addition can help members earn significantly higher income.

Surrounded by the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats, Shahapur is the largest Taluka in the Thane District in Maharashtra and is seen as an upcoming region. The majority of tribals who form the members of this VDVK are from the Katkari community. Katkari is a primitive tribe found in Maharashtra (Pune, Raigad and Thane districts) and parts of Gujarat. The tribals are mainly agricultural labourers and sell firewood and some jungle fruits.

Started by Sunil Pawaran enterprising member of this community and his friends to sell raw Giloy in local markets has now become a 300 member VDVK under the Van Dhan Yojana scheme. The VDVK has a much larger scale of operations and deals with more than 35 products and processed food items.

The process of making Giloy powder involves cutting Giloy from the trees by tribal which is followed by drying for 8-10 days. This dry Giloy is brought to central facility in Shahapur where it is grinded, packaged and branded and subsequently shipped to buyers including Tribes India. In the last 1.5 year, the group has sold Giloy powder worth Rs 12, 40,000/- (Rs. Twelve lakhs Forty Thousand only) & Dry Giloy sold worth Rs.6,10,000/-(Rs. Six lakhs Ten Thousand only) total sale worth Rs.18,50,000/-(Rs. Eighteen lakhs Fifty Thousand only).

Operating as a cluster, over the last One and half year, the VDVK has sold raw Giloy to leading companies including Dabur, Baidyanath, Himalaya, Vithoba, Sharandhar, Bhumi Natural Products Kerala, Trivikram, and Maitri foods, etc. Most of the Companies like Himalayas, Dabur and Bhumi have ordered 450 tonnes of Giloy worth Rs.1, 57, 00,000/-(Rs. One Crore Fifty Seven lacks only)up until now.

While the Covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown that followed did disrupt the VDVK’s operations, it did not deter the morale of the team. Through the lockdown, the VDVK continued to work hard to minimize the impact.

Between March 2020 and Mid-June 2020, VDVK Shahapur purchased over 34,000 kg of raw Giloy from the local tribals. Subsequently with the unlocking and slow return to normalcy, the VDVK is working aggressively to expand and make its products available for purchase on e-commerce platforms.

While it is Giloy, raw and processed, continues to be the VDVK’s mainstay, it has now expanded into other products such as Safed Musali, Jamun, Behada, Vavding, Moringa, Neem, Amla, and orange peel powder.

The success has inspired thousands of people from the community and nearby areas to come together and work on similar lines.39 VDVKs comprising of 12000 beneficiaries have been additionally sanctioned by TRIFED so far.

The Van Dhan tribal start-ups programme, a component of the, The ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme. The Van Dhan Vikas Yojana is a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of Minor Forest Produces by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes. The scheme aims to empower tribals by providing them support in terms of financial capital, training, mentoring, etc. in order to expand their business and enhance earnings.

The sincere efforts, dedication and determination of the tribal entrepreneurs in working collectively starting from the collection of these MFPs through value addition, packaging, branding and marketing of the products has succeeded in making the VDVK a huge success in this fast developing region.

The success of this VDVK is an example of how these initiatives implemented by TRIFED for making India self-reliant under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan, with the motto, Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal – Mera Van Mera Dhan Mera Udyamar effecting a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country.

6-Apr-2021: Van Dhan Vikas Yojana: The Success Story of Andhra Pradesh

TRIFED, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has implemented several initiatives to help improve the livelihoods of the tribal population. More so, over the past year, to help the beleaguered tribals who had been severely impacted due to the pandemic. Among the various programmes, which have emerged as a panacea to the tribal population are the Van Dhan tribal start-ups and the Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) Through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme that provides MSP to gatherers of forest produces and introducing value addition and marketing through tribal groups and clusters. These programmes have widespread acceptance across the country. In particular, the Van Dhan tribal start-ups, especially have been very successful. And the state of Andhra Pradesh is a fine example of the way the Van Dhan Yojana has benefitted tribals there.

Andhra Pradesh has a total tribal population of 59,18,073spread over 13 districts. Of these 13 districts, 7 districts will be covered by VDVKs.  A total of 263 VDVKs are being set up in Andhra Pradesh  out of which 188 VDVKs have been sanctioned for this financial year.  Trainings have been conducted in 49 of these and 7 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras are operational in the state. These will benefit approximately 78,900 tribal entrepreneurs from across the state. ITDA Paderu, which is acting as District Implementing Agency/Implementing Agency in Visakhapatnam Dist. has procured and put in place 39 Adda Leaf Plates Hydraulic Machines, 390 - Sewing Machines  and 40 Tamarind Block Making Hydraulic Machines for 54 of the sanctioned VDVKs.

These 7 operational VDVKs have already made sales worth Rs 3.48 lakhs. The Minor forest produce that are being processed in these operational VDVKs include Hill Broom grass, Bamboo, Tamarind and Adda Leaf. In the Devarapalli VDVK, beneficiaries from 15 SHGs have been trained on how to add value to Bamboo and make products such as lights (diyas) and candle stands. These value-added products have already seen sales of more than Rs 2.5 lakhs. Beneficiaries in Lammasingi VDVK are producing bricks of 500 grams and 1 kg of deseeded tamarind. These bricks of deseeded tamarind, which form a crucial ingredient in South Indian cuisine, are packaged and branded attractively.

Tribal beneficiaries from 25 SHGs in Korrai VDVK are processing hill broom with bamboo sticks to make bamboo hill brooms in different weights. Additionally in Peddabayulu VDVK, tribal beneficiaries from different SHGs (mainly women) are processing adda leaves and adding value by turning them into sustainable and eco-friendly cups and plates. The products made in these Van Dhan kendras have been launched and are being sold in the market. The beauty of this programme is that all the proceeds go directly to tribal entrepreneurs.

The sincere efforts and efficiency and the dedication of the tribal entrepreneurs along with the support of the nodal agencies have succeeded in making the Van Dhan Yojana a success in Andhra Pradesh. This will only increase as around 188 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras are expected to be operational in this coming year. In addition, a tribal food park is being planned to be set up in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The focus of the food park is to set up, initially, a cashew processing unit at Rampachodavaram, East Godavari district and a coffee curing centre at Narsipatnam. Expected to be completed in the next year, this food park will provide employment to hundreds of tribals in the region. It is hoped that this initiative which fosters Vocal For Local and an Atmanirbhar Bharat will lead to optimising the income and livelihoods of tribal people and finally a transformation of their lives.

4-Apr-2021: Sankalp se Siddhi - TRIFED's village and Digital connect drive launched

Following the success of the Village and Digital connect initiative during which TRIFED’s regional officials across the country went to identified villages with a significant tribal population and supervised the implementation of the various programmes and initiatives earlier in 2021, TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has now launched “Sankalp se Siddhi” - Village & Digital Connect Drive. Starting from April 1, 2021, this 100 day drive will entail 150 teams (10 in each region from TRIFED and State Implementation Agencies/Mentoring Agencies/Partners) visiting ten villages each. 100 villages in each region and 1500 villages in the country will be covered in the next 100 days. The main aim of this drive is to activate the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in these villages.

Among all of TRIFED’s initiatives that have been put in place to help the disadvantaged tribal sections of the society, the Scheme, Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) Through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ that provides MSP to gatherers of forest produce and introduces value addition and marketing through tribal groups and clusters and Van Dhan Vikas Kendras has found widespread acceptance across the country. Especially during the pandemic in 2020, this scheme has emerged as a panacea for the tribals.                          

The objective of the MSP for MFP scheme is to establish a framework for ensuring fair prices for the tribal gatherers, primary processing, storage, transportation etc. while ensuring sustainability of the resource base addressing the problems tribals are facing such as perishable nature of the produce, lack of holding capacity, lack of marketing infrastructure, exploitation by middle men, and timely government intervention. Rs 200 crore Sales during the next 12 months is targeted as a result of this initiative once the VDVKs are activated in these 1500 villages. The visiting teams will also identify locations and shortlist potential VDVKs for clustering as TRIFOOD, and SFURTI units as larger enterprises.  They will also identify tribal artisans and other groups and empanel them as suppliers so that they can have access to larger markets through the Tribes India network – both physical outlets and TribesIndia.com.

It is expected that Sankalp Se Siddhi will aid in effecting a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country.

22-Mar-2021: TRIFED signs MoU with Government of Arunachal Pradesh for The Implementation of MSP for MFP Scheme and Van Dhan Yojana

TRIFED and Government of Arunachal Pradesh have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on March 19, 2021 for the implementation of the MSP for MFP Scheme and the Van Dhan Yojana in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. As a part of its mission to improve the livelihoods of the tribals(both forest dwellers and artisans) and work towards tribal empowerment, TRIFED has been carrying out several programmes and initiatives.

The Rural Development Department in State of Arunachal Pradesh will be the nodal agency for the implementation of this scheme while Arunachal Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (ArSRLM) will be the State Implementation Agency. Under this agreement, 100 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras are planned to be set-up in the state this year. The State Nodal Agency and Implementing Agency teams, along with TRIFED regional officials will be visiting the different villages and districts to oversee the implementation of the scheme. Conceptualized and implemented by TRIFED in association with State Government Agencies  across 21 states of the country, the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, drawing its strength from The Forest Rights Act of 2005,it aims to provide remunerative and fair prices to tribal gatherers of forest produces, almost three times higher than would be available to them from middle men, trebling their incomes.

The Van Dhan Yojana (VDY), a programme for value addition, branding & marketing of MFPs by establishing Van Dhan Kendras to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribes is a component of the same scheme. The MSP for MFP scheme has been a source of great relief for tribal gatherers during the pandemic and has injected more than Rs 3000 crores directly in the tribal economy. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups further complements MSP beautifully as it has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. Together, these two initiatives offer a comprehensive development package for tribals promoting employment and incomes and entrepreneurship.

TRIFED has so far sanctioned 1770 Van Dhan Kendras (VDKs) in 21 States and 1 UT involving 5.3 lakh tribal gatherers. This includes 586 VDVKs sanctioned associated with 1.73 tribal beneficiaries in the North-Eastern States. Arunachal Pradesh was one of the North-Eastern states where the scheme had not yet been started. With the execution of the MoU, now work will progress in Arunachal Pradesh.  TRIFED continues to work towards generating income and livelihoods for tribal people through such flagship schemes like the MSP for MFP and the Van Dhan Yojana.

17-Mar-2021: TRIFED exchanges MoU with Craft Village for design development as well as skill development programmes for tribal artisans and crafts persons

TRIFED is continuing to forge partnerships with different organizations to create synergies together, as a part of its ongoing efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods of the tribals and work towards tribal empowerment. In this context, TRIFED has tied up with Craft Village-by ZEPHYR, an established organization that works for the training and promotion of Craft Sector.

TRIFED and Craft Village  entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday. The MoU was exchanged between Ms. Iti Tyagi, Founder, Craft Village and Shri Anupam Trivedi, Executive Director, TRIFED in the presence of Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED and senior officials of both organisations. The two organizations have partnered to work jointly towards the overall upliftment of the tribal community in the following areas:

1. TRIFED and Craft Village will develop diverse ideas that will not only be functional but also be globally appealing. The design development will happen at the Craft Village campus and also at tribal clusters or artisans or artisan groups who will enroll in the same. The products so developed will be marketed by TRIFED using its Tribes India network of physical outlets and online platforms.
2. The organisations will organize various tribal art and craft workshops and symposiums to inform and sensitize the general public about tribal art and craft forms.
3. Additionally the organisations will conduct training and skill development programmes jointly for tribal artisans and craftsperson so that they can develop better products.

Other aspects of this unique collaboration include the presentation of curated shows at select International Folk Art Markets to help create better economic opportunities for tribal artists. The two organizations also plan to work together to make films on tribal craft culture and cuisine to spread information about these tribal communities. The aim of this collaboration is to develop a customized community-based creative manufacturing system that helps take these products to a global audience.

With the successful implementation of this collaboration, TRIFED hopes to empower the tribal artisans by developing their skills and help in generating income and livelihoods and also get them access to national and international audiences. Through such and other activities, TRIFED is working towards a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

7-Mar-2021: Empowering Tribal women through TRIFED’s ongoing initiatives

A special focus of the initiatives that TRIFED has been implementing in its mission to integrate the tribal population towards mainstream is on empowering and upskilling tribal women. Among the various initiatives that have been geared at improving the lives and livelihoods of tribal women, the Van Dhan Yojana stands out because of the impact it has been able to generate.

The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras/ tribal start-ups, is a component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme that has emerged as a beacon of change and has impacted the tribal ecosystem as never before. The Van Dhan Yojana further complements MSP beautifully as it has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. The beauty of the programme is that it ensures the development of the value chain in MFP, along with training of the tribal gatherers, infrastructure support, access to timely credit. Moreover the proceeds from the sales of these value-added products go to the tribals directly. The value-added products also benefit largely from the packaging and marketing that these tribal enterprises provide. More than 1700 tribal enterprises have established across the country providing employment opportunities to approximately 5.26 lakh tribal gatherers under this scheme. What makes this scheme significant is that the majority of these tribal gatherers who are being benefited are women.

An example is the champion state of Manipur where these start-ups have bloomed, where more than 25,000 tribal gatherers, mainly women, have been benefited through 77 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras. Following a state-wide approach, first advocacy programmes and cluster workshops were carried out for the mobilization and sensitization of these women gatherers. Post which, the tribal gatherers in their respective Van Dhan Vikas Kendras were trained as to how value could be added to the MFP. In the case of Ukhrul VDVK, the women gatherers were trained on how to make amla juice, candy and jams from the collected gooseberries and also on following the required food safety and hygiene standards. Tool kits and other necessary equipment have also been provided and the value addition has started in full earnest.

Since September 2019, the Van Dhan Kendras of Manipur have reported sales of MFP products worth more than Rs. 49.1 lakhs since September 2019!  The exemplary food safety and hygiene standards adopted by these 77centres that have been established, the superb attractive packaging of the processed products such as Amla juice, tamarind amla candy and plum jams, and the innovative branding and marketing of these products have stood out. A mobile van service has also been started in one of the districts to ensure the selling of these products! And it is remarkable to note that tribal gatherers impacted the most have been women.

Another major ongoing initiative of TRIFED to train and improve the livelihoods of tribals, and women in particular is the work being done in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh, where the second batch of Bagh print training started in December 2020. The training for Maheshwari and Chanderi textile traditions are to commence shortly.

In the Barwani project, which is being implemented by TRIFED through the district administration, and funded by Bharat Petroleum under its CSR quota, more than 200 tribal women beneficiaries have been identified. These local tribals will be imparted training in Bagh, Maheshwari and Chanderi textile traditions so that they learn newer skills and use them to enhance their livelihoods. A total of 1.88 crores has been allotted to train almost 1000 tribal women in Bagh print, Chanderi and Maheshwar styles over a period of 1 year.

The second batch of the tribal beneficiaries in Bagh printing are being trained by Padmashri Yusuf Khatri of the Bagh family, a pioneer in Bagh printing. The Khatri family are pioneers in this craft tradition and have been undertaking it for generations. Shri Khatri had been requested earlier to impart the training in Bagh print for both the batches. The first batch of training for a select number of tribal beneficiaries had been started in Rehgun village in February 2020, however it was halted due to the lockdown. It recommenced in July 2020. The second batch of Bagh print training commenced in December 2020. The Master trainers for the Maheshwari and Chanderi traditions have been selected.

Moreover, to bring more exposure to the tribal women artisans across the country and to bring their skill sets and products to international standards, TRIFED is also collaborating with renowned designers such as Ruma Devi and Rina Dhaka to train them.

The handicrafts and products made by these clusters of artisans who will hone their skills by learning from the master craftsmen will be purchased by TRIFED and showcased and marketed at all Tribes India outlets across their country. They will also be on sale on Tribes India’s e-market platform, where the artisans can themselves upload and sell their products. Mary Kom, the renowned Indian boxer and politician has been associated with Tribes India as its brand ambassador and has been promoting tribal products and schemes.

These are just two examples of the many programmes that TRIFED has initiated that strive to improve the income and livelihoods of the tribal population, especially tribal women. It is rightly said — if you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. Educating, training and empowering tribal women so that it can lead to the entire tribal community being helped is therefore the focus of TRIFED through its various programmes.

Team Trifed wishes everyone on the occasion of International Women’s Day!

3-Mar-2021: Van Dhan Vikas Yojana – Empowering the tribals of Jawadhu Hills of Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu

Under the Village connect initiative of TRIFED, to ensure that the initiatives are being implemented for uplifting the tribal population at the grassroot, TRIFED’s officials across the country have been visiting villages with a significant tribal population across the country. Being present on the ground level has aided TRIFED’s officials not only oversee the implementation of these programmes but also made them aware of some remarkable success stories.

These programmes and initiatives have been implemented by TRIFED for making India self-reliant under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan, with the motto, Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal – Mera Van Mera Dhan Mera Udyam.

One such success story that has come to the fore is in Jawadhu Hills, Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu, where the Van Dhan tribal start-ups programme, a component of the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ Scheme, has emerged as a major source of employment for the local tribals.

Situated in the Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, Jawadhu hills is an extension of the Eastern Ghats. The Malayali tribal people constitute 92.60% of the total population in this block and their mainstay is through the non-timber forest produce and a variety of trees grown on this Patta land such as tamarind, jackfruit, coconut, lemon and plantain and gooseberry.

To help these tribals empower themselves and gain better opportunities and market access, the Jawadhu Hills Tribal Farmer Producer Company was formed in 2020. It falls under the State Balanced Growth Fund for Value Addition of Non-Timber forest Product and   Agricultural Products of Jawadhu hills, Tiruvannamalai District (SPV). The Company has been formed under the Companies Act 2013(18 of 2013) and is limited by shares. It consists of members of farmers interest groups, producer groups and self-help groups that have been formed at community level.

Thiru K. S. Kandasamy, District collector, Tiruvannamalai played a pivotal role in promoting Jawadhu Hills Tribal Farmer Producer Company and handing it over to the hands of the tribal people. The entire team of directors and key managerial persons of the FPO are tribals.

In less than an year, four manufacturing units have already been set up for the processing and packaging of tamarind, minor millet, and honey and pepper. The units, which are being run by the tribals, have started production in November 2020. The daily production capacity is 1 tonne. Up until now, in less than 4 months, the producer company has sold processed products up to Rs 12 lakhs. The FPO has already been registered as a seller in the Tribes India marketplace and has been selling nine of its processed produce through the platform, thus gaining a wider market for its goods.

124 tons of minor millets have been produced in the year, with a total of 9800 households cultivating minor millets. Around 17770 farmers are involved in its cultivation. The producer company will benefit around 17770 millet producing farmers.22 tons per year honey is produced in Jawadhu hill with a total of 2760 members involved in producing honey as a part of 120 SHGs. Therefore, the Jawadhu Hills producer company is targeting to improve the lives and livelihood of 2760 honey producers.9500 households and 300 SHGs are involved in Tamarind Production & Selling Process. More than 90 tonnes of tamarind are being produced in these hills.

Besides the farmer producer company, which was formed only in 2020, the tribals of the block were already members of existing Van Dhan Kendras in Tiruvannamalai district – Jawadhu VDVK, Jamunamarathur VDVK and Koottathur VDVK. These continue to be operational under the FPO. Tribals have been earning their livelihoods through the addition of value and processing non-timber forest produces or Minor forest produces through these VDVKs.

The Jawadhu Hills producer company has been formed with an aim to improve the quality of life and social status of tribals involved. This is an example of how the Van Dhan tribal start-up has been successful in improving the livelihoods and incomes of the tribal people across the country.

Through such initiatives, TRIFED continues to work towards effecting complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country.

17-Feb-2021: TRIFED’s Village and Digital Connect - Establishing a Connect with Tribal People

Over the past year , under the aegis of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, TRIFED has implemented several initiatives to help improve the livelihoods of the beleaguered tribals who had been severely impacted due to the pandemic.  To ensure that these initiatives reach the tribals and they benefit from the existing schemes and initiatives, TRIFED’s regional officials across the country will be going to identified villages with a significant tribal population across the country and will set up base there till 31st March, 2021. Being present on the ground level will help TRIFED’s officials oversee the implementation of these programmes and ensure the empowerment of the tribal brethren.

Adapting Go Vocal for Local, into Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal – Mera Van Mera Dhan Mera Udyam, several of these pathbreaking initiatives, other than the existing programmes, have emerged as a panacea for the tribals.

These initiatives include programmes like Van Dhan tribal start-ups and Schemes like Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’, that provides MSP to gatherers of forest produces and introducing value addition and marketing through tribal groups and clusters which has found widespread acceptance across the country.

An all-encompassing digitisation drive had also been launched to not only promote tribal commerce but also map and link its village-based tribal producers and artisans to national and international markets by setting up state of art e- platforms benchmarked to international standards.

TRIFED has digitized all the information related to the forest dwellers associated with the Van Dhan Yojana, Village Haats and their warehouses into a Van Dhan MIS portal. This digitization effort wherein all tribal clusters are identified and mapped using GIS technology will be capitalized upon during this phase of Village connect. TRIFED officials will ensure that all the tribal producers and clusters have been mapped to these digital systems and will receive all the benefits available in convergence with other Ministries and agencies. in villages will be connected to this portal.

Moreover, TRIFED has also launched a marketplace for tribal producers – forest dwellers and artisans, to facilitate the purchase of MFPs, handicrafts and handlooms online. Gradually 5 lakh tribal producers across the country and sourcing their natural produce, handcrafted goods are being onboarded on the marketplace. With the presence of the TRIFED officials on ground, it is expected that tribal artisans will be adequately informed and helped so that they can find greater access to larger markets and thereby improve their incomes.

It is expected that this phase of TRIFED’s village and digital connect will aid immensely in the successful implementation of all planned initiatives in the next year and effect a complete transformation of the tribal ecosystem across the country.

1-Feb-2021: Vice President calls for a model of development that preserves special identity of tribals

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today called for a model of development that preserves the special identity of tribals. “Their culture is their identity”, he said and wanted this culture to remain intact, while drawing the Adivasis into the mainstream.

In a Facebook post today after the inauguration of National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” at Dilli Haat in New Delhi, the Vice President said that any loss of tribal culture would be an irreparable loss to humanity. Observing that there are unique challenges in the field of tribal development, he said that the Government has always treated Adivasis with a special concern.

Disapproving the attitude of urban mainstream which is often characterized by a belief that they have a lot to teach the tribes to help them to develop, Shri Naidu said “what we generally tend to forget is that in fact the tribes have a lot to teach the urban populace”, he said and called for keeping an open mind and observing humility while dealing with the tribes.

Maintaining that Adivasis are the aboriginals, the Vice President said that their way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity. “The greatness of the tribes lies in the fact that they have managed to retain their primal and natural simplicity”, he said and underlined that this quality gives their arts and crafts a timeless appeal. The earthy and natural tribal handicraft instantly touches a primal instinct in all of us, he observed.

Taking note of the wide range of tribal handicrafts, the Vice President emphasized the need to channelize the natural skills of tribal to promote and popularize their products and improve their sources of income. He appreciated the Government for promoting interaction between the tribal artisans and the mainstream designers from reputed organizations. The synergy between these two can generate marketable products of art and handicraft for the top-end global market and added that it would be a win-win situation for the both.

Referring to the high-end demand for tribal products in cities and in the international market, the Vice President said that events such as this Aadi Mahotsav will play an important role in this regard. He praised the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) for doing significant work for economic empowerment of tribal communities including the promotion of e-commerce and digital platforms to take the business forward.

Shri Naidu also said that the demand for organic food products is growing and TRIFED must tap this niche market. He wanted the TRIFED to ensure that the benefit of higher prices reaches the tribal population.

Speaking at the event, the Vice President called for recognizing and promoting the ingenious tribal talent by marketing their handicrafts even in international markets.

Noting that the Adivasis constitute over 8 % of the country’s population, the Vice President said that the development of tribes is an important focus area of the national objective of inclusive development. He also said that our constitution enjoins upon the Government the responsibility of addressing the special needs of our tribal brothers and sisters. Praising their natural and healthy lifestyle, Shri Naidu suggested that COVID-19 pandemic showed that everyone must eat nutritious food and be physically fit.

Congratulating the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED for organising the Aadi Mahotsav, the Vice President appealed to the tribal artisans and Van Dhan suppliers to make the best use of this opportunity to forge links with other artisans and market drivers.

Earlier, the Vice President went around various stalls and expressed his happiness at the wide range of products on display. He interacted with the craftsmen and witnessed various dance performances during the inauguration. Shri Naidu urged the people to visit the Mahotsav, get enriched by the diversity of our country and patronize the tribal products.

Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Shri S. Subramanyam, Secretary, Tribal Affairs, Shri R.C. Meena, Chairman, TRIFED and Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

18-Jan-2021: TRIFED Exchanges MoU with IFFDC to Promote Livelihood Generation of Tribal People

TRIFED, as the nodal agency working for the empowerment of tribals, is focusing its efforts on  finding new ways to improve the lives and the livelihoods of the tribal people. As a part of its continued efforts, TRIFED has been partnering with like-minded organisations to create synergies together.

TRIFED and Indian Farm Forestry Development Co-operative Ltd (IFFDC) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 18, 2021 to work together for tribal livelihood generation. Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED and Shri S. P. Singh, Managing Director, IIFDC signed the MoU in the presence of Shri Anupam Trivedi, ED, TRIFED, Smt. Sangeeta Mahendra, ED (I/C), TRIFED, and Shri Dr Harish Chandra Gena, Chief Project Manager, IFFDC.

The two organizations have agreed to partner with each other to organise training programmes for tribal artisans in the area of entrepreneurship skill and business development. They will also collaborate further to identify and implement CSR initiatives and tribal development efforts. Other areas of association have been identified through which IFFDC promoted PFFCS/SHGs/CBOs will be linked with TRIFED for collection and marketing of NTFPs/MFPs.

IFFDC will also assist in promoting tribal FPOs and will provide trainings to TRIFED promoted/linked Community Organisations/Members. The scope of the agreement will also include any other activity that can be taken up to strengthen tribal livelihoods and entrepreneurship development.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED said, “TRIFED has been actively exploring convergences with various like-minded organizations to continue our mission towards tribal empowerment. It is our pleasure to engage with a pioneering organization such as IIFDC which has undertaken such meaningful work in the areas of farm forestry and wasteland development. I believe that we can collaborate, by pooling our strengths together and undertake work that will help in boosting the income and livelihoods of the tribal people.”

With the successful implementation of this collaboration and many more convergences both cemented and upcoming, TRIFED aims to make effect a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

4-Jan-2021: Trifed Signs MoU with Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram for Setting up of TRIFOOD Parks in Madhya Pradesh

Continuing its mission to improve the livelihoods of the tribals(both forest dwellers and artisans) and work towards tribal empowerment, TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has decided to explore a convergence and build a partnership with Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, a pioneering organization that has been working for the welfare of tribals in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand since 1952. In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was exchanged between the two organisations on January 3, 2021 to work together for setting up of TRIFOOD Parks in 5 districts in Madhya Pradesh. The MoU was signed by Shri Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED  and Shri Yogesh Bapat, General Secretary, Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Ashram in the presence of Shri Durga Das Uikey, Member of Parliament from Betul, Madhya Pradesh.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pravir Krishna said that TRIFED has been actively exploring convergences with various like-minded organizations to continue our mission to improve tribal livelihoods. Engagement with Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram to undertake meaningful work will ensure round-the-year income earning opportunity for tribals by engaging them in a variety of economic activities ranging from agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, Medicinal & Aromatic plants etc. and go beyond Minor Forest Produces.”

The two organisations will work together by undertaking various initiatives all aimed at improving the livelihood of tribal people and implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana through the mobilization of Self Help Groups (SHGs) / Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVKs) / VPCs / TRIFOOD Parks. With TRIFED as the mentoring organization, it has been agreed that Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram would form new Van Dhan Kendras in tribal areas by identifying SHGs, organize training, building infrastructure, provide machinery and equipment and other support. Among other scope of activities, Kalyan Ashram will include other areas, viz agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, handlooms, crafts to keep the operations running year-long and make the Van Dhan scheme all-inclusive and viable.

3-Jan-2021: TRIFED under M/O Tribal Affairs initiates Marketing & Logistics intervention for promoting products of North – East in collaboration with DoNER and India Post

TRIFED under Ministry of tribal Affairs is continuing to explore convergences with different Ministries and Departments to identify and jointly execute schemes and programmes that are being implemented so that a larger impact can be achieved in its mission of transforming tribal lives. In this context, it has formulated a proposal in which it will collaborate with Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and India Post to implement a successful marketing and logistic intervention for promoting the rich and traditional tribal products of the North Eastern states. The aim of this initiative is to create a brand for products from that region, increase awareness of the brand across the globe and provide national and international market access. With the focus on products of the North-Eastern region, and the facilitation and onboarding of more tribal suppliers will result in enhancing tribal entrepreneurship in the region, hence increasing incomes and also generate livelihood for the tribal communities.

The planned interventions include the identification of suppliers and weaving clusters; sourcing of products, training and development of tribal resources, procurement and aggregation of tribal products and transportation and distribution of the selected products to Tribes India outlets and end customers. DoNER will work on these activities through its agencies and TRIFED will use its extensive network of outlets and its e-commerce platforms for the marketing and branding in domestic and international markets.

The collaboration aligns with the ‘Act East’ policy of the government to promote economic, strategic and cultural relations with the vast Asia-Pacific region at different levels. The objective is to increase the sale of the North-Eastern products to 4 fold. This will help in enhancing income generation of tribal suppliers and contribute effectively to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and the Vocal for Local, Buy Tribal initiative.

By GI tagging the products, the transparency regarding the origin of the product can be ensured. This will help North East in generating awareness about region, its rich traditions and quality across the globe. It has been decided to collaborate with India Post for all logistics requirements arising from this initiative.

Besides this, as a part of its promotion of GI Tagged products and tribal products, TRIFED will be collaborating with India Post on other initiatives as well. There is a philatelic exhibition being planned by Department of Post in January 2021 where 6 GI items will be exhibited and promoted widely. The same items will be promoted by TRIFED in its GI specific Aadi Mahotsav exhibition in February 2021. Other than that TRIFED and India Post will tie up to host a tribal exhibition at the GPO in Ahmedabad Gujarat. Also it has been planned to supply lac and gum from Van Dhan Vikas Kendras to India Post.  India Post will also purchase products and items made by tribal artisans for all its future gifting requirements.

With the successful implementation of this collaboration and many more upcoming convergences, TRIFED hopes to help in generating income and livelihoods for these people and ultimately help in in a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

1-Jan-2021: TRIFED to Collaborate with Various Ministries and Departments for GI Tagging of tribal Products

In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic that has thrown unprecedented challenges, the focus has shifted towards “Vocal for Local” and building an “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”. India has a rich legacy of indigenous products, be it handicrafts, handlooms, and other produce. As the national nodal agency, TRIFED has been working extensively to help market and promote the indigenous products that tribal groups across the country have been producing since centuries. It is in this context that Geographical Indication or GI tagging has acquired even more of an importance.

TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs with active collaboration and support from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Institute of Academy, Ministry of Culture,   Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce; India Posts; Ministry of Tourism and Office of the Prime Minister will take up the cause of promotion of GI Tag products along with tribal products and transform them into a brand, symbolizing empowerment of tribal artisans. These initiatives will also help recognize and promote age-old tribal traditions and methods that in danger of being lost due to urbanization and industrialization.

In consultation with Ministry of Culture, TRIFED has identified 8 heritage locations across the country, where GI specific Tribes India stores will be set up. Among these 8 heritage places, work is shortly expected to commence in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, Hampi, Karnataka, Golconda Fort, Telangana. In close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, it has been planned to develop a designer’s lab at Lal Qila (Red Fort), Delhi, wherein select tribal artisans will give live demonstrations of their rich craft traditions. Pochampalli in Andhra Pradesh, known for its fine Ikat fabric, has been chosen to be the second venue where a designer’s hub may be developed. Initial work in this regard is currently ongoing. In addition to the live demonstration centre, it is being proposed to set up this city as a textile hub as well.

The Aadi Mahotsav festival, an initiative commenced in 2017, is TRIFED’s attempt to familiarize the people  with the rich and diverse craft, culture and cuisine of tribal communities across the country in one place. It is now proposed to hold a GI specific Aadi Mahotsav at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie in collaboration with Ministry of Culture in February 2021.

Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce has identified 370 GI tagged products out of which 50 have a tribal origin. It has been decided that Tribes India will market and promote all these 370 GI products through its extensive network. Plans are afoot to register the 50 native produces under GI, and promote these through TRIFED’s existing Network of Outlets and e-commerce platforms. Efforts are underway to identify 50 more items for further promotion.

Along with Department of Post, Ministry of Communication and Technology, these items will be promoted in an exhibition that will be organized in January 2021. The Department of Post is developing stamps on 6 GI items which will be showcased in this Philatelic exhibition. Also it has been planned to supply lac and gum from Van Dhan Vikas Kendras to India Post.

Tribes constitute over 8% of our population however, they are among the disadvantaged sections of the society. An attitude that pervades among the mainstream is the erroneous belief that they have to be taught and helped. However the truth is otherwise – the tribals have a lot of teach urban India. Characterized by natural simplicity, their creations have a timeless appeal. The wide range of handicrafts which include hand-woven cotton, silk fabrics, wool, metal craft, terracotta, bead-work, all need to be preserved and promoted.

The Geographical Indication, which has been recognized by the World Trade Organization, is used to denote the geographical territory from where a product, be it an agricultural produce, natural product or manufactured, and also conveys assurance of qualities or attributes that are unique to  that specific geographic region. India became a signatory to this convention, when, as a member of the WTO, it enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection Act), 1999, which came into effect from September 15, 2003.

Hence TRIFED, as the nodal agency working for tribal empowerment, which has been working in improving the income and livelihoods of the tribal people, while preserving their way of life and traditions, now expands its scope to GI tagged products.

With these impressive ventures the larger vision of “Vocal for Local, Buy Tribal” can be achieved which will be truly transformational in the areas of Sustainable Income generation and Employment of tribal people in the country.It is hoped that these and other efforts of TRIFED will enable the economic welfare of these communities and bring them closer towards mainstream development.

Team TRIFED wishes everyone the very best for a happy and healthy 2021.

31-Dec-2020: TRIFED Signs MoU with Day-NRLM M/O Rural Development to Foster Tribal Livelihood Development Through Synergies

As a part of its mission to improve the livelihoods of the tribals (both forest dwellers and artisans) and work towards tribal empowerment, TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs is exploring convergences and partnerships with like-minded organisations to create synergies together. In this regard, TRIFED has tied up with Deen Dayal Antyodaya- National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) to undertake economic support programmes that will help boost livelihoods especially that of the SHG women, including those from tribal populations of the country.

TRIFED and DAY-NRLM, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to cement this collaborative and co-operative effort. The MoU was signed by Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED and Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).

Speaking about the significance of this agreement and the pivotal role it will play in enhancing livelihoods, Shri Pravir Krishna added, “TRIFED has been actively working on convergences with various ministries and organisations in the areas of Skill development and Tribal Livelihoods. This collaboration will help us get together and work for the two marginalized sections of society – tribal people and women.”

Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha said, “I am very happy that our two organisations will be cooperating to benefit and improve the livelihoods of these sections of our society.”

The two organizations have agreed to work together in synergizing various programmes and schemes that are being implemented already by both to achieve the common goal of enhancing the livelihoods of the marginalized sections of society that they are working with - tribal beneficiaries and women, in our country.  During the meeting, the scope of work was also discussed and detailed post the signing. The scope of work outlined two broad areas:

Minor Forest Produce: It has been agreed to establish market operatives synergy between the State Implementing Agencies that are implementing MSP for MFP and the State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) to protect tribal gatherers against unfair practices of middlemen. The SRLMs will also participate in the implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana, with adequate technical and other support from TRIFED. NRLM through its SRLMs will support establishment of Van Dhan Kendras for creating a sustainable models and help facilitate establishing a viable enterprise. The two organisations also have agreed to work together for the development of common facilities centres like warehouses for storage, primary processing of agricultural, horticultural and Minor Forest Produces (MFPs) under MGNREGA and other similar schemes.

Handloom/ Handicrafts: TRIFED will empanel the SHGs or FPOs with majority tribal members (as identified by NRLM) and will enable the sale of their products through both its online and offline network. In case needed, these SHGs or FPOs will also be provided adequate training and capacity building programmes which will enable them to produce better products – handloom/ handicrafts or processing of packed food/ organic products. In addition to these aspects, the organisations will identify other areas of cooperation for the benefit of tribal SHG members.

Other than this, many convergences with various Ministries and Departments and expert institutions such as Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), DMF, ICAR Ministry of AYUSH are being planned and initiated with the aim of improving sustainable livelihoods and income opportunities for these tribals. The scope of convergences will range across different aspects of development.

With the successful implementation of this collaboration and many more upcoming convergences, TRIFED hopes to help in generating income and livelihoods for these people and ultimately help in in a  complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

24-Dec-2020: TRIFED Signs MoU with MOFPI For Upliftment of Tribal Lives Through the Implementation of The PM- FME Scheme

TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been exploring convergences and partnerships with like-minded organisations to create synergies together with the main aim of furthering tribal empowerment and improving their livelihoods. In this regard TRIFED has started tying up with government departments and other like-minded organisations. One of the departments with whom TRIFED has aligned with is Minister of Food Processing (MoFPI). MoFPI is implementing the Prime Minister Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM-FME) Scheme, which is a landmark initiative under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to support micro-level food entrepreneurs, FPOs, SHGs and co-operatives. An important component of this scheme is the tribal sub-plan.

A communique to define the Convergence mechanism in implementation of this scheme was signed between Shri Deepak Khandekar, Secretary Minister of Tribal Affairs and Smt. Pushpa Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing in the presence of Shri Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs and Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Food Processing, Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Rameswar Teli, MoS, MoFPI and Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED on December 18, 2020.

Other than the communique an MOU was also signed between TRIFED and MoFPI to detail the key areas of collaboration. It has been agreed that TRIFED, as the nodal agency working for tribal upliftment would develop a new range of tribal food products, TriFood.

With the necessary funding under the PM-FME Scheme of MoFPI, the TriFood range of tribal food products would be developed, branded, and packaged by TRIFED. It has also been agreed that the SHGs working under the Van Dhan Yojana would be provided support under the PM-FME Scheme including for handholding, training, capital investment, and working capital. TRIFED will identify the eligible SHGs and their members and “Van Dhan Yojana” groups and their members engaged in food products and create a list with necessary details on their level of operations, type of product, marketing channels, means of production, production facilities, training, etc. and share them with State Government and MoFPI. As a part of capacity building, it has been decided that MoFPI under PMFME scheme would also provide necessary funds to TRIFED to undertake training, capacity building of tribals engaged in food processing. In addition, funds would be provided to TRIFED for product development and improved packaging for tribal food products.

TRIFED will also provide handholding support to Tribal SHGs and Van Dhan SHG groups and their members in preparation of DPRs, application process, getting necessary technical training, etc. so as to enable them to benefit from various provisions under PMFME scheme including for capital investment.

As a part of taking tribal welfare and development to the next logical phase, other convergences with various Ministries and Departments and expert institutions such as Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), DMF, ICAR Ministry of AYUSH are being planned all with the aim of improving sustainable livelihoods and income opportunities for these tribals.

With the successful implementation of this collaboration and many more upcoming convergences, TRIFED hopes to effect a complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country.

13-Oct-2020: TRIFED, IIT Kanpur and Chhattisgarh MFP Federation E-Launch “Tech for Tribals” Initiative

“Tech For Tribals” initiative was e-launched by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with Chhattisgarh MFP Federation and IIT Kanpur today.  TRIFED, in collaboration with Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) under the ESDP programme commenced the ‘Tech for Tribals’ programme that aims at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through SHGs operating through Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs). The launch event, which was an online event, was attended by Shri Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED; Shri Sanjay Shukla, Managing Director, CGMFPFED; Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Prof-In-Charge, Incubator @ IIT Kanpur; Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, the CEO, FIRST IIT Kanpur; officials from TRIFED, CGMFPFED, and IIT Kanpur, besides the beneficiaries of the training programme.

During the 6 weeks training from 13th October to 7th November 2020, Van Dhan beneficiaries across all districts of Chhattisgarh State are being trained on various facets of micro-enterprise creation, management and functioning. This will be over a period of 30 days and will include 120 sessions. The training module has been developed by IIT, Kanpur and will be disseminated among beneficiaries in a phased manner through various modes like online lectures and trainings, online activities and will gradually move to face to face interactions in class rooms, practical, onsite visits and exposure visits.

The programme aims to tap the traditional knowledge and skills of tribals and add branding, packaging and marketing skills to optimize their income through a market led enterprise model by setting up of Van Dhan Kendras (VDVKs). TRIFED has so far sanctioned 1243 Van Dhan Kendras in 21 States and 1 UT involving 3.68 lakh tribal gatherers.

Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, the CEO, FIRST IIT Kanpur welcomed the participants of the Zoom call and the beneficiaries of the programme in his address.

Setting the rationale behind this unique initiative, Shri Pravir Krishna said that “Tech for Tribals initiative” is a unique program to make tribals of India “Aatmanirbhar”, focusing to bridge the gap between tribal entrepreneurs and urban markets. Under this initiative, TRIFED has tied up with reputed national institutions such as IIT, Kanpur; Art of Living, Bangalore; TISS, Mumbai; KISS, Bhubaneswar; Vivekananda Kendra, Tamil Nadu and SRIJAN, Rajasthan, for conducting Vandhan-ESDP Training Programs in the States of Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.

He said that the TRIFED plans to subsequently start the Vandhan-ESDP Training Program in other States as well through other Training Partners using the training module developed by IIT, Kanpur, with minor modification as per local requirement. The “Tech For Tribals” Initiative is a major push towards tribal development and empowerment.

Shri Krishna also spoke about how over the past few months, aided by the Government push, the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain for MFP’ has emerged as a beacon of change impacting the tribal ecosystem. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, a component of the same scheme, has emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. These Van Dhan Kendras are micro tribal enterprises for processing and value addition of forest produces. The scheme is being further expanded to more locations under the ‘Vocal for Local Go Tribal’ initiative of TRIFED during the current financial year. TRIFED envisages the setting up of 3000 Van Dhan Kendras across 307 districts in 27 States.

Shri Sanjay Shukla spoke about the unprecedented success of the MFP programme in Chhattisgarh and how it has emerged as a Champion for its commendable efforts and how post this success, the “tech for tribals” initiative is the next logical step. Over the past few months, Chhattisgarh has procured 46,857 Metric tonnes of Minor forest produces worth a whopping Rs 106.53 crores. With the Chhattisgarh Government putting all its might behind the implementation of the MSP for MFP Scheme, the systems and processes for procurement are well in place across all districts. Chhattisgarh has 866 procurement centres and the State has leveraged its vast network of Van Dhan SHGs from the 139 Van Dhan Kendras effectively as well. Innovations adopted such as door-to-door collection of minor forest produces by mobile units comprising of forest, revenue and VDVK officials have contributed to these high procurement values.

In his address, Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Prof-In-Charge, Incubator @ IIT Kanpur, spoke about the skill development programme that will be run by IIT Kanpur and the technological transformation it is aiming towards. IIT, Kanpur will run the skill development program of tribal youth across Chhattisgarh to help them build their enterprise by commercializing the products using MFPs. This programme will mainly entail three aspects of development for sustainable entrepreneurship which can be considered as the three pillars - Engagement, Capacity Building, and Market linkages. This will lead to the path of commercialization of the tribal entrepreneurs. The course content/ modules developed are specifically relevant to Entrepreneurship in Value Addition and Processing of Forest Produces. This capacity building program is expected to ensure higher success rate of the Tribal Entrepreneurs by enabling and empowering them to run their business with marketable products with quality certifications.

19-Aug-2020: 'Tribes India On Wheels' launched

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda flagged off “Tribes India On Wheels” Mobile Vans via Video Conference in 31 cities across the country today. Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs was the Guest of Honour. Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED. Deepak Khandekar, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED were also present. To begin with, 57 mobile vans were flagged off in the cities like Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jagdalpur, Khunti, Mumbai and Ranchi to name a few.

Addressing on the occasion, Arjun Munda said that in these trying times, when the pandemic Covid-19 has disrupted lives in more ways than one, people are focusing on healthier ways of living and staying as safe as possible. This novel initiative by TRIFED ensures that one doesn’t even have to step out to shop for organic, essential natural immunity-boosting products and adopt a sustainable and wholesome way of living.  Adapting ‘Go Vocal for Local’, a mantra in these troubled times, into ‘Go Vocal for Local Go Tribal’,

TRIFED has been striving to ameliorate the condition of the distressed and affected tribal people by putting in place several path-breaking initiatives, in addition to its existing flagship programmes and implementations, which have emerged as a panacea and relief. With this novel initiative of Mobile Vans, TRIFED is now taking these goods directly to the customer in various localities, and offering the same discounts. All the sales proceeds will directly go to the tribals and help in sustaining their income and livelihoods.

In her address, Renuka Singh Saruta said that in these trying times, when the pandemic has disrupted lives in more ways than one, people are focusing on healthier ways of living and staying as safe as possible. This novel initiative by TRIFED ensures that one doesn’t even have to step out to shop for organic, essential natural immunity-boosting products and adopt a sustainable and wholesome way of living. This initiative will help tribals living in rural areas.

R.C. Meena in his address said that as its latest initiative to rehabilitate the affected tribal people (artisans and forest dwellers), TRIFED, M/o Tribal Affairs has launched Tribes India On Wheels which is yet another creative effort by the team of TRIFED Warriors as they continue to strive towards tribal upliftment.

Pravir Krishna said that Tribes India on Wheels are an effort to bring Nature’s bounty to your doorstep. These mobile vans will bring the natural and immunity-boosting tribal produce such as organic Haldi, dry amla, wild honey, black pepper, ragi, triphala, and lentil mixes such as moong dal, urad dal and white beans directly to the doorstep of customers over the next few months. TRIFED is also tying up with business partners for accelerating the sales of products.

Tribes India on Wheels is yet another creative effort by the team of TRIFED Warriors as they continue to strive towards tribal upliftment.

stocks got sold and all the sales proceeds go to the affected tribal families, TRIFED has launched an aggressive plan to market these unsold goods online (offering substantial discounts) through its Tribes India website and other retail platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart and GeM.

Keeping in line with the clarion call of Aatmanirbhar Abhiyan, TRIFED is also set to launch an exclusive e-marketplace for tribal producers – forest dwellers and artisans, to facilitate the purchase of MFPs, handicrafts and handlooms online soon.  The Tribes India E-Mart platform will be an omni-channel facility for tribals to sell their goods to a large national and international audience in an e-marketplace through their own e-shop. TRIFED is in the process of onboarding approximately 5 lakh tribal producers across the country and sourcing their natural produce and handcrafted goods.

7-Aug-2020: Trifed Launches its Own Virtual Office Network to Spearhead Tribal Socio-Economic Development on its 33rd Foundation day

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs reiterated its commitment towards the transformation of tribal lives on the occasion of its 33rd Foundation Day on August 6, 2020. Working steadfastly towards its mission of tribal empowerment through enterprise and commerce, more so, during these challenging times, TRIFED has doubled its efforts to aid the tribal people in employment and livelihood generation.

“A large number of people have adopted to online methods – for shopping, banking, work etc. in India during the recent lockdown and the ongoing pandemic; and the trend has been seen to have increased once the lockdown regulations are relaxed. On the supply side, the crisis due to Covid-19 has dealt a serious blow to the livelihoods of the poor and marginalized communities including the tribal artisans and forest dwelling minor forest produce gatherers. TRIFED has had to strategically respond to the emerging situation. It is in this context that our digitization strategy is of great value.” said Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director TRIFED.

With a pandemic raging across the country, when every aspect of life has gone online, TRIFED has launched its own Virtual office on its Foundation Day, August 6, 2020.  The TRIFED Virtual office network has 81 online workstations and 100 additional converging State and agency workstations that will help the team of TRIFED warriors work with their partners across the country – be they from the nodal agencies or implementation agencies –on Mission-mode towards bringing the tribal people closer to mainstream development.

To gauge the level of employee engagement and streamline their efforts, an Employee Engagement and Work Distribution Matrix with Dashboard Links has also been launched. Other digital software which will enable the States and regions to work seamlessly   have also been unveiled.

These organizational initiatives are a part of TRIFED’s ambitious all-encompassing digitization drive to promote tribal commerce and map and link its village-based tribal producers and artisans to national and international markets by setting up state of art e- platforms benchmarked to international standards.

Registered under the then Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 1984, TRIFED came into existence in 1987 as the national nodal agency under the aegis of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, working towards the socio-economic development of the tribal people from all states. TRIFED started its operations in 1988 with its head office in New Delhi and Shri SK Chauhan, IAS as the first Managing Director. ShriPravir Krishna, IAS is the current and the 36th Managing Director and he assumed charge on July 25, 2017. As of date, the organization has more than 500 employees spread across the Head Office and 15 regional offices. In its mission to empower these downtrodden tribal people, by promoting the economic welfare of their communities across India (through development of marketing and the sustained upgradation of their skills), TRIFED started the procurement and marketing of tribal art and craft items through its first retail outlet called TRIBES INDIA in New Delhi in 1999.

25-Jul-2020: TRIFED Signs MoU with IIT, Delhi for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)

As one of the key organizations committed to the welfare and growth of the tribal people, TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs continues to forge ahead in its endeavour to bring the tribal people towards mainstream development. In addition to its ongoing initiatives and programme implementations, TRIFED has now entered into a partnership with IIT Delhi for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

To cement and formalise this partnership, a tripartite MOU was signed between TRIFED, IIT Delhi(on behalf of the UBA, as the National Coordinating Institute) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA, a Swadeshi Science Movement) at IIT, Delhi yesterday. Tribal entrepreneurs under TRIFED’s Van Dhan programme will now be able to get access to the expertise of the entire network of 2600 + academic and research institutions under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA).

Together with IIT Delhi, the “National Coordinating Institute (NCI)” for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)” ,TRIFED envisages promoting Tribal Livelihoods and Income generating programmes through synergistic collaboration among the concerned Ministries, District Administration, local Panchayat Raj Institutes (PRIs), Voluntary Organisations, other stakeholders, as well as the other participating institutions. In particular, this partnership can help promote enhancing livelihoods through the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras established under the Van Dhan Yojana.

Speaking about the significance of this agreement and the pivotal role it will play in tribal development, Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director TRIFED said, “TRIFED was actively working on convergences with various ministries for "Skill development for Tribal Livelihoods". It is important to ensure "round the year income earning opportunity" for tribals by engaging them in a variety of economic activities ranging from agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, Medicinal & Aromatic plants etc., going beyond Minor Forest Produces. The synergies with Institutions of National Importance like IIT Delhi will be crucial in our Mission to serve the Tribal cause, as we can leverage the huge network of academic and research institutions across the country under Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan, the MHRD flagship programme."

With the partnership with IIT Delhi and Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan, these tribal forest dwellers engaged in Minor Forest Produces will get an exposure to newer processing technologies, product innovation, mentorship, transformational digital systems and handholding.  The MoU opens gates for the best of brains in the country to attend to the problems of sustainable tribal livelihoods.

Also speaking on the occasion, Shri V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT, Delhi said: “IIT is consciously working towards connecting with the society, in multiple ways. For example, we have these immersion programmes, where we are trying to put our faculty members and students in places where there are real problems, whether it is working in hospitals, working in villages, or in industry. That is how they can identify the problems and use the resources available on campus to develop solutions.” The partnership is therefore an opportunity for the brilliant minds to be presented with the right set of real problems that they can help address.

The IIT Delhi-TRIFED partnership will also benefit from the expertise and experience of Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA), a science Movement with Swadeshi spirit which aims to create awareness about the significant development of science and technology in India through ages and its relevance in present context and working towards achieving self-reliance of Bharat in all walks of life using Science and Technology. VIBHA will map and reach out to various stakeholders for convergence with the focus to strengthen Van Dhan Yojna (VDY), through its local chapters. VIBHA will help in gathering and passing critical information on needs and possible intervention to TRIFED, UBA and tribal communities.  Tribal beneficiaries engaged in Van Dhan Yojana will also take advantage  of Tech4Seva information ERP portal (CSIR-UBA-VIBHA), which is an initiative for Technology Outreach as an Enabler for Inclusive  and Sustainable Developmental to mobilise the creative abilities of technology providers to develop scientific, affordable and sustainable solutions to various issues identified at the grassroots level.

Facilitation for transfer of already available technologies to Van Dhan beneficiaries, including low cost processing technology for value-addition of MFPs like decorators, drying machines relating to the various Minor Forest Produce (MFPs) will also be part of this association.

TRIFED is implementing the Van Dhan Yojana (VDY), a programme for value addition, branding and marketing of MFPs by establishing Van Dhan Kendras of around 300 tribal members each across the country to facilitate creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribal gatherers. In a typical Van Dhan Kendra, the tribal beneficiaries are expected to create an enterprise, which would be involved in all related aspects from collection of forest produce, training of tribal beneficiaries, value-addition and processing, and packaging.

The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. So far, 1205 Tribal Enterprises  spread across 18500 SHGs have been established to provide employment opportunities to 3.6 lakh tribal gatherers and 18000 Self-help groups in 22 States.  To ensure that the momentum gained over the past few months does not fizzle out, during the current financial year, TRIFED plans to sanction more Van Dhan Kendras so as to reach 3000 VDVKs.

The Van Dhan Yojana, along with the MSP for MFP component of the same scheme, offers a comprehensive development package for tribals promoting employment and incomes and entrepreneurship. With the successful implementation of this partnership which will benefit the tribal people and many more upcoming initiatives in the pipeline, TRIFED hopes to accelerate the complete transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods across the country by reinvigorating the flagging economic condition of the tribal population.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) is a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, envisioning the transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. https://unnatbharatabhiyan.gov.in/index#network. The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Cell at IIT, Delhi consists of an Advisory Committee, an Executive Committee and a Core Working Group consisting of about 40 faculty members drawn from various departments and centres of the institute. The Centre for Rural Development Technology (CRDT) as well as the RuTAG group of IIT Delhi are fully participating in the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan activities. It has also identified a few rural clusters for direct intervention and is in the process of networking with various participating institutions and voluntary organizations.

Centre for Rural Development and Technology at IIT Delhi is one of the renowned academic units established in 1979. The centre functions as an outreach centre to address challenges faced by rural communities and to improve their quality of life. The Centre is supported by over 20 eminent faculty members, 6 post-doctoral researchers and over 100 research scholars who are highly committed towards holistic rural development. Faculty members and research teams at CRDT work in various areas for improving living conditions and generating livelihood through synergy of Science and Technology interventions and Traditional Knowledge. The Centre has to its credit more than 300 high impact publications, reports and articles, 25 patents and 2 start-ups.

Under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), IIT Delhi has brought together a robust structural network with a large number of nodal institutions ( Academic and research institutions like IITs, NITs, DST, DBT, ICAR, ICMR, MGIRI CSIR laboratories, ISRO, DRDO and defence laboratories, and BARC etc.), Community Organizations (NGOs, PRIs & ULBs and other community-based organisations), CSR conscious corporates.  Presently, the UBA network has 44 Regional Coordinating Institutes (RCIs) which are the solution facilitators, with 13 Subject Expert Groups (SEGs) & Specific Experts Advisors and 2600+ Participating Institutes (PIs) to build capacities and connect to the solution seekers i.e. the tribal communities.

28-Jun-2020: Shri Arjun Munda launches Tribes India products on Gem and new website of TRIFED through video conference

The unprecedented situation in our country due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has affected all segments of our society. The livelihoods of the poor and marginalised communities have been seriously impacted and the tribals are some of the worst affected in these trying times. To ease the burden of the tribal artisans during such troubled times, TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal affairs has initiated several immediate initiatives to re-energise the lagging economic activity for sustaining the livelihood development of tribals. . Addressing a video Conference to launch the TRIFED Digital Platforms, through Video Conference, Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs said that the Team of “TRIFED Warriors” will take Tribal Commerce based on forest produces, handlooms & handicrafts to a new high for transforming tribal lives and livelihoods. He stated that with more and more people going online to meet their various needs – be it for business operations, shopping and communication, an important strategic push has been to adopt an all-encompassing digitisation drive to map and link its village based tribal producers to the national and international markets setting up state of art e- platforms benchmarked to international standards.

This was the key focus area of the webinar ‘TRIFED Goes Digital’ and “Be Vocal for Local’ #GoTribal ”which was organised by TRIFED today and was attended by over 200 participants. The main highlight was the launch of the TRIBES India products on the Government e-Marketplace  (GeM) (with a diverse range on display) and TRIFED’s new website (https://trifed.tribal.gov.in) by Shri Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs.

Expressing his hearty appreciation at the occasion, Shri Arjun Munda, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs first inaugurated the TRIBES India store on Government eMarketplace which can now help in facilitating purchases by Government and then the revamped website (https://trifed.tribal.gov.in/), which has all relevant details about the schemes and initiatives underway to the benefit of tribal communities.

In his address, Shri Munda spoke about the unprecedented situation that our world is facing and how the migrant labour have suffered a lot. He expressed his pleasure at the efforts being put by “the TRIFED Warriors” and the Ministry officials to revive the flagging economic condition of the tribal artisans and tribal gatherers. He emphasised that empowering the tribal communities and utilising their skills, which has so far been disconnected from the mainstream, should be of prime focus and we should capitalise on opportunities that have been thrown open during the unprecedented situation.

Shri Munda opined that TRIFED plays a major role in connecting the tribals to the mainstream and congratulated the team for their two major initiatives being launched today. Using nuggets from philosophy and management principles and real-life examples, he shared his views on the road ahead for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and “the TRIFED Warriors” as they set about in their task to include the tribal communities in the mainstream. He urged them to focus on extracting and utilising the wealth of information and knowledge that the tribal communities have, especially with regard to the jungle, and how that can be used to not just benefit their community but also be of greater help to the country and people in these troubled times.

Post this detailed presentation on TRIFED’s activities, Shri Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED congratulated the entire TRIFED team for its sustained efforts and was positive that the Rs 2 lakh crore tribal economy will definitely get doubled or trebled. Also he was certain that these efforts would result in the products and produces of tribal gatherers and artisans would get maximum coverage – both in the country and abroad.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri. Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED thanked the Union Minister for his presence at the formal launch of the two digital initiatives through a webinar – a first definitely. Acknowledging the Union Minister’s unstinted support for the cause of tribal welfare, Shri Krishna spoke about TRIFED’s ambitious digitisation drive and how this is aimed at creating a level playing field for more than 50 lakh tribals (artisans, gatherers, dwellers) who will be connected with the mainstream using state-of-the art technology. Mr. Krishna also thanked the GeM team for their cooperation in making the Tribes India store going live on GeM a reality.

Shri Rajeev Kandpal, JS& CFO, GeM in his address, spoke about how the TRIFED and GeM teams have worked hard under the overall guidance and leadership and this has resulted in the Tribes India store on GeM. Government Departments Ministries and PSUs can now access TRIBES India products via Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and shop as per GFR regulations. He pointed out that social inclusion was a major focus in GeM and that niche supplier segments such as start-ups, rural entrepreneurs, tribal entrepreneurs, women, tribals have been encouraged. Taking the example of the newly-inaugurated Rural Development store, which has generated positive response,

Post this speech, a detailed presentation was made about the all-encompassing digital transformation strategy embarked upon by TRIFED and also the various measures put forth by the team to help ease the situation of the tribal community. The presentation began with a focus on the digital initiatives which are underway, especially two of which are being launched today. It also covered, at length, the measures taken by TRIFED and the Ministry of Tribal affairs to help ease the burden of tribals in the country. Touching upon both the MSP for MFP Scheme which has now emerged as a panacea for tribals with a total procurement of Rs 2000 crore (through government and private trade) and the successful implementation of the Van Dhan Yojana (Start-ups scheme), an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which has resulted in the establishment of 1205 Tribal Enterprises and providing employment opportunities to 3.6 lakh tribal gatherers and 18075 Self-help groups in 22 States, the presentation covered the impact of these and other initiatives. In particular, outcomes from different champion states such as Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Manipur were highlighted as examples. The presentation also threw light on the other measures during this crisis.

TRIFED has issued Advisories relating to MFPs to be kept in mind during Covid-19, providing suggestive practices for maintaining personal hygiene, adopting cashless practices, among others. It is working on setting up of 15,000 ‘Van Dhan Social Distancing Awareness cum Livelihood Centres’ from the recently sanctioned Van Dhan SHGs among the 1205 Van Dhan Kendras. TRIFED has also collaborated with UNICEF for developing a digital communication strategy for promoting the Abhiyaan. Additionally, TRIFED has partnered with the Art of Living Foundation’s #iStandWithHumanity Initiative with a Stand With Tribal Families component in providing much needed food and ration for survival of the tribal community.

The digital strategy takes into account the entire supply-demand tribal chain, each and every stage, and includes a state-of-art website ((https://trifed.tribal.gov.in), which offers all information related to the organisaton and its various tribal welfare schemes; setting up of an e-Market Place for Tribal Artisans to trade and directly market their produces; digitisation of all information related to the forest dwellers engaged in its Van Dhan Yojana, village haats and warehouses to which they are linked.

Keeping every aspect of tribal lives and commerce in mind, TRIFED has also commenced the digitisation of the procurement of MFPs through government and private trade and the related payments to tribals. Leveraging the e-commerce boom, TRIBES India products are available at www.tribesindia.com with all regions working together to ensure that varieties and offerings of all kinds are readily accessible at other platforms such Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm, and Shopclues. These products range from creative masterpieces and artefacts such as Dokra metal craft pieces, beautiful pottery, different types of paintings to colourful, comfortable apparel, distinctive Jewellery and organic and natural foods and beverages.

In addition, the Tribes India e-Marketplace, coming on the heels of the Retail Inventory Management System which has automated the sourcing and sale of stocks, is an ambitious initiative to on-board almost 5 lakh Tribal Artisans on the e- market platform to provide them access to national and international markets. This is likely to be commissioned by end July 2020.

TRIFED’s Van Dhan Integrated Information Network facilitates the pooling of all information pertaining to forest dwellers engaged in Minimum Support Price Operations and its Van Dhan Yojana linking them up to Village haats and Warehouses. This helps in monitoring the country wide programme and taking decisions to facilitate smooth implementation. This scheme has been implemented in 22 States touching the lives of almost 3,61,500 Tribals. The tribal clusters identified and mapped across the country are eligible beneficiaries under Aatmanirbhar Abhiyan. The aim is to work in convergence with various Ministries and agencies and help bring the benefits to these vulnerable and distressed communities. TRIFED is equipped to advocate and support the tribal cause under Aatmanirbhar Abhiyan.

Shri Anil Ramteke, ED, TRIFED concluded this inspiring and informative session with his Vote of Thanks. He thanked the Union Minister, Shri Arjun Munda for his inspiring and wise address and looked forward to his continued leadership and guidance.

5-Jun-2020: Van Dhan Vikas Kendras in Maharashtra lead in innovative initiatives to help tribal gatherers during ongoing Covid crisis

Van Dhan Kendras, established under the scheme initiated by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs are leading the way in helping tribals generate their livelihood in these distressed times. One segment that has been impacted during the ongoing crisis has been the tribal population as most of their income comes from Minor Forest Produce activities such as gathering, which usually is at the peak between the months of April – June.

The success story of Van Dhan scheme in Maharashtra in spite of the state facing the brunt of Covid 19 is worth enumerating. Maharashtra is home to more than 50 tribal communities and the Van Dhan team has taken charge to stay ahead of the curve.  Through their sustained efforts and initiatives, the Van Dhan team is helping 19350 tribal entrepreneurs to find a platform to market the products in order to generate sustained livelihood.

Several initiatives have been put in place to combat the impact of Covid-19. These range from providing interest free loans to Self Help groups to facilitate the collection of bees to the procurement of the seasonal Mahua flowers and Giloe (which form major MFPs of this region) from village to village. Procurement of giloe and mahua, amidst the lockdown, has been made possible after following the adequate safety measures, using masks and maintaining social distancing.

Shabari Adivasi Vikas Mahamandal, one of VDVKs in the region, plans to train self-help groups in establishing forward and backward linkages by making different by-products from these produce. By adding value to these produce, a better price shall be fetched for these products. Swayam Kala Sansthan, a Van Dhan Vikas Kendra at Uikey Shilpgram, has procured approximately 125 quintals of Mahua flower (worth Rs 6.5 lakhs) for adding value and converting it into mahua jam, laddus and mahua juice.

Another group, the Katkari Tribal Youth Group, which comes under Shahpur Van Dhan Vikas Kendra has set a benchmark for other groups. The youth group has established an online platform and is collaborating with retail chains such as D’Mart to take giloe to markets across the country.

Results from these initiatives can already be witnessed. In this current financial year 2020-21, a procurement of Rs 0.05 crore has been generated, with Mahua and Giloe being the major MFPs.

At a time, when news stories mainly are concerned with disaster, such success stories about the Van Dhan Scheme bring new hope and inspiration.

The Van Dhan Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED and it targets livelihood generation for tribal gatherers and transforms them into entrepreneurs. The idea behind the scheme is to set-up tribal community-owned Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) in predominantly forested tribal districts. A Kendra constitutes of 15 tribal SHGs, each comprising of up to 20 tribal NTFP gatherers or artisans i.e. about 300 beneficiaries per Van Dhan Kendra.

TRIFED, as the apex national organisation involved in the improvement of the livelihood and empowerment of these tribal people, is the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme. The Scheme has been a resounding success in offering some basic support to the tribal gatherers and has helped in improving their lives. 1,126 Van Dhan Kendras have been set up as Tribal start-ups across the country onboarding over 3.6 Lakhs beneficiaries.

3-May-2020: Online monitoring dashboard set up by TRIFED for reporting procurement activities by States

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has advised all states to speed up procurement operations for Minor Forest Produce to support the Tribals especially in the backdrop if situation created by Covid19 and also keeping in view that it is now peak season for gathering of MFP.

The States have initiated the process of procurement of Minor Forest Produce and operations have begun in 10 States. Procurement of Rs. 20.30 Cr. has already been undertaken in the FY 2020-21 till date. The entire procurement operation for MFP will get a further push after announcement of revised MSP for 49 items of forest produce by Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 1st May, 2020 in view of the difficult circumstances arising out of pandemic Covid 19.

An online monitoring dashboard has been created for reporting the activities undertaken at the State level for procurement of Minor Forest Produce. It’s called the Van Dhan Monit Dashboard, part of the “TRIFED E- Sampark Setu” being created for an exchange of information to and from every Panchayat and Van Dhan Kendra, either through Mail or Mobile. TRIFED proposes to link up with 10 lakh villages, district and state level partners, agencies and SHGs. The State Implementing Agencies have started updating the dashboards  as the work progresses in their States.

States have appointed the Van Dhan Kendras as their primary procurement agents for MFP procurements from haat bazaars. The Van Dhan Kendras have procured around 31.35 MTs of MFPs with a value of Rs. 1.11 Cr. Under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan program, 1126 VDVKs have been sanctioned in 21 States and 1 UT involving 3.6 lakh tribal beneficiaries putting them on path to enterprise.

The scheme of Van Dhan Kendras  is operational in 22 States with significant Tribal population in the country and has the potential to benefit almost 1.1 crore tribal families in the country.

The Scheme of ‘Institutional Support for Development and Marketing of Tribal Products’ has a Minimum Support Price component and a Value Addition component and aims to raise the incomes of tribal gatherers and promote enterprise among them. To ensure higher and remunerative prices to tribal gatherers, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has issued a revised price list of MSP for MFP on 01 May 2020. This was done after due consultation with the MFP Pricing Cell and the major MFP-rich States for the benefit of the tribal gatherers in this distress times of Covid19 which has affected their livelihoods. The revised prices would provide the much needed support for the tribal gatherers and give a boost for the MFP procurement work in the States. The revised prices for MFP products are –

 (In Rupees per Kg)

S.No	Minor Forest Produce (MFP)	Existing MSP	Revised MSP
1	Tamarind (with seeds) (Tamarindus indica)	31	36
2	Wild Honey	195	225
3	Gum Karaya (Sterculia urenus)	98	114
4	Karanj seed (Pongamia pinnata)	19	22
5	Sat seed (Shorea robusta)	20	20
6	Mahua seed (Madhuca longifolia)	25	29
7	Sal leaves (Shorea robusta)	30	35
8	Chironji pods with seeds (Buchanania lanzan)	109	126
9	Myrobalan (Terminalia chebula)	15	15
10	A. Rangeeni Lac	130	200
10	B. Kusumi Lac	203	275
11	Kusum seeds (Schleichera oleosa)	20	23
12	Neem seeds (Azadirachta indica)	23	27
13	Puwad seeds (Cassia tora)	14	16
14	Baheda (Terminalia bellirica)	17	17
15	Hill Broom Grass (Thysanolaena maxima)	30	50
16	Dry Shikakai Pods (Acacia concinna)	43	50
17	Bael pulp (Dried) (Aegle marmelos)	27	30
18	Nagarmotha (Cyperus rotundas)	27	30
19	Shatavari Roots (Dried) (Asparagus racemosus)	92	107
20	Gudmar / Madhunashini (Gymnema sylvestre)	35	41
21	Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata)	33	35
22	Tamarind (De-seeded) (Tamarindus indica)	54	63
23	Guggul (exudates)	700	812
24	Mahua Flowers (dried) (Madhuca longifolia)	17	30
25	Tejpatta (dried) (Cinnamomum tamala and Cinnamomum sp.)	33	40
26	Jamun dried seeds (Syzygium cumini)	36	42
27	Dried Amla pulp (deseeded) (Phvllanthus emblica)	45	52
28	Marking Nut (Semecarpus anacardium)	8	9
29	Soap Nut (dried) (Sapindus emarginatus)	12	14
30	Bhava seed/ (Amaltas (Cassia fistula)	11	13
31	Arjuna Bark (Terminalia arjuna)	18	21
32	Kokum (Dry) (Garcinia indica)	25	29
33	Giloe (Tinospora cordifolia)	21	40
34	Kaunch seed (Mucuna pruriens)	18	21
35	Chirata (Swertia chirayita)	29	34
36	Vaybidding / Vavding (Embelia ribes )	81	94
37	Dhavaiphool dried flowers (Woodfordia floribunda)	32	37
38	Nux Vomica (Strrchnos nux vomica)	36	42
39	Ban Tulsi Leaves (dried) (Ocimum tenuiflorum)	19	22
40	Kshirni (Hemidesmus indicus)	30	35
41	Bakul (dried bark) (Mimusops elengii)	40	46
42	Kutaj (dried bark) (Holarrhena aubescens/H.antidysenterica)	27	31
43	Noni / Aal (dried fruits) (Morinda citrifolia )	15	17
44	Sonapatha/ Syõnak pods (Oroxylum indicum )	18	21
45	Chanothi seeds (Abrus precatorius)	39	45
46	Kalihari (dried tubers) (Gloriosa superba)	27	31
47	Makoi (dried fruits) (Solarium nigrum)	21	24
48	Apang plant (Achyranthes aspera)	24	28
49	Sugandhmantri roots/ tubers(Homaloinena aromatica)	33	38

The revised prices have been in the following brackets –

Increase in prices No of items

No Increase 3

0%-5% 0

5%-10% 1

10%-15% 10

15%-20% 30

>20% 6

Total no of items 50 (including two types of lac)

The highest price revision has been done in Giloe, Mahua Flowers, Hill Grass, and Lac (Rangeeni & Kusumi) while the prices of Sal seeds, Baheda and Myrobalan have been kept unchanged.

22-Apr-2020: Proactive Initiatives of TRIFED Due To Covid-19

The current situation due to Pandemic Covid-19 has dealt a serious blow to the livelihoods of the poor and marginalized communities including the tribal artisans and gatherers, being the most vulnerable people in the country. This is the peak season for harvesting and gathering of forest produces in many regions which will lead to engagement of tribal gatherers into business and endanger their safety. TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs is proactively responding to the situation by addressing the issues arising out of the long period of lock-down with a set of immediate, medium term and long term initiatives, aimed at lending extra support to the tribals in this unprecedented times.

The actions relating to protecting tribal interests during Covid-19 Lockdown (and the staggered period thereafter) as required can be classified under three heads as follows:

1. Publicity and Awareness Generation.
2. Personal Protective Healthcare.
3. NTFP Procurement.

Short Term measures: Social Distancing Awareness

• Launched Van Dhan Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan, which is aimed at educating Tribals engaged in gathering NTFPs in forest areas, on covid-19 response, key preventive behaviour like social distancing, home quarantine, hygiene tips through a two-tiered training program (Training of Trainers and SHG training), using digital means such as webinars, Facebook live streams etc.
• Initiated steps to provide the Van Dhan Self Help Groups (SHGs) with protective masks and hygiene products (Soaps, Disinfectants, etc.) that are necessary for carrying out their operations in a safe manner.

Medium and Long Term measures : Livelihoods

• To ensure relief to crores of tribals dependent on gathering of forest produce, the Ministry of Home Affairs was approached for necessary amendments in the list of exemptions in the guidelines for second phase of lockdown. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued Revised guidelines on 16th April 2020 allowing Collection, harvesting and processing of non - timber Minor Forest Produce (MFP) by scheduled tribes and other forest dwellers. These exemptions are timely as the peak harvesting season has set-in in many regions.
• Further Ministry of Tribal Affairs have asked TRIFED to focus on revamping the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for MFP to enhance tribal livelihood in these testing times and to ensure that they get the benefit of an equitable market price for their produce.
• As directed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, on 17 April 2020, TRIFED has initiated steps for operationalizing MSP operations in all states at primary markets called haat bazaars, setting up procurement centres with weighing facilities, transport and appropriate cold and dry storage.

Van Dhan Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan - Educating Tribals through ~15,000 Self Help Groups under Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana spread across 28 States/UTs. TRIFED teamed up with UNICEF and WHO for launching a digital campaign spreading awareness about the importance of social distancing amid the coronavirus crisis in India. UNICEF is providing the necessary IEC materials ( posters, flyers, leaflets, brochures, booklets, messages for health education sessions, radio broadcast or TV spots etc.) for the campaign christened as “ Van Dhan Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan OR Van Dhan Social Distancing Awareness Movement”. Extensive outreach through Train of Trainer Programs and Webinars focused on basic orientation on covid-19 response, key preventive behaviour, social media campaigns on social distancing, home quarantine has been initiated.

11-Apr-2020: TRIFED asks State Nodal Departments & Implementing Agencies to initiate procurement from available funds under ‘MSP for MFP scheme’

TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs has asked the State Nodal Departments and Implementing Agencies to initiate procurement of Minor Forest Produces (MFPs) at Minimum Support Price (MSP) from the available funds under MSP for MFP Scheme. In a letter to Chief Secretaries, State Nodal Departments and Implementing Agencies, the Managing Director of TRIFED Shri Pravir Krishna has said that TRIFED in collaboration with UNICEF is hosting Webinar sessions for the Van Dhan Self Help Group members of the Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) for creating awareness among the tribal gatherers for following social distancing measures and maintaining necessary hygiene required for carrying out their operations and all the State Nodal Departments, Implementing Agencies are participating in the webinar.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has notified the guidelines for the Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP vide notification F. No. 19/17/2018- Livelihood dated: 26.02.2019.

The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda has also written a letter to the Chief Ministers of States to undertake the necessary measures for mitigating the impact on tribal communities including advising the State Governments to initiate procurement of MFPs under MSP for MFP scheme for providing much required livelihood support to the tribal gatherers and obviate the movement of middlemen from urban areas to tribal habitations, thus checking any eventuality of spread of corona virus among tribal communities.

9-Apr-2020: TRIFED in Collaboration with UNICEF & WHO organized a Webinar for Promotion of Digital Campaign for SHGs to ensure Tribal gatherers carry on their Work Safely

TRIFED organized a Webinar for Virtual training to its Trainers and Self Help Groups (SHGs) on basic orientation on Covid-19 response and key preventive measures to ensure tribal gatherers carry on their work safely. It was aimed to reach more than 18,000 participants and would cover tribal regions across all the 27 States. To ensure tribal gatherers carry on their work safely, TRIFED has collaborated with UNICEF and WHO for developing a digital communication strategy for promoting a digital campaign for Self Help Groups (SHGs) involved in this work, highlighting the importance of Social Distancing.

Addressing the participants, Shri Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED said that the safety of tribal gatherers during Pandemic Covid-19 is our top priority and we have to ensure that the tribal gatherers carry on the their work of procurement of tribal products safely. The target of this Digital Campaign is to reach up to 50 lakh tribal gatherers to ensure their safety. It is the peak season for collection and harvest of Minor Forest Produce (MFP)/Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) in many regions. Certain proactive measures need to be initiated to ensure the wellbeing of the tribals and their economy by providing them safety and ensuring their livelihoods.

The Webinar received a very good participation response with 806 total registrations, and with 502 unique viewers. All in all, total users stood at 2388 during the Webinar. The Facebook views during the Webinar were  26000 and currently stand at 40,000.

UNICEF is providing the necessary support to the SHG Centers in the form of Digital Multimedia content, Webinars for Virtual trainings (basic orientation on COVID response, key preventive behaviours), Social Media campaigns (on social distancing, home quarantine, etc.) and Vanya Radio. Additionally, TRIFED has reached out to the Art of Living Foundation’s #iStandWithHumanity Initiative with a Stand With Tribal Families component in providing much needed food and ration for survival of the tribal community.

A total of 1205 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) have been sanctioned in 27 States and 1 Union territory involving around 18,075 Van Dhan Self Help Groups. This involves over 3.6 Lakhs tribal gatherers in the Scheme. To start with, 15,000 of these SHGs will be promoted as Van Dhan Social Distancing Awareness cum Livelihood Centers’ through a digital training program. The SHGs will create awareness among the community about social distancing and steps to be followed. Do’s and Don’ts Advisories relating to NTFP to be kept in mind during Covid-19, providing suggestive practices for maintaining personal hygiene, adopting cashless practices, among others will be shared.

20-Mar-2020: TRIFED Launches transformational “Tech For Tribals” program in partnership with Institutes of National Importance (INIs) to develop Tribal entrepreneurship

A game changing and unique project aimed to transform 5 crore Tribal Entrepreneurs under the name “Tech for Tribal” has been launched by TRIFED. It was launched on19thMarch 2020 by TRIFED and IIT-Kanpur along with IIT-Roorkee, IIM Indore, Kalinga Institute of Social Science, Bhubaneshwar and SRIJAN, Jaipur in the first phase of organising tribal entrepreneurship and skill development program.

Tech for Tribals, an initiative of TRIFED supported by Ministry of MSME, aims at capacity building and imparting entrepreneurship skills to tribal forest produce gatherers enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana(PMVDY). The trainees will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions.

Mr. Pravir Krishna, Managing Director TRIFED said, “TRIFED received overwhelming response from all leading higher education institutions in the country for strategizing to infuse best in class training and capacity building for Tribals to start their enterprise. This initiative will impact over three lakhs Tribals”. TRIFED has drawn out a Five Year strategy for 10X impact in Tribal development. “We are working towards greater convergence of various schemes under key Ministries of Government of India, leading national Institutions, Social sector and most of all Industry leaders, and work towards this singular goal of promoting tribal produces in a big way.” he added.

TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs is establishing 1,200 "Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK)”, across 28 States engaging 3.6 Lakhs Tribal Forest Produce gatherers. One typical VDVK comprises of 15 Self Help Groups, each consisting of 20 Tribal gatherers. The program aims at providing skill upgradation and capacity building of VDVK lead members. IIT, Kanpur, Roorkee, Ranchi, Rampur, IIM Vizag, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and other reputed institutes like DRI, SRIJAN, KISS, TISS etc. have shown their keenness to partner with this programme initiated by TRIFED

Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur said that IIT Kanpur has a very active Incubation Centre and a vibrant Department of Humanities & Social sciences. “All our students, start-ups at our Incubation Centre and alumni will have the opportunity to get directly involved in mentoring Tribal entrepreneurs and help them build sustainable businesses in the districts they operate”, he added.

Under the Tech for Tribals program, the Partners will develop course contents relevant to Entrepreneurship in Value Addition and Processing of Forest Produces. The course curriculum will include Achievement Motivation and positive psychology, Entrepreneurial Competencies, Identification of locally available NTFP based Business Opportunities, Round the Year capacity utilization, Product positioning - Grading / Sorting, Branding, Packaging, Product certifications, Bankable Project Report preparation, Market Survey, Business Plan Preparation, Distribution Channels- Retail sales, supply contracts with manufacturers, Good Manufacturing Practice(GMP), Total Quality Control(TQC), Hygienic Operations management, Operational and Financial statements, Business Strategy & Growth, Digital literacy& IT adoption, etc. 

The Tech for tribals capacity building program will ensure higher success rate of the Tribal Entrepreneurs by enabling and empowering them to run their business with marketable products with quality certifications.

Van Dhan products will be marketed through all available distribution channels.  TRIFED over the last three years has revamped itself as a network of 120 outlets across the country of which 72 are owned and operated by TRIFED themselves. Tribes India outlets are already operational at the airports of Chennai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Pune, Goa, Kolkata. TRIFED also has aggressively pursued their eCommerce strategy with their own website (www.tribesindia.com) and is also available on other major e-com portals such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm, Amazon India, Amazon Global etc. To push Government institutional purchases, Tribes India has a presence in Government eMarket Place (GeM). National Level Tribal Festivals namely Aadi Mahotsavs, along with other exhibitions, are being organised in various cities all over the country are other efforts being taken to expand the marketing opportunities for Tribes India products and country’s tribal heritage.

8-May-2018: TRIFED goes digital for Inventory Management and Sales

Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) of Ministry of Tribal Affairs has operationalised Retail Inventory Software (RIS) in all its Tribes India Outlets, Regional Offices and Head Office for inventory control. The electronic mode of system has been made available at all Regional Offices and Outlets, streamlining the entire retail operations from purchases upto sales by automating the transaction process and tracking important purchase, stocks and sales data. Implementation of RIS software will bring greater transparency and control over various transactions under Retail sale.

The various stages of retail sale process included in the Retail Inventory Software (RIS) include item selection for vendor at Regional Offices, request for code generation for selected items, generation of purchase order, stock and inventory details through POS and inventory management, monitoring of sale/purchase at regional office and report generation of sales/purchase at Head Office among others.

22-Apr-2018: Record 77% increase in sales of TRIFED

Due to the massive drive of scaling up the retail marketing activities by TRIFED, the value of Sales has increased from Rs. 11.37 crores in 2016-17 to Rs.20.08 Crores (provisional) during 2017-18, a record increase of 77% and a record sale in the history of TRIFED.

On the sourcing front, TRIFED has made purchases to the tune of Rs. 15.86 Crores (provisional) during FY 2017-18 as compared to Rs.5.95 Crores during FY 2016-17 through its empanelled tribal suppliers/artisans, which is also an increase of 166% over the last financial year.

The increase in procurement has resulted in enhancement of benefit to tribal artisans in terms of employment generation opportunities for 712 suppliers which helped create livelihood opportunities for around 70,000 tribal families during 2017-18 vis-à-vis 585 suppliers with around 57,500 tribal families during 2016-17 & increase of value of stocks to the extent of 166% purchased from them over the last year.

22-Sep-2017: TRIFED Plans to Scale up Marketing Functions

TRIFED, a PSU under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India has been working with the main objective of promoting tribal art and craft for the benefit of tribal artisans of the country, under the scheme “Institutional Support for Development & Marketing of tribal products/produce” of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.

In line with the objective TRIFED has planned to scale up Marketing of Tribal Products through increase of its Retail Outlets ‘Tribes India’ throughout India and other retail marketing activities. The brief of the Retail Marketing Activities of TRIFED is given below:

Tribes India Retail Chain of Outlets: TRIFED’s efforts for market development of tribal products envisage enhancing income of tribes by way of providing marketing support for the various hand-crafted products they produce. TRIFED opened its first showroom by the name of ‘Tribes India’ during April, 1999 at 9, Mahadev Road, New Delhi. Progressively, TRIFED established a chain of 42 Retail outlets out of which 29 are its own outlets and 13 outlets have been functioning in association with State level organizations on consignment basis. The sales have shown an increasing trend from 162.56 Lakhs in 2005-06 to Rs 1117.85 Lakhs during 2016-17.

Product categories Available for sale:

1. Metal Craft
2. Tribal Textiles
3. Tribal Jewellery
4. Tribal Paintings
5. Cane & Bamboo
6. Terracotta and Stone Pottery
7. Gifts and Novelties &
8. Organic and Natural Food products.

Exhibitions: In order to promote tribal art and craft and also boost overall sales, TRIFED organises and participates in Domestic and International exhibitions. The details of the same are appended below:

1. Aadishilp: TRIFED organizes National Tribal Craft Expo by the name of Aadishilp, in which individual tribal artisans, tribal SHGs, Agencies / Organizations working with tribes are invited to participate and showcase their rich tribal heritage. The main objective of holding these events is to provide an opportunity to tribal artisans to show their craft / art directly art lovers, getting feedback about customer taste and preferences, this helps them in modifying their product designs and creations according to market trends and needs. The event also at times includes tribal dance performances, which is an attempt to present tribal art and culture in holistic manner.
2. Aadichitra: TRIFED also organises exhibitions by the name of Aadichitra since 2010, in which tribal paintings only like Gond from Madhya Pradesh, Saora from Orissa, Warli from Maharashtra and Pithora paintings from Gujarat, are exclusively displayed and sold. The tribal artists are also invited to demonstrate their skills during such exhibitions.  The Aadichitra has received appreciations from all quarters of Art Lovers.
3. Participations in Domestic Exhibitions: TRIFED in association with tribal artisans also participates in exhibitions / craft melas organized by other Agencies of the Central/State Governments throughout the country with an objective to provide opportunity to tribal artisans to showcase and market their handicraft products. TRIFED participates in around 100 such exhibitions annually.
4. OCTAVE: TRIFED also participates in the OCTAVE - a dance festival of North Eastern Region, organized by Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. TRIFED is associated with this event since 2008-09. TRIFED facilitates participation of artisans from North Eastern region and provides them the opportunity to showcase and market their products.
5. International Exhibitions: TRIFED participates in international exhibitions/trade fairs through Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) in various countries for display and sale of tribal products sourced from tribal artisans. TRIFED participates in 2-3 International Exhibitions annually.

Sourcing of tribal products:

TRIFED has developed a system of sourcing products made by empanelled tribal suppliers. The suppliers comprise of individual tribal artisans, tribal SHGs, Organisations/ Agencies/NGOs working with tribes, who are empanelled as suppliers of TRIFED as per the guidelines for empanelment of suppliers, a copy of which is available on TRIFED website.

Tribal Artisan Mela (TAM): In order to increase the number of tribal suppliers and associate them with our Retail operation, TRIFED organizes Tribal Artisan Melas (TAMs) at district / tehsil level so as to reach tribes located in interior tribal areas and source tribal art and craft directly from the tribal artisans/group of artisan. Under this initiative, TRIFED in association with State Govt. /organizations invites tribal artisans to a venue an exhibition area where they display their art and craft items. TRIFED deputes its Merchandising team to these Melas to identify the new artisans and new products which can be marketed through its outlets. This initiative not only augments sourcing of tribal art and craft in its original form but also spread awareness about TRIFED’s activities and ways and means for a tribal to avail of the benefits of TRIFED’s activities.

 The calendar of Aadishilps, Aadichitra and Tribal Artisans Melas has been circulated to all Regional Offices, a copy of which has been given to MIS Division.

NEW INITIATIVE

TRIFED plans to scale up the Retail Marketing Activities by achieving a procurement goal of Rs.20 Crores and sale of  Rs.40 Crores in the current financial year and procurement goal of 50 Crores and sale goal of Rs.100 Crores by the end of next financial year through sustained efforts to ramp up supply and creation of demand, with a purpose of associating maximum number of tribal artisans through association and expertise of likeminded partners in the various States.

While considering the above, focus areas for revamping and scaling up of Retail Marketing Activities include the following:

Sale goals to be achieved through following ways: Sale through Franchise Outlets – TRIFED plans to expand its Retail Operations by opening of Franchise Outlets for sale of tribal products. Under this model, TRIFED will get the stocks delivered at the franchisee premise as per the requirement. The Franchisee shall sell the products on the MRP fixed by TRIFED in the brand name of Tribes India with their manpower and other resources. Franchisee shall be paid a commission ranging from 10-25% on net sales and sales proceeds shall be payable once in a month. All the products supplied by TRIFED will carry “Tribal Craft Mark” in form of hologram/ label/tag for its genuineness and authenticity.

Sale through “Young Entrepreneur Development Programme”: TRIFED plans to expand sale operations by empanelling young and smart sales boys/girls for undertaking house to house campaign for sale of our tribal products. These young sales boys/girls shall be known as “Young Entrepreneurs of TRIFED (YET)”, who shall undertake house to house campaign for sale of our tribal products. The YET shall be provided e-brochure comprising of photographs of products available with complete details and required publicity material for showing to the customers. They shall also be provided with small samples as per their requirement for showing to the customers and in lieu of sales made through them TRIFED shall pay a commission of 10% on net sales to them.

Sale through e-commerce platforms:  The various e-commerce platforms offers a huge potential for promotion and sale of tribal products. TRIFED is already selling tribal products through snapdeal.com and www.amazon.in. However, TRIFED is also expanding its operations through other e-commerce portals.

Sale through Tribes India Own Outlets: By consolidating and upgrading the same by improving interiors and exteriors for making more presentable /attractive for visiting customers. The outlets to be fully stocked and staff posted in the Outlets made active and involved in shop operations.

Sale through Mobile Vans: For reaching to masses at their door steps.

Festival Offers: Offering of various discounts packages/schemes for promotion of tribal products, liquidation of stocks and enhancing overall sales.

“Friend of Tribes”: In order to promote tribal products and Tribes India as a brand and also to create a captive customer base, TRIFED is issuing “Friends of Tribes” Loyalty Card, offering discount of 20% on most of the products being sold through Tribes India Outlets located across country. The Card holders shall be also eligible for an additional 10% discount, in case festival/other discount scheme is already existing at the Outlets at that time but not exceeding 40%.

Special discount scheme for Central/State Government Employees: A special additional discount of 10% on prevailing discounts/offers is being offered to all the Central/State Government Employees at all our Outlets on production of their official Identity Card issued by their department.

Offer packages: For every purchase of products above Rs. 2,000/-, attractive gifts will be given.

Festival discount: Festival discount of 10% on Food and Natural products and 15% on all other products are being on specific festive/occasion.

Upto 40% Discount Scheme Sale: Maximum discount upto 40% are being  offered on select stocks. Offers applicable till stock lasts.

(terms and conditions shall apply)   

Tribal Craft Mark: For ensuring the authenticity of tribal source, all the products marketed by TRIFED will carry “Tribal Craft Mark” in form of hologram/ label/tag for its genuineness and authenticity.

Procurement goals to be achieved through following ways:
TRIFED will concentrate in Procurement Operations. Each Regional Office of TRIFED has been assigned a goal for identification and empanelment of additional 100 potential tribal suppliers in each state having tribal population for supply good quality and quality tribal products.

Enhancing supplier base by leveraging the pool of tribal SHGs associated with Ministry of Rural Development (State Level Aajivika Mission/NRLM), Regional Offices of DC (Handicraft & Handloom), State Forest Departments, State Handicraft/Tribal Department, reputed NGOs etc., by utilising the tribal SHGs formed by them and bringing them in ambit of procurement operations of TRIFED for supply of good quality tribal products.

Identifying Experts and Master Craftsperson, who can handhold TRIFED in identifying tribal artisans and their products for attaining captive supplier base.

Involving tribal artisans imparted handicraft training by TRIFED and other agencies for supplying tribal products to TRIFED.

The tribal artisans imparted training in selected MFP items to be roped in by converting them into tribal SHGs for supply to value-added products like Honey, tamarind, hill broom, etc. to our Retail Outlets.

Developing linkage between NSTFDC, Banks and other Financial Institutions, who can provide concessional loans to the tribal artisans to support them in making the products for supplying to TRIFED.

The Regional Offices to have regular meetings/workshops with Tribal Welfare/Rural Development Departments/Agencies, reputed NGOs, experts who works in the tribal areas and take their feedback for improving the procurement operations.

Publicity campaign:

Publicity campaign for promotion of tribal products would include making use of posters, banners, leaflets, standees, mobile vans, local TV Channels, stickers in cars and walls, Radio jingles, web based portals like YouTube, Facebook, google, etc. which would reach to the masses and create impact.

Background:

The tribal population of the country, as per 2011 census, is around 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population, 89.97% of them live in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas. Thus, there exists a vast potential for harnessing the supply of tribal handicraft products from the 705 Scheduled Tribes ethnic groups of 30 States/UTs in 590 districts across the country.

1-Sep-2017: ‘Festival Offers’ to promote Tribal Products and empower Tribal Artisans of the Country

Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram inaugurated the  ‘Festival Offers’ to promote Tribal Products and empower Tribal Artisans of the Country.

Tribes India showroom is not only for Exhibiting Tribal Arts and Handicrafts but also for Tribal Empowerment. Ministry has planned for opening Exhibition cum Sale Outlets for Tribal Products and inviting artisans for demo all throughout the country. Number of Outlets of Tribes India showroom is on increasing trend. Ministry has also planned to open franchise outlets in addition to its own outlets. Young Entrepreneurs will also be roped in for marketing tribal products on commission basis. Ministry will give full support to TRIFED for boosting the sales of tribal products. We are also working to improve the variety of products on sale in TRIFED showroom.

Tribes Showroom will become the destination for both domestic and international tourists and this type of initiatives will help in the empowerment and the development of the Tribal people.

About the initiatives/schemes launched:-

For boosting marketing development operations and enhancing the sale through “Tribes India” brand, TRIFED formally launched following initiatives/schemes:

Discount Scheme/offers:

“Friend of Tribes”: In order to promote tribal products and Tribes India as a brand and also to create a captive customer base, TRIFED is issuing “Friends of Tribes” Loyalty Card, offering discount of 20% on most of the products being sold through Tribes India Outlets located across country. The Card holders shall be also eligible for an additional 10% discount, in case festival/other discount scheme is already existing at the Outlets at that time but not exceeding 40%.

Special discount scheme for Central/State Government Employees: A special additional discount of 10% on prevailing discounts/offers is being offered to all the Central/State Government Employees at all our Outlets on production of their official Identity Card issued by their department.

Offer packages: For every purchase of products above Rs. 2,000/-, attractive gifts will be given.

Festival discount: Festival discount of 10% on Food and Natural products and 15% on all other products are being on specific festive/occasion.

Upto 40% Discount Scheme Sale: Maximum discount upto 40% are being  offered on select stocks. Offers applicable till stock lasts.

Standard terms & conditions shall apply.

Sale through Franchise Outlets: TRIFED plans to expand its Retail Operations by opening of Franchise Outlets for sale of tribal products. Under this model, TRIFED will get the stocks delivered at the franchisee premise, as per the requirement  of Franchisee. The stocks to be delivered shall be limited to the amount of security deposit to be submitted by the Franchisee in form of demand draft or banker cheque or bank guarantee. The Franchisee shall sell the products on the MRP fixed by TRIFED in the brand name of Tribes India from their sales outlet with their manpower and other resources. Transportation cost, GST etc. on the stock shall be borne by the TRIFED. Franchisee shall be paid a commission ranging from 10-25% on net sales and sales proceeds shall be payable once in a month. All the products supplied by TRIFED will carry “Tribal Craft Mark” in form of hologram/ label/tag for its genuineness and authenticity.

Sale through “Young Entrepreneur Development Programme”: TRIFED plans to expand sale operations by empaneling young and smart sales boys/girls for undertaking house to house campaign for sale of our tribal products. These young sales boys/girls shall be known as “Young Entrepreneurs of TRIFED (YET)”. Under this programme, young boys and girls fulfilling the prescribed basic criteria shall be registered as Entrepreneur of TRIFED for a period of 1 year, which will be renewed depending upon the performance of the YET.  A registration letter and I-Card shall be issued to these YET, who shall undertake house to house campaign for sale of our tribal products. The YET shall be provided e-brochure comprising of photographs of products available with complete details and required publicity material for showing to the customers. They shall also be provided with small samples as per their requirement for showing to the customers and in lieu of sales made through them TRIFED shall pay a commission of 10% on net sales to them.

Sale through e-commerce platforms: The various e-commerce platforms offers a huge potential for promotion and sale of tribal products. TRIFED is already selling tribal products through snapdeal.com and www.amazon.in. However, TRIFED is also expanding its operations through other e-commerce portals.

Backgrounder:

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development of India Ltd., (TRIFED) is an organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India and is  engaged in marketing development of tribal products including tribal art & craft under the brand name “TRIBES INDIA”.  The main mandate of TRIFED is capability  enhancement of the tribes, promotion of tribal products and creation of marketing opportunities for the tribes with a view to ensuring them fair prices for their products and augmenting their income on sustainable basis.

Towards the attainment of this mandate, TRIFED is engaged in the retail operations for marketing of unique and ethnic tribal handicrafts and natural products in high end markets through a chain of retail outlets under the brand name “TRIBES INDIA” across the country. It also focuses on trainings for skill up-gradation and capacity building of tribal artisans and gatherers of Minor Forest Produce.   TRIFED, with its Head Office at New Delhi, has a network of 14 Regional Offices and a chain of retail outlets (expanding every year) across the country.

“TRIBES INDIA” showrooms offer a range of tribal products of different parts of the country, which include Metal Craft, Tribal Textiles, Jewellery, Tribal Paintings, Cane & Bamboo, Pottery, Gifts and Novelties, Organic and Natural products sourced from tribals at their places of habitats from higher Himalayas (Bhutia tribes in the Uttrakhand, Bodh & Kinnaura tribes in  Himachal Pradesh) in the North to the Ghats of Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in South (Toda & Erula tribes in Nilgiri Hills) in the South and from North Eastern States (Thangkul Naga, Bodo, Konyak & Dimasha tribes) to the desert of Rajasthan and Rann of Kuchh (Bhil, Garasia, Rathwa, Gamit tribes ) in the West. There is fabulous collection of tribal paintings mainly Saura from Orissa, Gond from Madhya Pradesh, Warli from Maharashtra and Pithora from Gujarat.

From a single store in 1999 at Delhi, now TRIFED has established a chain of 42 retail outlets out of which 29 are its own outlets across the country besides tie-ups with as many as 13 State level Emporiums. The idea is to provide opportunities to the tribal artisans of the country to market their products on a sustained basis. TRIFED plans to expand this network to other cities as well, so as to provide a larger market for tribal products.

In pursuance of the above objectives of TRIFED and for having a wider impact of our operations, TRIFED plans to scale up the Retail Marketing Activities for achieving a  sale  goal of  Rs.40 Crores in the current financial year and Rs.100 Crores by the end of next financial year, through sustained efforts of ramping up supply and creation of demand, with a purpose of benefitting maximum number of tribal artisans through association and expertise of Central/State Departments/Organisations/ Agencies/reputed NGOs working with tribal artisans.

18-Aug-2017: TRIFED celebrates World Honey Bee Day

To create awareness about Beekeeping and uses of its products including Honey, Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) is celebrating World Honey Bee Day (WHBD) on 19.08.2017 in the Country and on 18.08.2017 at all its Regional Offices and 43 Retails Outlets spread in the country. The main theme of celebrating WHBD is to save Indian honey bee.

Beekeeping has been useful in pollination of crops, thereby, increasing income of the farmers/beekeepers by way of increasing crop yield and providing honey and other beehive products, viz. royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis, bees wax, etc. that serves a source of livelihood for rural poor. Therefore, honeybees/ beekeeping has been recognised as one of the important inputs for sustainable development of agriculture/ horticulture.

TRIFED is an apex organisation at National Level and functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs. TRIFED is serving the interests of Tribes, who are engaged in collection of NTFP and making of Tribal Art & Handicraft Products for their livelihood so as to ensure better remunerative price for their products as well as for the socio-economic betterment through Self Help Groups, Empanelled NGOs, State level Tribal Development Corporations, Forest Development Corporations for undertaking marketing development of the tribal products.

Honey, being an important Minor Forest Produce, TRIFED is playing and lead role in protecting, promoting and multiplication of Honey Bees by Scientific, Non-destructive collection practices, thereby increasing the livelihood of tribal people living in various forest areas of the country, contributing to the growth of Honey Bees population and reducing the mortality rate of Honey Bees drastically. About 90% of the Scheduled Tribes of the country live in and around forest areas and the forests provide 60% of the food & medicinal needs of tribes and 40% of their income from Minor Forest Produce (MFP) mostly of which come from Honey.