TRIFED of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with its Van Dhan Vikas Kendras is driving the socio-economic development of the tribal population in the North East. In a Webinar organised by Press Information Bureau, Guwahati in collaboration with TRIFED, on the topic ‘Success Stories: Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana- driving Atmanirbhar Bharat for Tribal Communities in North East’ here today, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda;Chief Minister of Sikkim, Sh Prem Singh Tamang; Secretary, Tribal Affairs, Shri Deepak Khandekar ;senior officials from nodal departments of North -eastern states , partners of TRIFED and officers of TRIFEDamong others discussed about the potential and role of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras from entrepreneurial and policy perspective. MoS, Tribal Affairs, Smt Renuka Singh Saruta; Chairperson Trifed, Sh R C Meena; Vice Chairperson TRIFED Smt Pratibha Brahma were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Arjun Munda said that Central Government initiatives are bringing paradigm shift in entrepreneurship and help meet the aspirations of the youth in North East.He emphasised on the importance of market accessibility and said that products of the tribal areas are environment friendly. Union Minister said that creating demand in global market is important along with quality value added products . He said that the Prime Minister is particularly interested in exploring the potential ofthe North-East. North East region has unique natural resources and this has to be leveraged for making products which would be competitive in global market place, he added. Shri Munda said that the export of products from tribal areas should be encouraged and has huge potential from perspective of employment. In this webinar platform, appreciating the efforts of Sikkim people, in a unique gesture Union Minister launched 80 Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Kendras of Sikkim with well wishes to them.
Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri Prem Singh Tamang, appreciated the efficacy of the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana and said that its advantages have a correlation to the socio-economic development of the region.
Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Deepak Khandekar said that the programme is a Game-Changer in the North East with Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana driving Atma-Nirbhar Bharat as ‘Engines of Growth’ for Tribal Communities in North East.
In a detailed discussion, MD, TRIFED Shri Pravir Krishna said that ‘Van Dhan Yojana’ is a Market Linked Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Program for forming clusters of tribal SHGs and strengthening them into Tribal Van Dhan Kendras. This is for promoting enterprise by developing clusters of tribal SHGs and strengthening them into Van Dhan Vikas Kendras of 300 members each. It’s objective is to take the ‘MSP for MFP program’ to the next level through establishing tribal enterprises, generating livelihoods leading to income enhancement. It is a program for gathering, value addition, processing, packaging, branding and retail-marketing for MFP products through tribal entrepreneurs.
The Webinar which had vast galaxy of dignitaries, which included Shri Suresh Gupta, Chief Secretary, Sikkim; Shri N. Darlong, Secretary, Tribal Welfare Dept., Tripura; Shri Anden Konyak, Secretary, DUDA, Nagaland and Shri Kathi Chishi, Secretary TOKA MPCS, Nagaland. With Optimism, the dignitaries provided a perspective on the implementation of Van Dhan Kendras in the North-East. They said that the Value-added products such as hill brooms, wild honey, candles and ointments made of rock beeswax, bamboo bottles, aloe vera soaps, amla murabba (gooseberries) are providing income and employment opportunities for tribal communities.
The two hours Knowledge cum Informative session had State Nodal Department/State Implementing Agencies of NE States for TRIFED. The experts from each North East states explained their Strategy and how the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana is driving Atma-Nirbhar Bharat for Tribal Communities in North East. They also provided their feedback as how Van Dhan Vikas Kendras are making a difference in socio-economic development of the Tribal Communities.
Smt Nanu Bhasin, ADG, PIB (HQs) New Delhi welcomed all the participants in the discussion. Shri SN Pradhan, ADG(North East Region), PIB Imphal; Shri Arimardan Singh ADG, PIB (Jharkhand) were also present on the occasion.The entire webinar was organised jointly by PIB, Guwahati and TRIFED.
