Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey today informed in Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is providing financial assistance under the schemes of Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM) and Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) for establishment of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras. As on date, under the PMJVM scheme, 4,172 VDVKs have been sanctioned, associating 12.48 lakh tribal members, while under PM JANMAN 540 VDVKs have been sanctioned associating around 0.46 Lakh tribal members across the country.

The financial support provided for VDVKs includes support for raw materials, training and capacity building, tool kits and machinery, packaging and branding, transportation, storage, etc., to establish them as viable enterprises for livelihood generation among tribal communities.

Under the PMJVM scheme, TRIFED also undertakes empanelment of tribal artisans/ producers and procurement of various tribal products from them for generating livelihood opportunities for tribal communities. The empanelled suppliers comprise individual tribal artisans, tribal SHGs and NGOs/Agencies/Cooperatives/Organisations working with the tribals. TRIFED undertakes retail marketing of their tribal products through its 116 TRIBES India Outlets, E-Commerce platforms & Exhibitions like Aadi Mahotsav, Aadi Bazaar etc. across the country. TRIFED has designed and developed its own in-house ecommerce platform www.tribesindia.com targeted towards both domestic and international customers. Currently, around 6,000 products are live on the new Tribes India Website and more are in the process of being added. Besides, more than 1000 tribal products are being sold through Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.

As on date, under the PMJVM scheme, out of the total sanctioned VDVKs, 2,817 VDVKs have been reported to be operationalized, with reported sales of Rs. 15,829.88 lakhs; while under the VDVK component of PM JANMAN scheme, out of the total sanctioned VDVKs, 491 VDVKs have been reported to be operationalized, with reported sales of Rs. 527.37 lakh.

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