Replying to an un-starred question of Dr Sikander Kumar , the Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey stated in a written reply in Rajya Sabha that Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) & National Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation (NSTFDC) are the two major entities under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs which are engaged in promoting self-employment among the tribal communities across the country including Himachal Pradesh.

Under the scheme of ‘Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)’, TRIFED envisions to strengthen tribal entrepreneurship initiatives and to facilitate livelihood opportunities by promoting more efficient, equitable, self-managed, optimum use of natural resources, Agri / Minor Forest Produce (MFPs) / Non-farm produce. Under the scheme, financial support of INR 15.00 lakhs is provided to the State Governments for setting up of each Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs) which are the centres of value addition activities of MFPs/Non-MFPs. Till date, 4 VDVKs have been sanctioned in Himachal Pradesh associating 1,110 beneficiaries.

National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, provides credit linkage by extending concessional loans to the eligible Scheduled Tribe persons for undertaking income generation activities/ self-employment under its various schemes. During the last five years, NSTFDC has disbursed an amount of Rs. 1.17 cr to 159 tribal beneficiaries in Himachal Pradesh under various schemes of NSTFDC.

An amount of Rs. 13.69 crores have been released in the last two years to the State Government of Himachal Pradesh under the scheme of DhartiAabaJanjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA). The Ministry of Tribal Affairs identifies the gaps in the socio-economic indicators of tribal communities including women and children through GatiShakti Portal and implements various schemes including DA-JGUA for addressing the same.

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(Release ID: 2147321)