V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Union Minister of Tribal
Affairs and Panchayati Raj inaugurated the Silver Jubilee celebration of
the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India
Limited (TRIFED) here today. In his inaugural address, Sheri Deo said
there is a need to concentrate on Minor Forest Produce, termed as
Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) by TRIFED. The NTFP has significant
economic and social value for the forest dwellers. He said that Central
Government has enacted two major legislations, namely PESA and FRA to
empower the forest dwellers. He further that said the Minimum Support
Price Scheme for NTFPs is in the offing and Central Government will
provide financial support for procurement, creation of enabling
infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also provide
subsidy to State level agencies in case they incur any loss in the
transaction so that they do not hesitate from procurement of NTFPs from
tribals, a major source of income for tribals. The TRIFED has an
important role as the nodal agency for implementation of this scheme, in
order to translate the objectives of these Acts into reality. He said
Central Govt. will provide financial support for procurement, creation
of enabling infrastructure, training for sustainable harvesting and also
provide subsidy to State level agencies in case they incur any loss in
the transaction so that they do not hesitate from procurement of NTFPs
from tribals, a major source of income for tribals.
The Minister said the Silver Jubilee function of TRIFED’ provides us
an opportunity to take stock of the situation, ponder over the future
challenges and redefine the role for the organization in the rapidly
changing environment. He said that TRIFED was started in August1987 with
the main objective of providing marketing support for the tribal
products so that remunerative prices can be ensured to the tribals for
the products collected/cultivated by them. TRIFED’s effort to build
“TRIBES INDIA” as a brand needs special mention as it provided tribal
handicrafts and textile products a distinct identity in the market. The
TRIFED has been consistently growing in terms of sales and from a single
store in 1999 at Delhi now TRIBES India network has covered 16 States
with 26 stores and still expanding. The Minister expressed his support
to TRIFED and expressed the hope that TRIFED would emerge as a big and
successful organization.
Shri Mahadeo Singh Khandela, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Dr.
Rameswar Oraon, Chairman, ST Comission, Smt. Vibha Puri Das, Secretary
of the Ministry and Jiji Thomson, MD, TRIFED were also present in the
function. Eminent Gandhian, Dr. Abhay Basng delivered a lecture on
tribal issue on the occasion.
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