Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : 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, 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, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda on June 28, 2020, 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 were 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 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 ”was organised by TRIFED on June 28, 2020, 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 Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda.
Ramesh Chand Meena, Chairman, TRIFED, Pratibha Brahma, Board Member, TRIFED, Rajeev Kandpal, JS& CFO, GeM, and Nanu Bhasin, ADG, PIB, also attended the launch. The TRIFED team was represented by all the heads of departments and senior officials.
Munda 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.
Munda 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, according to a PIB release.
Munda opined that TRIFED plays a major role in connecting the tribals to the mainstream and congratulated the team for their two major initiatives launched on June 28, 2020. He shared his views on the road ahead for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and “the TRIFED Warriors”.