Bhubaneswar : Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor on 22 December launched the national resource centre for tribal livelihood – Vanjeevan which is considered a landmark decision for entrepreneurial development of tribals.
This prestigious project is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) and UNDP.
In the first phase, it is envisioned to identify problems related to livelihood issues in selected districts of six States, including Odisha, having low human development index of scheduled tribes (STs). Bhabhor said the resource centre will work on tribal livelihood in all sectors which contribute to economic development in tribal areas. ”It will involve livelihood mapping and skill gap analysis, knowledge hub on tribal livelihood and solution exchange of community practices leading to evidence-based policy briefs and synthesis of e-discussions, training and capacity development,” he said.
STs constitute 8.6 per cent of the country’s population, representing an enormous diversity of groups. Entrepreneurship can play a pivotal role in generating employment, eradicating poverty and exploitation of natural resources for economic development in tribal areas, Bhabhor said.
The resource centre, which will concentrate in 12 States in two phases, would cater to the development and promotion of sustainable livelihood avenues through entrepreneurship and skill up-gradation.
ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Lal Bihari Himrika said around 1.24 lakh youths have received placement-linked skill development training on different trades in the last three years of which 52,000 are from SC/ST community.
Among others, SC&ST Development Department Secretary Surendra Kumar, former Union Tribal Affairs secretary Hrushikesh Panda and former secretary of Planning Commission NC Saxena also spoke.
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