December 29, 2023, Chennai: National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,today signed an MoU for the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Abhiyaan (PMJANMAN)Scheme in Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) habitations. The partnership is a strategic plan to converge efforts towards attaining the vocational education and skilling component under the scheme.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, MSDE, said, “in the quest for an equitable society, skilling will play a transformational role in upgrading the livelihood opportunities of the tribal groups. The arts, crafts and culture of these groups have been celebrated for ages, but the PMJANMAN scheme will bring it to the centre stage to be experienced by all and to be part of it. In this context, the vision of the scheme draws no parallel and I am thankful that MSDE will play such a crucial role to bring it to life”.
As part of the MoU, TRIFED, which is the nodal agency appointed for implementing PVTGs Van Dhan VikasKendras (VDVKs) by the Ministry of Tribal affairs under the scheme, will facilitate the coordination with State Implementation Agencies (SIAs) for mobilization of community to form VDVKs, provide tools and equipment, map VDVKs as per the list of PVTGs habitations and share knowledge on possible areas of economic activities for establishing sustainable VDVKs.
NIESBUD, on the other hand, will undertake mobilization for formation of aggregated groups, assess the training needs of respective VDVKs, develop training modules as per assessment and conduct training through identified training institutions or mentoring agencies. The training provided by NIESBUD will focus on financial literacy, value addition through use of upgraded equipment, creating market linkages and development of business acumen amongst the target groups.
The PMJANMAN scheme will equip the PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities. With a total outlay of Rs.24,104 crore, an amount of Rs.15,000 crore will be made available to implement the Mission in the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes (DAPST).