India government asked IITs to teach business to tribals

 

The Indian government has arranged training programmes for Tribal through India’s premier Institute including IIT Kanpur to upgrade the skill of tribal entrepreneurs to help them build their enterprise by commercializing their products.

Though skill development and training for tribals is nothing new, it is for the first time that reputed institute like IIT will train tribals on various aspects of business and entrepreneurship development.

The program titled “Tech for Tribals” is aimed at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through SHGs operating through Van Dhan Kendras (VDVKs). It aims to transform 5 crores, Tribal Entrepreneurs, by capacity building and imparting entrepreneurship skills to tribal forest produce gatherers
Under this initiative, TRIFED (The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India) has tied up with reputed national institutions mainly IIT, Kanpur; Art of Living, Bangalore; TISS, Mumbai; KISS, Bhubaneswar; Vivekananda Kendra, Tamil Nadu and SRIJAN, Rajasthan, for conducting Vandhan-ESDP Training Programs in the tribal States. ‘Tech for Tribals is a unique’ program to make tribals of India “Aatmanirbhar”, focusing to bridge the gap between tribal entrepreneurs and urban markets, said a senior officer of the Tribal Ministry.
The beneficiaries will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions. The training will focus on various facets of micro-enterprise creation, management and functioning. The training module developed by IIT, Kanpur will be disseminated among beneficiaries in a phased manner through various modes like online lectures and training, online activities and gradually move to face to face interactions in classrooms, practical, onsite visits and exposure visits, The Tribal Ministry said.
The training will comprise of exposure through onsite demos on best practices in manufacturing, Total Quality, Hygiene, and standards to be followed in the market. The relevant branding and implementation of best in class packaging solutions are expected to add value to the indigenous Minor Forest Produces and subsequently propagating entrepreneurship among the tribals. The expected outcome shall be successful, aspiring and confident tribal entrepreneurs ready to compete with the best products in the market with feasible business plans.
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