Lok Sabha Question No. 6309 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Implementation of Van Dhan Yojana
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind, Smt. Himadri Singh, Shri Kota Srinivasa Poojary, Ms Kangna Ranaut, Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Shri Ravindra Shukla Alias Ravi Kishan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 6309

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 02/04/2026

## IMPLEMENTATION OF VAN DHAN YOJANA

6309. DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND:

SMT. HIMADRI SINGH:

SHRI KOTA SRINIVASA POOJARY:

MS KANGNA RANAUT:

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

SHRI RAVINDRA SHUKLA ALIAS RAVI KISHAN:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and tribal Self-Help Groups established under the Van Dhan Yojana to promote value addition of Minor Forest Produce;
- (b) the initiatives taken for training, processing, branding and marketing of tribal products through the  Tribal  Co-operative  Marketing  Development  Federation  of  India  (TRIFED)  supported networks;
- (c) the steps taken to link tribal products with digital marketplaces and institutional buyers; and
- (d) the impact of the Scheme on income generation for tribal forest produce gatherers and the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a): The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is providing financial assistance under the schemes of Pradhan Mantri  Janjatiya  Vikas  Mission  (PMJVM)  and  Pradhan  Mantri  Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) for establishment of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras. As on date, under the PMJVM scheme, 4,172 VDVKs have been sanctioned, associating 12.48 lakh tribal members, while under PM JANMAN 540 VDVKs have been sanctioned associating around 0.46 Lakh tribal members across the country.

- (b): The financial support provided for VDVKs includes support for raw materials, training and capacity building, tool kits and machinery, packaging and branding, transportation, storage, etc., to establish them as viable enterprises for livelihood generation among tribal communities.
- (c): Under  the  PMJVM  scheme,  TRIFED  also  undertakes  empanelment  of  tribal  artisans/ producers  and  procurement  of  various  tribal  products  from  them  for  generating  livelihood opportunities for tribal communities. The empanelled suppliers comprise individual tribal artisans, tribal SHGs and NGOs/Agencies/Cooperatives/Organisations working with the tribals. TRIFED

undertakes  retail  marketing  of  their  tribal  products  through  its  116  TRIBES  India  Outlets,  ECommerce platforms & Exhibitions like Aadi Mahotsav, Aadi  Bazaar etc. across the country. TRIFED has designed and developed its own in-house ecommerce platform www.tribesindia.com targeted towards both domestic and international customers. Currently, around 6,000 products are live on the new Tribes India Website and more are in the process of being added. Besides, more than 1000 tribal products are being sold through Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.

(d): As on date, under the PMJVM scheme, out of the total sanctioned VDVKs, 2,817 VDVKs have been reported to be operationalized, with reported sales of Rs. 15,829.88 lakhs; while under the VDVK component of PM JANMAN scheme, out of the total sanctioned VDVKs, 491 VDVKs have been reported to be operationalized, with reported sales of Rs. 527.37 lakh.

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