Lok Sabha Question No. 4396 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Tribal Entrepreneurship through NSTFDC
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri P C Mohan, Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Shri Damodar Agrawal, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Shri Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao, Dr. Manna Lal Rawat, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shri Captain Brijesh Chowta, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. †4396

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 19 th  MARCH, 2026

## Tribal Entrepreneurship through NSTFDC

## †4396. Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane:

Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao:

Shri Captain Brijesh Chowta:

Shri P C Mohan:

Shri Sudheer Gupta:

Shri Bhojraj Nag:

Dr. Manna Lal Rawat:

Shri Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu:

Shri Damodar Agrawal:

Shri Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao:

Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of tribal entrepreneurs supported through the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) with concessional credit for start-ups during 202526, State-wise and district-wise;
- (b)  the  present  status  of  'Adi  Mahotsav'  organized  by  Tribal  Cooperative  Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) and its transition into a year-round e-commerce model through TRIFED on platforms such as ONDC and GeM, including participation of tribal artisans and Self-Help Groups, State and district-wise;
- (c) the initiatives taken to promote 'Tribal Tourism' particularly Homestays in the North-East, Central  India  and  also  Rajasthan,  Andhra  Pradesh  and  Chhattisgarh  to  provide/ensure sustainable livelihoods while preserving cultural heritage; and
- (d) the measures undertaken to strengthen marketing linkages, digital onboarding and capacity building of tribal producers to ensure sustained income generation under these initiatives?

## ANSWER

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

(a): National Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation (NSTFDC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, provides concessional loans to the eligible  Scheduled  Tribe  persons  for  undertaking  income  generation,  self-employment  and livelihood  activities.  The  loan  assistance  is  given  under  its  various  schemes  like  Term  Loan Scheme,  Adivasi  Mahila  Sashaktikaran  Yojana  (AMSY),  Micro  Credit  Scheme  for  Self  Help

Groups (MCF) and Adivasi Shiksha Rrinn Yojana (ASRY). The detail  of funds  released  and number of beneficiaries assisted under various schemes of NSTFDC during the current year up to 13.03.2026 is given below:

(₹ in lakh)

| Sl.   | No.Name of the State   |   Amount |   No. of beneficiaries |
|-------|------------------------|----------|------------------------|
| 1     | Andhra Pradesh         |     5    |                    750 |
| 2     | Assam                  |     5    |                    341 |
| 3     | Chhattisgarh           |   784.31 |                   3439 |
| 4     | Gujarat                |  2335.64 |                   7831 |
| 5     | Himachal Pradesh       |   232.03 |                    549 |
| 6     | Jammu &Kashmir         |  1522.6  |                    476 |
| 7     | Jharkhand              |   897.53 |                    997 |
| 8     | Karnataka              |    10    |                    390 |
| 9     | Kerala                 |   481.18 |                    718 |
| 10    | Ladakh                 |   779.41 |                     86 |
| 11    | Madhya Pradesh         |  1872.1  |                   1522 |
| 12    | Maharashtra            |  2032.77 |                   1607 |
| 13    | Manipur                |    22.7  |                     20 |
| 14    | Meghalaya              |   433.09 |                   1474 |
| 15    | Mizoram                |  4175.7  |                   1487 |
| 16    | Odisha                 |   153    |                   7524 |
| 17    | Tamil Nadu             |   928.84 |                   6183 |
| 18    | Telangana              |  5450.05 |                  16773 |
| 19    | Tripura                |   615.47 |                    356 |
| 20    | Uttarakhand            |    50.44 |                      9 |
| 21    | West Bengal            |  1343.52 |                   4412 |
|       | Total                  | 24130.4  |                  56944 |

(b):  Under  Pradhan  Mantri  Janjatiya  Vikas  Mission  (PMJVM),  Tribal  Cooperative  Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) organizes promotional events like Adi Mahotsav to provide  tribal  artisans  a  platform  to  directly  sell  their  products,  interact  with  customers  and showcase tribal culture, cuisine and heritage. During the current financial year (till February 2026), two Aadi Mahotsavs have been organized. The details of Aadi Mahotsavs organized during last 3 years is given below:

|   Sl. No | Year       |   No. of Mahotsav Organised | Aadi Places                                                                                                                                                       |
|----------|------------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | 2022- 2023 |                           2 | Indore (15-27 November, 2022) &Delhi 16-27 February, 2023)                                                                                                        |
|        2 | 2023- 2024 |                           4 | Rourkela (7-16 April, 2023), Ahmedabad (24 October- 03 November,2023), Jamshedpur (7-20 October,2023) & Delhi (10- 18 February, 2024)                             |
|        3 | 2024- 2025 |                           5 | Ahmedabad (13-20 October,2024), Chennai (15-24 November,2024), Jaipur (29 November - 08 December,2024), Bhopal (20-30 December,2024 &Delhi (16-24 February, 2025) |

To promote year-round marketing beyond physical events, TRIFED has strengthened its digital outreach through its e-commerce platform www.tribesindia.com, which was relaunched on 10 th June,  2025  with  improved  user  experience  for  domestic  and  international  customers.  At present, around 6,000 products are available on the platform. Further, 1,339 tribal products have been onboarded on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to expand online market access.

(c): Hon'ble Prime Minister launched Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) on  2 nd October,  2024.  The  Abhiyan  comprises  of  25  interventions  implemented  by  17-line Ministries. One such intervention under DAJGUA implemented by the Ministry of Tourism is the Tribal Home Stays under Swadesh Darshan scheme. Under this scheme, 1000 Tribal Home Stays will be supported with up to Rs 5 lakh per unit for new construction, up to Rs 3 lakhs for renovation and Rs 5 lakh for village community requirement in 30 states/UTs across India including NorthEastern and Central India, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

(d): Under PMJVM, TRIFED undertakes various initiatives to strengthen marketing linkages and promote tribal products through physical outlets, exhibitions and digital platforms. Tribal artisans, Self Help Groups and producers are being onboarded on e-commerce platforms including ONDC and Tribes India to enhance market access. Capacity building is also undertaken through training programmes  for  members  of  Van  Dhan  Vikas  Kendras  (VDVKs)  on  value  addition,  product development, packaging and branding to support sustained income generation for tribal producers.

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