Why in News?

• Recently, the Union Minister of Tribal said in the Lok Sabha that 15 lakh rupees per Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) were given under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Vikas Yojna (PMJVM) for the support of livelihood activities of tribal people in the country.

Key Highlights:

• The Van Dhan Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED. It was launched on 14th April 2018 and seeks to improve tribal incomes through the value addition of tribal products.
• Aim : The ultimate objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of the tribal products.

Implementation :

• The scheme will be implemented through the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal Department at the Central Level and TRIFED as Nodal Agency at the National Level.
• At the State level, the State Nodal Agency for MFPs and the District collectors are envisaged to play a pivot role in scheme implementation at the grassroots level.
• A typical Van Dhan Vikas Kendra constitutes 15 tribal Van Dhan Vikas Self Help Groups (SHG) each comprising of upto 30 MFP gatherers or tribal handicraft artisans i.e. about 300 beneficiaries per Kendra.