Govt launches National Resource Centre “Vanjeevan” for Tribal Livelihood

The Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Jasvantsinh Bhabhor on Thursday launched the ambitious programme– “Vanjeevan”, a National Resource Centre (NRC) for Tribal Livelihood issues in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The programme is a collaborative project of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs with UNDP and National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC).

The aim of the programme is to identify the local resources, keeping in view the existing skill level in order to facilitate the fullest utilization of funds under various Government programmes and promote entrepreneurship among tribal people across the country.

Addressing the occasion, Bhabhor said, “Vanjeevan will act as a platform for livelihood mapping, skill gap analysis for the all round development of the tribal people across the country. It will be knowledge hub for providing consolidation of best livelihood and entrepreneurship models for the tribal entrepreneurship development.”

“Entrepreneurship can play a key role in generating employment, eradicating poverty and exploitation of natural resources for the economic development of tribal people”, the Minister added.

The programme will be implemented in Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Telangana in the first phase. In the second phase the programme will be implemented in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Tripura.

The NRC will serve as an apex central institution within Ministry of Tribal Affairs to act as research and technical hub for the socio-economic development of tribal communities through comprehensive interaction of the three Es—employment, employability, and entrepreneurship.

The launching programme was followed by a workshop on “Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Landscape in Tribal Areas, which will end on Friday.

Eminent personalities such as Odisha SC. & ST. Development Minister, Lal Bihari Himirika; SC. & ST. Development Secretary, Government of Odisha, Surendra Kumar; former Union Tribal Secretary Hrusikesh Panda; former Secretary of Planning Commission, N.C. Saxena; Asst Country Director, UNDP Alaka Narang ; renowned educationist and founder of KITT University & KISS Foundation, Bhubaneswar Dr. Achyuta Samanta and other experts as well as senior officials of Centre and State Governments were present on the occasion.