Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission
An official release highlighted that a large share of India's Scheduled Tribe population depends on Minor Forest Produce (MFP) collection for household income
India's Scheduled Tribe population stands at approximately 10.4 crore, with 20-40% of annual tribal household income historically derived from MFP
The release noted that tribal gatherers have historically sold MFP to middlemen at distress prices, often earning less than the cost of their own labour
The government's Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM), which subsumes the MSP for MFP scheme and the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra programme, was cited as the institutional response to this market failure
Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission (PMJVM)
PMJVM is an umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs that consolidates multiple tribal livelihood interventions — most notably the MSP for MFP mechanism and the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) programme — into a single framework aimed at forward and backward market linkages for tribal producers.
Key Details
- Approved for the 2021-22 to 2025-26 period, with an outlay of approximately ₹1,612 crore over five years
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of Tribal Affairs; principal implementing agency: Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED)
- Provides for setting up Haat Bazars (local tribal markets) and warehouses in addition to MSP procurement and Van Dhan Kendras
- Targets forest-dwelling and forest-dependent Scheduled Tribe households, particularly Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
PMJVM is the consolidated policy vehicle through which the government addresses the distress-price problem described in the release — by guaranteeing a floor price and building tribal-owned value chains so gatherers are not solely dependent on middlemen.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce
The MSP for MFP scheme guarantees a floor price to tribal gatherers for specified minor forest produce items, insulating them from price exploitation by intermediaries and market fluctuation, on the same policy logic as agricultural MSP but applied to non-timber forest produce.
Key Details
- Launched in 2013-14, initially covering 10 MFP items in 9 states; expanded over subsequent years and now covers 87 MFP items across all States/UTs
- Implemented by TRIFED in coordination with State-level agencies (e.g., minor forest produce federations) which undertake procurement at the notified MSP
- MSP is revised periodically based on market prices, and procurement is backed by a price-support mechanism to prevent distress sales
- MFP items include tendu leaves, mahua flowers, sal seeds, honey, lac, and various medicinal/aromatic plant produce
The MSP for MFP mechanism is the direct policy tool that counters the "distress price below cost of labour" problem the release describes — it fixes a guaranteed floor price so tribal collectors are not forced to accept whatever middlemen offer.
Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) Scheme
VDVK is a retail-marketing and value-addition scheme under which tribal MFP gatherers are organised into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) that are federated into clusters, enabling primary processing, packaging, and branding of forest produce for higher realisation than raw sale.
Key Details
- Launched on 14 April 2018 (Ambedkar Jayanti) at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, jointly by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED
- Standard model: 10 SHGs of ~30 tribal gatherers each (300 members) form one Van Dhan Vikas Kendra cluster
- Combines traditional tribal knowledge with technology-driven value addition (grading, processing, packaging) before market sale, often under the "Tribes India" brand
- Over 4,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been established, covering over 12 lakh tribal beneficiaries nationally since 2019-20
VDVK operationalises the "beyond MSP" part of the solution — instead of selling raw MFP, tribal SHGs process and add value locally, capturing a larger share of the final market price rather than only the floor procurement price.
Institutional and Constitutional Context — Tribal Welfare Framework
Tribal welfare schemes such as PMJVM operate within a broader constitutional and statutory architecture protecting tribal rights over forest resources, most significantly the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Key Details
- PESA, 1996 extends Panchayati Raj to Fifth Schedule Scheduled Areas and vests Gram Sabhas with the right to be consulted on, and in several states to manage, minor forest produce
- The Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognises Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights, giving Gram Sabhas a role in the sustainable use and marketing of MFP from community forest land
- Article 275(1) of the Constitution provides for grants-in-aid to states for tribal welfare schemes, including Scheduled Areas administered under the Fifth Schedule
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs periodically issues consolidated data on tribal welfare scheme coverage, including PMJVM, in Parliament and through official releases
The release's framing of MFP as a livelihood pillar for tribal households situates PMJVM within this larger rights-based architecture — PESA and FRA establish tribal ownership/consultation rights over MFP, while PMJVM provides the market mechanism (MSP plus value addition) to realise fair income from that resource.
- Scheduled Tribe population of India: approximately 10.4 crore (Census-based estimate)
- Share of tribal annual income from MFP: 20-40%
- MSP for MFP scheme: launched 2013-14 with 10 items in 9 states; now covers 87 MFP items across all States/UTs
- PMJVM outlay: approximately ₹1,612 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26
- Van Dhan Vikas Kendra: launched 14 April 2018, Bijapur (Chhattisgarh); standard cluster = 10 SHGs x 30 members = 300 tribal gatherers
- Implementing agency: TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs