TRIFED officials pose for a photo during a seminar held at the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Lalmati, Guwahati, on November 4.
Guwahati, November 4 (MExN): The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED), Regional Office, North Eastern Region, Guwahati, organised a seminar and workshop on “Livelihood and Enterprise Development through MFP/VDVK” at the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Lalmati, Guwahati, on November 4 as part of the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas Pakhwada 2026 celebrations.
The programme was attended by M Rajamurugan, IPS, Managing Director, TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, as the chief guest.
The guests of honour included Hemanta Pegu, Additional Secretary, Department of Tribal Affairs, Government of Assam; Pritam Dutta, Director, MoSDE-cum-Director, IIE, Guwahati; Shanngam Shaliwo, IFS, Forest Department, Government of Manipur; and R Bendang Ao, Managing Director, MACOFED, Government of Nagaland, along with other stakeholders from the North Eastern Region.
The seminar focused on promoting sustainable livelihoods, strengthening tribal entrepreneurship and enhancing income opportunities through value addition and marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) under the Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK) initiative.
During the second session, expert presentations were delivered on three themes. Dr Hemanta Rabha, Training and Capacity Building Specialist, AITEC&CSD Society, Government of Assam, spoke on “Livelihood and Enterprise Development through MFP/VDVK”.
Prof Vimal Pant of the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) delivered a session on “Food Processing, Packaging and Labelling for Tribal Products”, while Subhrangshu Pallai, Regional Manager, State Bank of India, Regional Office, Guwahati, spoke on “Financial and Digital Literacy”.
The programme witnessed the participation of more than 200 VDVK members and tribal artisans from various states of the North Eastern Region, providing a platform for knowledge sharing, capacity building and interaction among tribal entrepreneurs and institutional stakeholders.
The initiative reaffirmed TRIFED's commitment to empowering tribal communities through skill development, enterprise promotion, value addition, financial inclusion and improved market access, with the aim of strengthening the tribal livelihood and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the North Eastern Region.
