The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) recently celebrated its 33rd Foundation Day. On this occasion, it also launched its virtual office, demonstrating a significant step towards digital transformation. This event has brought TRIFED into the limelight, which is worth understanding in more detail.
Launching the Virtual Office
On August 6th 2020, TRIFED celebrated its 33rd Foundation Day and as part of the celebrations, it unveiled its own virtual office. The virtual office is equipped with 81 online workstations, with 100 additional workstations converging from various State agencies. These workstations aim to streamline the work process for TRIFED team members, enabling them to cooperate efficiently with partners across the country to bring the tribal people closer to mainstream development.
The virtual office also features an Employee Engagement and Work Distribution Matrix with Dashboard Links. This tool enables the organization to monitor employee engagement and align their efforts effectively.
Triggering Factors
The influence of the Covid-19 pandemic has been profound, affecting all aspects of life, including shopping, banking, and working. As a result, many institutions and organizations have transitioned to online platforms. Following this trend, TRIFED’s decision was driven by its mission to promote tribal commerce and link village-based tribal producers and artisans to national and international markets through state-of-the-art e-platforms, benchmarked to international standards.
About the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India
TRIFED was established in 1987 under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as the national nodal agency. It was registered under the then Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984. The federation began operations in 1988 in New Delhi, aiming to improve the socio-economic development and welfare of tribal people. Moreover, it strives to empower tribal individuals with knowledge, tools, and information to boost their capacity building.
The federation’s core functions include Minor Forest Produce (MFP) Development and Retail Marketing and Development, and it undertakes various initiatives for the welfare of tribal people.
Key Initiatives and Roles
One of TRIFED’s significant breakthroughs was the launch of its first retail outlet, TRIBES INDIA, in New Delhi in 1999. This initiative marked the beginning of procurement and marketing of tribal art and craft items, providing a platform to tribal artisans that had been previously missing.
TRIFED also organised the Van Dhan Internship Programme, designed to enhance the output of the Van Dhan Yojana. Additionally, it launched a transformational Tech For Tribals program in partnership with Institutes of National Importance (INIs) to foster Tribal entrepreneurship.
The TRIFOOD Scheme, another collaboration between the Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and TRIFED, promotes value addition to MFP.
To ensure fair returns to forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes (STs) and other traditional forest dwellers, the mechanism for Marketing of MFP through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP was implemented in 2013.
Moreover, in association with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), TRIFED has organised a Webinar on Covid-19 Response. Through this webinar, TRIFED Trainers and Self Help Groups (SHGs) received orientation on Covid-19 response and preventive measures.