• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd (TRIFED), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, has entered into a strategic partnership with Rooftop to facilitate tribal businesses. 

• It is a significant move to transcend from business-to-consumer (B2C) to business-to-business (B2B) approach for tribal marketing. 

• The principal objective of the MoU is to aid the skill enhancements of the tribal artisans.

• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on February 24 in New Delhi, marking a pivotal step in facilitating the implementation of the B2B approach and augmentation of the tribal product market.

• Rooftop is an innovative platform that offers art workshops and events, both virtually and in-person, to foster creativity and learning. It connects art enthusiasts with expert artists and teachers, making art accessible to everyone. Rooftop provides engaging, high-quality content that inspires creativity and personal growth, catering to individuals of all skill levels and backgrounds.

What is the role of TRIFED?

• India has the second-largest tribal population in the world. As per the Census 2011, the tribal population constitutes about 8.9 per cent of the total population in India. 

• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) was established in 1987. 

• It is a national-level apex organisation functioning under the administrative control of the ministry of tribal affairs. TRIFED has its head office in New Delhi and 14 regional offices across the country.

• TRIFED aims for socio-economic development of tribals of the country by institutionalising the trade of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) collected/cultivated by them. 

• It plays the dual role of both a market developer and a service provider, empowering them with knowledge and tools to better their operations in a systematic, scientific manner and also assist them in developing their marketing approach.

• It is involved actively in capacity building of the tribal people through sensitisation and the formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs). 

• It also imparts training to Scheduled Tribe artisans and Minor Forest Produce (MFP) gatherers.

• TRIFED has been striving to ameliorate the condition of the distressed and affected tribal people by putting in place several path-breaking initiatives, in addition to its existing flagship programmes and implementations. 

• The organisation assists in exploring and creating opportunities to market the developed products in national and international markets on a sustainable basis. 

• TRIBES India is the brand under which the sourced handcrafted products from the tribal people are sold. There are TRIBES India outlets across the country, making it a sustainable and reliable brand.

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