SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has been sanctioned 100 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras under the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Vikas Mission, associating 29,791 tribal members, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs told Parliament on Wednesday.
The figure was supplied in a written reply by Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey to a question by Rajinder Gupta in the Rajya Sabha. The reply said the sanctioned Kendras in Jammu and Kashmir form part of a national effort that has approved 4,105 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras so far, associating 12,27,231 beneficiaries under the PMJVM scheme.
The ministry reported that Van Dhan Vikas Kendras under PMJVM have recorded cumulative sales of Rs 13,793.97 lakh to date. Under the related Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan initiative, 539 Kendras have been sanctioned, associating 45,924 members and reporting sales totalling Rs 386.04 lakh.
Rajasthan leads with 505 sanctioned Kendras, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 415 and Karnataka with 140, while Jammu and Kashmir’s 100 Kendras place it among mid-ranking regions in terms of sanctioned units. Smaller Union Territories such as Ladakh have 14 Kendras and Lakshadweep 18.
The ministry identified several constraints hampering scheme expansion and tribal engagement. These include overburdened State Implementing Agencies, inadequate skilled human resources, limited infrastructure and funding for Kendras, and insufficient marketing opportunities that restrict promotion and outreach of tribal products.
To tackle these challenges, the ministry proposed a package of measures, engaging Implementing Support Agencies to relieve State Implementing Agencies, strengthening capacity building, developing value addition mechanisms, providing dedicated funding for packaging and branding, provisioning vehicle facilities for marketing, and onboarding Van Dhan products onto e-market platforms to widen national and global reach.
The Van Dhan Kendras are intended to promote tribal entrepreneurship by aggregating forest and minor forest produce, enabling value addition and improving market access. The ministry said the reported sales figures reflect the Kendras sanctioned and operating so far, while stressing that enhanced marketing support and infrastructure remain priorities to upscale income outcomes for tribal members.
Nationally, the PMJVM tally of 4,105 sanctioned Kendras and 12,27,231 associated beneficiaries underlines the Centre’s push to convert primary tribal produce into higher-value products and expand tribal enterprise.
