TRIFED
Also called: Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India, Tribes India · Topic: Safeguards for Vulnerable Sections: SCs, STs, OBCs, Minorities, Women and Children · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
TRIFED stands for the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. It was set up in 1987 as a multi-state cooperative society under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984. A multi-state cooperative society is a body owned by its members that works in more than one state. TRIFED comes under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Its job is to help tribal producers sell what they make, such as textiles, metal crafts, cane and bamboo goods, organic foods, paintings and pottery. Many of these producers do not lack skill. What they lack is buyers. So TRIFED is one of the institutions that put Art. 46 into practice. Art. 46 asks the state to promote the economic interests of Scheduled Tribes "with special care".
Example
In 1999 TRIFED opened its first Tribes India shop in New Delhi. By March 2025 the network had 117 retail outlets, plus the online store tribesindia.com. TRIFED is also the nodal agency (the lead body in charge) for the Van Dhan Yojana, launched on 14 April 2018. Under this scheme, groups of 15 self-help groups, about 300 people in all, process forest produce into goods they can sell.
Don't confuse with
- Tribes India: this is TRIFED's brand of shops and its website. It is not a separate body.
- Statutory body or PSU: TRIFED is neither of these. It was not created by its own Act of Parliament, and it is not a government company. It is a cooperative society.