New Delhi: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has now decided to sell the famous tribal products and other related local art and craft items made by the tribals of Orissa in order to link them directly with the potential online buyers.
The ministry has communicated its decision to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries to ensure that the tribal products from Orissa are now made available at the Union government-owned e-market portal known as government e-market (GeM) to increase their selling potential.
According to the ministry officials, they have decided to bring all the locally renowned products from Orissa online to increase their demand and visibility across the world. “We have decided to put products like Saura paintings, Dhokra works, tussar silk sarees, Bomkai sarees and several other products from Orissa on the portal to let the Internet-friendly buyers pick their favourite tribal products from the state,” Pravir Krishna, MD of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Ltd (TRIFED) told Orissa POST.
Krishna also informed that these products which would be put online for sale would be ‘government-certified’ for genuineness. These products are also likely to be procured directly by the Union government from the tribals either at individual level through widespread NGOs or selected Self Help Groups.
According to the plan, the government will first certify the tribal products from their side to give them a tag of authenticity. They will be sold under the label ‘Tribes India’ where the government claims that products under these tags will undergo multiple checks to ensure credibility of the genuineness of these products while attempts will also be made to keep the prices affordable for the buyers on the e-platform.
Orissa tribal products are now available at different outlets across the country. Once e-sales pick up, Tribes India products will have nation-wide and global reach.
Tribal traders from Orissa who have earlier worked with the ministry to sell their products outside Orissa claim that the government tagging helps them in selling the products in a better and broader way.
“These quality checks and tagging from the government side help the urban population trust our products. We have already received some help from the government through Tribes India outlets. We are hopeful that after our products are sold online we can witness a spike in our sales,” said 25-year-old Prakash Pradhan, a tribal artist from Phulwani distrit of Orissa.
The government claims that products are likely to go online from December 15. However, some delay might occur on account of some inter-ministerial formalities.
Manish Kumar, OP
