NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is organising Aadi Mahotsava 2024 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here in the national capital aiming to empower the tribal community, especially small tribal producers, with the knowledge and skills necessary to establish, maintain and leverage effective B2B (business-to-business) partnerships for sustainable growth and market expansion.
The ‘Aadi Mahotsava 2024’ was inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu earlier on Saturday.
Speaking to ANI, Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda said, “There are many talents that tribals inherit from their tribes and we continuously strive to bring them out, as well as ways to enhance their capabilities and enable them to be successful entrepreneurs.”
“For this purpose, Aadi Mahotsav is being organized here in Delhi and here all the local products and their stalls from other states are set up. The most important b2b discussion is taking place here. This is a better platform to promote our local artists and it is an initiative of the Tribal and Agriculture Ministry,” he added.
Munda further said that the effort is to bring tribal farmers into the mainstream.
“This is an effort to bring tribal farmers into the mainstream. Especially, farmers who reside in high-altitude regions, because the cost of production in those areas is much higher,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pratibha Advani, daughter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani, who paid a visit to the Aadi Mahotsava, told ANI that these platforms provide the producers with an opportunity to showcase their heritage.
“I feel very happy to see that in our country there is so much to showcase. I feel very good about celebrating my culture. I am enjoying shopping. I like Chanderi very much. Right now, I am looking at a Chanderi suit piece. This type of exhibition is very important because, firstly, all of them get a platform to showcase their heritage and it also provides employment opportunities,” Advani said.
Draupadi, a Rajasthan-based artist, expressed gratitude towards the government for providing such opportunities.
“Women in Rajasthan wear lac bangles. They are prepared by melting the lac on a gas stove. I have been fond of handicraft since childhood. So, I have made all these paintings out of waste bangles made of lac. I am very thankful to the government for procuring us such opportunities,” she said while speaking to ANI.
Another artist named Moni Hasda, from West Bengal, said that she never thought of getting such an opportunity to visit Delhi and showcase her talent.
“I make various handmade stall sarees. I never thought of coming to Delhi and showcasing my talent. Many thanks to the Modi government. Within a few days, we have made sales worth one lakh. We are also thinking of expanding our business further,” she said.
“The benefits of all the schemes that the government has launched either at the district level or at the central level for our tribal castes are reaching us. Earlier, we had the problem of the market; our art was limited to home, but today, due to the efforts of the government, we have come this far and we are taking advantage of this market here. Now the day is not very far when we will go to the international market, and for this, we thank the Modi government very much,” said Shaila Rana, an artist from Udhampur, Uttarakhand. (ANI)