The Business Conclave of ‘Bharat Tribes Fest 2026’ – a national platform celebrating the rich cultural heritage, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurial spirit of India’s tribal communities, was today inaugurated at Sunday Nursery, New Delhi by Ranjana Chopra, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India (GoI).
Delivering her key-note speech, Smt. Chopra said that the GoI is steadfastly working to bridge the gap between tribal producers and market.“Through initiatives like Bharat Tribe Fest and this Business Conclave, to be held for over the next ten days, we are hoping to tide over certain constraints and also build relationships which will help us to create pathways between the tribal producers and the market.
We are very confident that this will not only help us increase the demand and the supply from the tribal areas, but we are also hopeful that it will help us achieve the ultimate goal and objective of seeing an increase in the income of tribal households.”, said Smt. Chopra.
“The tribal communities will also have to be given their due share and they will also have to pull their weight and make sure that they are able to contribute to this lofty ideal,” she added.Elaborating on the various initiatives taken by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Smt. Chopra cited the restructuring of Aadi Mahotsav to broaden the scope and bring celebration, craft and market linkage on one platform.
“Ministry today is looking at how do we make tribal artisans or tribal producer an important and integral part of the value chain. So, we have restructured Aadi Mahotsav; We are now calling it ‘Bharat Tribes Fest’ as we feel that besides being a mahotsav, a celebration of the tribal culture, this platform is also showcasing their craft and also creating market linkages for the sale and purchase of their crafts.
Restructuring as Bharat Tribe Fest is the first important initiative that Ministry of Tribal Affairs has undertaken,” She noted.Underlining GoI’s deep commitment of strengthening tribal livelihood, Shri Anand Prakash Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India said that the Business Conclave, with more than 50 speakers and 600 delegates, will strengthen the tribal livelihood.
“Government of India remains deeply committed to strengthening tribal livelihood, and which is why we are organizing this Business Conclave as a knowledge platform where we’ll discuss, share ideas, and develop some SOPs and think processes, thought processes, for taking further the commitment towards the tribal growth,” said Shri Pandey.
Terming market linkage essential for uplifting the lives of tribal communities, Shri Pandey termed the Business Conclave as strategic partner and a pillar of Bharat Tribes Fest.“Business Conclave is being envisioned as not only an event, but as a reflection of a larger vision.
This platform serves as a strategic partner and pillar of the Bharat Tribe Fest. There are several challenges we all are aware in terms of access to the market, access to capital, promotion of innovation, technology, bringing technology and investment. All these things will be covered in different days to find out the possible solutions,” Shri Pandey added.
Delivering ‘Vote of Thanks’, Ms. Dipali Masirkar, Director, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India said, “This platform has a lot of potential to generate tangible and measurable outcomes, and this is not just a conclave, but a movement.”
The inauguration session was attended by Ms. Roop Rashi, Additional Secretary and CEO KVIC; Shri Manish Thakur, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Shri Rajamurugan Muthukalathi, Managing Director, TRIFED, along with esteemed guests from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, FICCI and other organizations.
The Bharat Tribes Fest 2026 is being organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The Business Conclave, organized parallelly, is focused on deliberating market linkage and promoting the products and services of tribal entrepreneurs.