India 2018

552 India 2018
Plan (SCA to TSP) in June, 2016. These guidelines provide focused approach on
sectoral allocation and revised Inter-State allocation factoring population, area
and outcome based performance as parameters. Further, Inter-District allocation
is also clearly spelt out. Major ST Communities are also given priority.
Conjunctural use with dovetailing of financial resources from ongoing activities
of line department is resorted to ensure larger spatial and higher demographic
coverage. Meetings of Project Appraisal Committee (PAC) have been held during
this year to consider the proposals of 26 state governments under Special Central
Assistance to Tribal Sub-Plan (SCA to TSP), Grants under Article 275(1), and
Development of PVTG scheme.
National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation
With a view to pay a focused attention and accelerate the pace of economic
development of scheduled tribes, the erstwhile National Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes Financial Development Corporation was bifurcated and
National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC)
was set up in April, 2001 under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The NSTFDC has
been granted license under Section 25 of the Companies Act (A Company not
for profit). In order to achieve the mandate set for the NSTFDC, (for undertaking
selfemployment ventures/activities) financial assistance is extended by
NSTFDC to the scheduled tribes, who are having annual family income upto
double the poverty line. NSTFDC also provides financial assistance as grant
for skill and entrepreneurial development of the target group. The financial
assistance is channelized through government owned agencies nominated by
the respective ministries/state governments and union territories
administrations. NSTFDC also provides financial assistance for procurement
and marketing minor forest produce so as to avoid the distress sale of produce/
products by the scheduled tribes.
Eligibility Criteria
The beneficiary (ies) should belong to ST community and annual family income
of the beneficiary (ies) should not exceed double the poverty line (DPL) income
limit (presently DPL is ` 39,500/- per annum for the rural areas and ` 54,500/-
per annum for the urban areas). In the case of Self Help Groups (SHGs), all the
members of the SHG should belong to the ST community having annual family
income upto Double the Poverty line (DPL). Similarly for cooperative society,
loan is extended to the eligible STs through cooperative society having minimum
80 per cent or more STs as member of the said cooperative society. NSTFDC is
implementing following programmes for the economic development of STs.
Term loan is provided for income generating activities. Marketing Support
Assistance is provided for financial support for meeting the working capital
requirement of the central/state government owned agencies and national level
federations for undertaking procurement and/or marketing of minor forest
produce/agricultural produce collected/ grown by the STs and /or related
product/services. Marketing support assistance extended to the beneficiaries