TRIBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA: ROLE OF NATIONAL SCHEDULED TRIBES FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

A significant proportion of India's tribal population lives in isolated regions with limited access to capital, markets, infrastructure, and technology. They continue to rely on informal financing sources with high interest rates and onerous terms. The government implemented numerous programmes to boost entrepreneurship and raise income levels in order to address their livelihood concerns. In this context, the present study examines the role of government financial and marketing assistance in the development of tribal entrepreneurship. The study relied on both primary and secondary data gathered from 15 Indian states. Majority of the beneficiaries' projects were physically inspected for evaluation purposes. The findings of the study suggest that the three NSTFDC income-generation schemes have had mixed results in terms of offering livelihood options to Scheduled Tribes (STs). These programmes have shown to be quite beneficial to tribals in some states, but not in others, suggesting that the state governments can harness the hidden entrepreneurial skills of tribal people by providing only small financial, technical, and marketing support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]