New Delhi: Pravir Krishna, an IAS officer of 1987 batch (Madhya Pradesh cadre) is one of the handful bureaucrats to have made it to the list of '50 Most Influential Indian 2020', prepared by Fame India, Asia Post and PSU Watch. Krishna is currently working as Managing Director, The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). Both, his inclusion in the list and MDship of TRIFED have an interconnected reason. Krishna, having worked in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh (then part of undivided Madhya Pradesh) and MP for the bigger part of his career is undoubtedly a most suitable person to drive TRIFED. And his passion to a permanent change in the trade-cycle of forest produces in favour of rightful tribals is visible in his ongoing tenure with TRIFED. Most of the respondents resonated his significant contribution to the value chain of forest produces for tribals.
Before taking over as MD-TRIFED Pravir Krishna was Joint Secretary, Ministry of Shipping. He has also served as a part-time official director at the Shipping Corporation of India Limited and Dredging Corporation of India Limited. Earlier than that he has served as Government Nominee Director of Kamarajar Port Limited from February 23, 2016, until May 1, 2017.
The upliftment of the tribal community as a mission is close to Krishna's heart. "We have to realise that tribal development is not something just providing them with free houses, free cycles, free grains. I mean that's important we don't deny, but I believe that if money is transferred through livelihood generation in areas of forest produce in which they are the masters will make them self-reliant" he says. We have to adapt to a bottom-up approach for their development.
Pravir Krishna, being MD-TRIFED is going to be at the helm of affairs in enacting VanDhan Tribal start-ups. VanDhan Tribal start-up is a livelihood programme for tribal labourers who are returning to their home states amid the Covid-19. As per an estimate of the ministry of tribal affairs, 1.5-2 million people from tribal areas work in different parts of the country. "Loss of livelihood for the labourers is a major issue right now. So we have framed a strategy to provide employment to them. Due to the outbreak, there are very limited options for them at home. This is why we have to ensure that they have a means of livelihood. Organising them in small groups and pushing their products in the market would be our aim," said Krishna in a recently published statement.