Agartala: The indigenous communities of Tripura and other states of the Northeast have a huge potential of homegrown products that can be marketed globally with value addition, the chief general manager of National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), J.K. Mahanta, said here on Thursday.

The corporation is a central public sector undertaking under the ministry of small and medium enterprises. Earlier this year, it had started a National Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe Hub, a subsidiary body to focus on development of entrepreneurs from the two reserved categories. To develop entrepreneurship among the indigenous communities, the hub will figure out ways to collaborate with state governments.

In a news meet at the Agartala Press Club in the afternoon, Mahanta said vocational training programmes for a host of trades were started in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council areas two years ago.

Over 1,200 youths from the ST category have been trained so far and many of them have gained sustainable self-employment. Another 800 are undergoing training as electricians, masons, fashion designers and carpenters, among other trades.

A conclave, the first in the Northeast, will be held in Tripura on Friday to popularise the NSIC programmes of training, value addition and marketing.

On the prospects of entrepreneurship among the indigenous communities of Tripura, he said the state held a huge potential and added that traditional handloom and handicrafts of the state have a potential for the international market.

Asked if self-help groups (SHGs) and other cooperatives formed by the state government to introduce self-employment among the indigenous communities have failed, he declined to comment.

The NSIC has organised a series of conclaves for popularisation of its entrepreneurship programmed in Lucknow, Bangalore, Agra and abroad, including China.