Why in News?

• The central government is set to launch a Mahua-based alcoholic beverage ‘Mahua Nutribeverage’ in the market for the first time.
• The beverage has a high nutritional value and relatively low alcohol content (5%). This is the first time that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is getting into bottling and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Key Points:

• It has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in collaboration with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
• TRIFED has signed a memorandum with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to undertake the assignment of technology transfer to the suitable entrepreneurs for production and marketing of the beverage.
• The marketing is being undertaken under the Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram.
• Besides mahua, other tribal staples such as tamarind and amla will be de-seeded and brought to the market in the form of candies and jams.

About Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram:

• It is Tribal Affairs Ministry’s value-addition scheme which was launched in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur in 2018.
• The nation-wide programme earmarked ₹500-600 crore for training tribal clusters to add value to their produce and sell it in a packaged format, aiming to increase their income manifold.
• The products marketed under the scheme include only those that need primary-level processing, including handicrafts, textiles, food items, jams and pulps and jewellery.

About Mahua:

• It is a prominent forest tree in tribal areas Chhattisgarh and plays an important role in the Rural Economy.
• The mahua flowers are a rich source of sugars and are said to contain vitamins, minerals and calcium. The flowers are also fermented and distilled yielding spirituous liquor also known as ‘country beer’.

• An estimated 90% of the annual production of Mahua flower is used in the process of brewing beverages.