This Diwali, Chhattisgarh's forests are being unwrapped as gifts. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai today launched the 'Chhattisgarh Herbals' Diwali gift pack at Chief Minister's Residence, Civil Lines, Raipur — a curated collection of herbal and local products handcrafted by women self-help groups (SHGs) linked to Van Dhan Vikas Kendras across the state.

The initiative turns forest produce into festive retail. Tribal women collectors and SHG members have packaged locally sourced herbal products into attractive gift sets, giving Chhattisgarh's rich minor forest produce a market-ready face just ahead of the country's biggest gifting season.

Forest wealth packaged for the market

Speaking at the launch, CM Sai made the economic logic explicit: 'छत्तीसगढ़ की समृद्ध वन संपदा हमारे लाखों वनवासी परिवारों की आजीविका का महत्वपूर्ण आधार है' ('Chhattisgarh's rich forest wealth is the vital livelihood base for our millions of forest-dwelling families'). He said his government's focus is on ensuring that value addition of forest produce happens within the state itself, so that the direct economic benefit flows back to the collectors and the women's groups who process it — not to middlemen elsewhere.

The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras at the heart of this scheme were established under the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana, launched in 2018 by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs through TRIFED. The yojana was designed precisely to address a chronic problem: tribal communities collect minor forest produce but rarely capture its full value because processing and branding happen far from the source. The Kendras were meant to fix that by building local processing capacity. The Chhattisgarh Herbals Diwali pack is that policy vision made tangible and sellable.

Why Diwali timing matters for tribal livelihoods

Timing the launch to Diwali is no accident. The festive gifting market is one of the largest and most predictable consumer surges in India's annual calendar. By positioning herbal forest products as premium, culturally resonant gifts, the state is attempting to plug tribal SHGs into a demand channel that corporate brands have long monopolised. If the packaging and distribution hold up, this is a direct income event for participating women's groups — not a promise of future benefit.

The move also fits neatly within the national Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat frameworks that have pushed states to retain value addition within producing regions. Chhattisgarh, one of India's most forest-rich and tribal-heavy states, has both the produce and the policy architecture to make this work. The question the market will now answer is whether consumers reach for a Chhattisgarh Herbals pack the way they reach for a branded wellness gift — and what retail or e-commerce reach the state can build behind it.

CM Sai came to office in December 2023 after the BJP's state election victory, and his government has consistently framed tribal welfare and forest-economy development as signature priorities. The Diwali Herbals pack is a small but visible proof point of that framing — a government initiative that produces something a consumer can hold in their hands.