Chhattisgarh government launches portal to benefit tribal tin collectors

The Chhattisgarh government on Monday (August 31, 2026) launched a new portal — Tribal Incentives on Natural Resources or TIN — aimed at ensuring that tribal communities in Bastar get a fair and transparent price for the tin ore they collect, said Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.

According to a Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Limited (CMDC) official, all the tin ore in India is in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district and it is either directly mined by the CMDC or collected from tribal residents of the religion through cooperatives.

Under the new initiative, a digital platform will bring the entire process of tin procurement — from registration and quality testing to price determination and payment — under one transparent system.

“The key feature of the portal is that the price of tin will be linked to the London Metal Exchange (LME), allowing payments to better reflect prevailing international market prices. Once the tin is sold, the payment will be transferred directly to the beneficiary’s bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). This will reduce dependence on intermediaries, minimise delays and ensure that a larger share of the value reaches tribal families directly,” said an official.

On how this will be achieved, the official said that the system has been designed in simple, transparent steps. Beneficiaries will be digitally registered, the quality of the tin will be tested and the entire transaction will be recorded online. QR-based verification, banking integration and SMS alerts will enable collectors to track the quantity purchased, price determined and payment status. CMDC will also be able to monitor procurement, stocks and payments in real time.

The official added that at present, CMDC was procuring tin through six centres in Bastar division. “Three additional collection and procurement centres are proposed in Bastar, Dantewada and Sukma, making it easier for collectors in remote areas to sell their produce locally. In 2024-25, CMDC purchased 8,707.2 kg of tin ore and paid around ₹90.82 lakh to tribal beneficiaries. In 2025-26, procurement increased to 20,895.335 kg, with payments of around ₹3.81 crore,” the official said.

Mr. Sai said the TIN Portal is not merely a digital procurement platform but a “Mineral-to-Livelihood” initiative, aimed at ensuring that the economic value generated from Bastar’s natural resources directly contributes to the income and livelihoods of tribal families.