Homchang

“Tiprasa rok business khai maya” is now a thing of the past.

It would be wrong to say that business hasn’t been a core skill set or proposition for the Tiprasa community. The community entered the market economy late due to centuries of a self-sustaining agrarian lifestyle, followed by sudden, drastic political and population shifts. They have mostly played the role of consumers, and the closest this community could come to becoming business owners was by selling produce from their agricultural land or by selling to vegetable sellers.

In 2016, only 3.2% to 3.8% of the working-age indigenous population listed non-farm entrepreneurship or retail trade as their primary household income source and 65% of the population remained locked into primary agriculture, and the remaining portion relied on government wages, casual labour, or traditional weaving completely inside the household for personal use rather than commercial sale. (data sourced from NSSO 73rd Round Survey on Unincorporated Non-Agricultural Enterprises (conducted from July 2015 to June 2016) and the Ministry of MSME’s legacy Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum (UAM) tracking system.

In 2026, the story is completely different. A vast majority of Jhum cultivators have been converted into rubber plantations for better financial benefit. There is a surge of QSR (quick service restaurants) in the state, where the indigenous owners are contributing equally, if not more. There are products in the bakery, food, and beauty categories, which were not the case in the last decade.

According to government data (MSME department), a 16%-18% from 3.2% - 3.8% jump has been seen in terms of the indigenous population within this decade.

However, a big percentage of this surge is still unstructured and unguided, because of which the faster an indigenous business owner takes risks and builds a business, the faster it goes out of business too. There can be various reasons for it, maybe their market research is not as solid as it should be, maybe they burn more than they make, or maybe they are just not connected to the right people.

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Correction: Association registrated in 2025 not 2015

NCC Lieutenant Daniel Debbarma earned a doctorate degree in Education from from NEHU, Tura Campus, Meghalaya.

The assistant professor with Government Degree College, Khumulwng and an Associate NCC Officer (ANO) undertook the doctoral research on "Accountability Of School Heads And Performance Of Teachers In Elementary Schools Of Tripura."

Debbarma started his Ph.D journey in 2021 under the supervision of Professor Nikme S.C. Momin in the Department of Education at NEHU, Tura Campus, Meghalaya.

Debbarma research focused on the functioning of elementary schools of Tripura which covers the primary level (Class I to V) and upper primary level (VI to VIII). It looked on the workings of those running the school administration and also the performance of teachers.

In 2021, Daniel Debbarma was awarded the DG NCC Commendation Card, followed by a Medallion from the Additional Director General, NCC, North East Region, In 2023.

Debbarma currently serves as member of Board of Undergraduate Studies with the Department of Rural Development Studies and is also the convener of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) syllabus drafting committee under Tripura University. Debbarma hails from Jampuijala in Sepahljala district.