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Srinagar, Oct 29 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir government will soon organise handicraft expositions in the US, UK, Germany, South Africa and the UAE to provide better marketing facilities to the artisans of the state at the international level, an official spokesman said today.

Two expositions would be organised at New York in the US and Germany for which the necessary sanction has already been accorded, he said.

Another three expositions in Dubai, South Africa and the UK were also in the pipeline and the sanction in this regard was expected soon, the spokesman added.

The expositions would be sponsored by the Union Ministry of Textiles in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Handicrafts Development Corporation (JKHDC).

He said exhibitions would also be held in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad during the coming months. The corporation has also launched a website which would be fully functional within one month while more showrooms were being opened in metropolitan cities of the country in a phased manner.

JKHDC has fixed a sale target of Rs 13.50 crore for 22 outlets during the current financial year.

The spokesman said a renovation programme has been launched in Chandigarh, Jammu and Srinagar branches at a cost of around Rs one crore and during the next year, the corporation would renovate Delhi, Kolkota and Amritsar branches.

To boost sales, the JKHDC was planning to introduce credit facility to its customers in collaboration with the ICICI bank.

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