No sickness among handicraft units: Elangovan

New Delhi, Aug 2 (UNI) The Government today denied any reports of sickness of handicrafts units but said that steps were being taken for development and promotion of handicrafts in the country including implementation of various schemes.

Replying to a question, Minister of State for Textiles EVKS Elangovan told the Rajya Sabha that according to the census conducted by National Council for Applied Economic Research there were 14.55 lakh handicraft household and non-household units during 1995-96 functioning in different states of the country.

The handicraft-specific schemes included the Baba Saheb Hastshilp Vikas Yojana for integrated development of craft clusters; Design and Technical Upgradation; Marketing and Support Services; Export Promotion; Training and Extension; Credit Guarantee Scheme among others as grant-in-aid schemes through various implementing agencies like apex organisations, NGOs, State Handicraft Development Corporations based on the merit of their proposals and availability of funds.

The Minister said state-wise allocation is not made and no direct financial assistance is provided to handicraft units under these schemes.

UNI SD RA PM1330