Vaghela inaugurates marketing outlet of rural products under SGSY

New Delhi, Oct 18 (UNI) Textiles Minister Shankersinh Vaghela today said the target of providing employment to 1.20 crore people is expected to be achieved within the five-year period under the Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

Inaugurating the Exhibition-cum-Marketing Outlet of products developed by Rural Craftsmen of five states under the SGSY of Ministry of Rural Development here, the Minister said National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) is imparting training to rural artisans within their villages and 100 per cent placement is assured for them.

He said textiles is the second largest employment provider after agriculture.

Mr Vaghela further informed that, ''India has become number one in carpets in the world market leaving behind China and we have overtaken in other fields of textiles also in per centage terms but in volumes.'' NIFT is presently working in six clusters and more will be added in due course for training of rural artisans and the Textiles Ministry will provide all kinds of help and assistance in succeeding the target, he said and added that NIFT and Textiles Ministry will work together to achieve the same.

Presiding over the function, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said, ''Neither higher sensex nor GDP, but only removal of poverty will take the country forward.'' He said the people living below poverty line should be given placement in jobs and Rural Development Ministry will provide financial help to a possible extent in uplifting the standard of living of the poor artisans.

NIFT is playing a very important role in training the rural artisans in designing and production of goods which can be sold in the international markets and fetch good returns to the craftsmen.

Dr Singh said he was against giving the stipend to enterprising artisans but could help them with subsidy in setting up their own shops and would also help in getting loans from banks for the purpose.

He asked the NIFT Chief Gauri Kumar to provide more students for the villages and clusters to train unemployed and all the expenses on training would be borne by his Ministry.

NIFT is the first educational institution to link rural artisans to urban market through intervening in the mobilisation, design and product development and market linkages.

Under SGSY Nift has identified about 10,000 rural craftsmen working in the clusters at Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, Humpi in Karnataka, Surendra Nagar in Gujarat, Kozhikode in Kerala and Birbhum in West Bengal for up-gradation of their skills so that their products become viable commercially.

More than 900 NIFT students have visited these clusters and interacted directly with 3000 craftsmen for creating around 2500 new and innovative products. NIFT has mobilised the artisans at grass-root level and formulated 280 Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the project.

The entire focus of NIFT is to bring these rural craftsmen above poverty level through self-sustainable and self-reliant effort.

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