Govt.to develop handicrafts to create employment in rural areas

Mysore, Jun 9 (UNI) Union Minister for Textile Shanker Sinh Vaghela today emphasised on promoting and developing the handicrafts sector with an objective to provide sustainable employment in the rural areas.

Inaugurating the Rs 2.75 crore urban HAAT complex here jointly established by the JSS Mahavidyapeetha with union and state government here he said the handicrafts sector had great potential for marketing both in domestic and international arena, besides potential to create large scale employment in the rural and semi urban areas without much investment.

The office of the development commissioner (handicrafts) which was a nodal central government organisation charged with responsibility of developing handicrafts sector in the country has been implementing many developmental schemes for skill upgradation, product innovation, design and technology.

The prominent among these schemes was Babasaheb Ambedkar Hastship Vikas Yojana(AHVY), where more then 600 craft clusters across the country have been taken for integrated development through various needed interventions to make them self sustainable. Around 200 clusters have completed five years of interventions and more then 45 percent of them have attained selfsufficiency. These clusters are now capable of producing bulk value added products to meet domestic and international demand. In the 11th Five Year Plan, 600 additional clusters are being identified across the country to be covered for integrated development under this scheme, he added.

To address marketing related needs of the artisans, which was a major constraintat present, the office the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) has been organizing, craft bazaar, expose, exhibitions and others are not found adequate to meet their requirements.

Therefore, a scheme to set up urban HAAT in potential handicrafts markets in the country, on the pattern of Delhi HATT which was initiated in the year 1999 to provide a permanent direct marketing platform to the artisans nearer to their work place.

So far ministry has sanctioned 36 urban HAATS across the country out of which seven at Bhubneshwar, Karnal(Haryana), Ahmedabad, Gohar Mahal(MP) Jodhpur(Rajasthan), Srinagar and Jammu have already become functional and now the eighth one which was become functional here today.

The minister also declare open the exhibition on the occasion which would provide marketing opportunities to more then 1500 craftspersons and weavers of Karnataka and other states .

He also distributed the health cards to the artisans of the state besides credit cards and financial assistances to the various craftspersons on the occasion.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and MLA, Siddramiah speaking on the occasion urged the both union and state governments to establish such urban hats in the district headquarters to the help the artisans who could not afford to traval one place to another place.

UNI