The Union Textiles Ministry is looking to concentrate on new markets and opportunities for local handloom and handicraft sector as many global companies are willing to tie-up with Indian weavers and artisans, Ms Rashmi Verma, Textiles Secretary said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi on Friday.
“There is a huge scope for promoting Indian handloom and handicraft products in the niche markets world over, most of the sectors registered a decline in exports of Indian products to global markets, export of handicrafts continued to grow at the rate of 17 per cent.” she said.
“All stakeholders should make efforts to engage with artisans and weavers in the country and hand-hold them not only for ensuring that they get right price and market for their products and also get recognition which they deserve in the world and domestic markets,” said the Textiles Secretary.
It was informed that the Ministry has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 20 e-commerce companies to engage with artisans and weavers in different handloom and handicraft clusters across India and help them market their products directly.
She also said that the government is taking number of steps for skilling weavers, for giving them design inputs, quality raw material, tools and upgrading their looms to empower them so that they continue to remain engaged in this craft.
She informed that the Textiles Ministry has taken an initiative for training children of weavers and artisans to become entrepreneurs so that they can emerge as leaders in producers’ groups and market their products through e-commerce and other channels directly. “This is also in one way trying to attract children of weavers and artisans back into this trade,” she said.
She further said that there are a number of design workshops especially for the weavers and artisans whereby they are informed about current market trends and demand of the market because they have to be sensitised to the needs of the market and only then they will be able to produce what the consumer wants and not try to sell whatever they have made.
