The Government of India
has decided to organize regular exhibitions/sale festivals in large cities in
different parts of the country, in order to provide regular marketing
facilities for promotion of handlooms and handicrafts.
To begin with, three
venues have been identified in the national capital, where exhibitions/sale
festivals shall be organized round the year, on the pattern of those in Dilli
Haat. Such events shall be held in the recently developed premises of Crafts
Museum, the Handloom Complex at Janpath, and the air-conditioned hall inside
Pragati Maidan. This shall be followed by similar initiatives in other cities
of the country, in due course.
The events organized at
Delhi shall be for 10 – 15 days, at intervals of about 5 – 7 days. The events
at Crafts Museum would be led by handicrafts sector, while those at the other
two venues would be led by handloom sector. However, products belonging to both
categories shall be made available at all venues, along with state-specific or
regional cuisine and cultural shows.
The calendar of events
would be planned in consultation with states and finalized by Development
Commissioner (Handlooms) / Development Commissioner (Handicrafts). Funding
would be done out of the existing schemes of the Ministry of Textiles, being
implemented by DC (Handlooms) and DC (Handicrafts).
Dissemination of
publicity material to tour operators and hotels would be the responsibility of
Ministry of Tourism. Ministry of Culture would organize cultural shows during
the events, with the assistance of state governments. Accommodation and
transportation at reasonable costs for weavers/artisans and performers of
cultural shows would be arranged by DC (Handlooms) and DC (Handicrafts). Permanent
facilities would be created in Janpath Complex and Crafts Museum for cultural
performances.
Similar initiatives as
in Delhi would be taken up in other cities of the country. Cities shall be
identified by matching locations where tourism projects have been sanctioned by
the states, with identified handicraft/handloom clusters.
Background
During the review of
textile sector in June 2014, Hon’ble Prime Minister had advised to make special
efforts for linking handlooms and handicrafts with tourism. Accordingly, a
framework for convergence of existing schemes with tourism was evolved jointly
by Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Tourism.
With the emphasis on
developing block-wise clusters and provision of assistance for production with
quality and new designs in bulk, it has become more important to provide wider
opportunities to handlooms and handicrafts artisans living in rural areas, to market their products in large cities such as Delhi. Besides
promotion of exports by linking up with exporters, it has become necessary to
provide scope for marketing in Delhi and other metropolitan areas by evolving a
system with long-term arrangements in consultation with state governments.
Experience gained in Dilli Haat and Crafts Festivals
such as Surajkund Mela shows that provision of food, folk dances, and cultural
events typical to the states/regions of India has helped increase popularity of
market venues, thereby enhancing the sale of handloom and handicrafts products.
The above decision has been taken jointly by Ministry
of Textiles, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture, in view of this.
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DJM
(Release ID :133882)