On the eve of the inauguration of Make in India Week, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Textiles (India) Santosh Kumar Gangwar placed the objective to make ‘Made in India’ handicrafts popular worldwide before the members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of Ministry of Textiles, at NIFT, Hyderabad. He even urged the MPs to visit various places across the country, to better understand the unique contribution of each place towards the Indian textiles sector.
At the meeting, where MPs – Gopal C. Shetty and Prof. Ravindra V. Gaikwad from Lok Sabha; and Anand Bhaskar Rapolu from Rajya Sabha were present, the Minister said that artisans by themselves cannot glorify the rich cultural heritage of India; the combined vision and efforts of all stakeholders, along with Government endeavours, is required. Elaborating on the initiatives that the Government has taken to strengthen Indian handicrafts, he said a comprehensive National Handicraft Development Programme has been launched which focuses on an integrated approach for holistic development and support to the crafts & artisans.
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Gangwar added that these measures will certainly empower artisans by skill upgradation, design development, technology upgradation and supply of raw material, through easily accessible Common Facility Centres at cluster level. Developing and strengthening marketing linkages through various options such as exporters, direct sale, participation in sale expos and ecommerce is another major component of the new approach.
Also highlighting the importance of NIFT in the country, Gangwar said the institute is moving towards greater engagement with handlooms and handicrafts. He said that this linkage of fashion with handloom and handicrafts should be beneficial to both, i.e. NIFT students will get sensitized to our artistic heritage on one hand and handloom and handicrafts sector will get new ideas, insights and technology on the other.
