KENDRAPARA: Around 3.03 lakh highly skilled artisans/weavers and allied workers in Kendrapara produce high quality artifacts and handloom products of national and international fame, said Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal on Wednesday. The minister was answering to a question by Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty on whether the quality and capacity of artisans is getting affected due to lack of proper and continuous design intervention and updated technology.
Government of India implements various schemes for technology upgradation and design improvement for artisans and weavers across the country including Odisha through National Handicrafts Development Programme, Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme, National Handloom Development Programme and Raw Material Supply Scheme.
These schemes already have the provision of design intervention and technology upgradation. Furthermore, assistance is provided to the artisans and weavers mainly in the form of raw materials, development of common infrastructure, marketing platform for handloom and handicrafts products in the domestic and overseas markets, facilitating them with MUDRA Loans, skill development through technical and soft training, extending Direct Benefit Transfer to artisans/weavers, organising workshops/seminars for their awareness. The quality and capacity of these artisans are improved through various design interventions and distribution of improved Toolkit, added the minister.
The Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Bargarh is producing qualified technical manpower through Diploma courses in Handloom and Textile Technology (DHTT). Need-based skill upgradation programmes in technical areas are conducted under SAMARTH scheme of Ministry of Textiles for weavers and artisans to sustain self-employment, increase income and upgradation of their livelihood. The offices of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts and Handlooms) are closely working with NIFT, Bhubaneswar to reach out to the artisans and craftsmen at the grassroots level. The artisans and craftsmen get benefitted through knowledge dissemination.