In a move to boost self help groups to sell their products at airports, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a 100 to 200 square feet area has been earmarked at airports run by it across the country. In a statement, the AAI said that the step has been taken under the Airports as Venue for Skilled Artisans of the Region (AVSAR) initiative. The AAI runs more than 100 airports across the country.
“The space is being allotted to the self- help groups, turn on turn basis, for a duration of 15 days. Few outlets have already been commissioned at Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Kushinagar, Udaipur & Amritsar Airport wherein SHGs operated by local women, are showcasing and marketing their homemade local products like Puffed Rice, Packaged Papad, Pickles, Bamboo based Ladies Bag/Bottle/Lamp Sets, local artefacts, traditional craft, natural dyes, embroidery and indigenous weaves with contemporary design to the air travelers,” the AAI said in a statement.
"More AAI airports are in the process of allotting space in coordination with state governments to such self-help groups in Ranchi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Indore, Bhopal, Vadodara, Ranchi, Belagavi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Calicut, Surat, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Silchar, Dibrugarh and Jorhat," the statement noted. It said the interested self-help groups must apply through its website to get reserved space for their wares, it mentioned.
