Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lauded the role of artisans and craftsmen in the development of the state and emphasised the need to enhance the quality of products for the state to be well-represented internationally.

“The challenge we have today is to prove the superiority and originality of our products. We will be known worldwide once we start producing the best products with our 90 lakh micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) units. In this regard, we need to start giving our products’ quality, designing, and packaging more consideration,” Yogi Adityanath said during the MSME and handicrafts award distribution function organised on Saturday on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti.

The chief minister honoured entrepreneurs, artisans and workers for their exceptional work in the MSME and handicrafts sectors at the event. For the last three years, the ceremony could not be planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, the chief minister laid the foundation stone for flatted factories in Agra and Kanpur Nagar.

The chief minister stated: “Today is the birthdays of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the builder of contemporary India, and Lord Vishwakarma, the creator of the universe. I congratulate you all on this special occasion. You artisans, workers and entrepreneurs are empowering India to become self-reliant through your efforts,” he said.

The chief minister asserted that UP was moving forward in the right direction

today as a result of the combined efforts of artisans and craftsmen.

“People now have faith in the state, and investors from around the world are starting to view Uttar Pradesh as the right destination,” he said.

The chief minister continued, "Although our artisans had the necessary talents in the past, their products lacked timely packaging and design. Additionally, the government offered them no assistance and anyone who wished to take action was discouraged by the numerous restrictions placed on him.”

However, he added, as of now, the government had taken forward all the programmes for handicrafts artisans through Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana.

Mentioning the two major schemes run by his government, the One District One Product (ODOP) and Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana, the chief minister maintained, “We started giving training for enhancing the quality of the products as well as the design and packaging. We also arranged a fixed honorarium for the craftsmen during the training and also provided them with toolkits.”

Who would have believed that the terracotta of Gorakhpur, the brass products from Moradabad, the glass work of Firozabad, the perfume of Kannauj, the locks of Aligarh, the carpets of Bhadohi, the crafts of Saharanpur and the handicrafts of Varanasi would be recognised globally due to the schemes of the government, the chief minister added.

The chief minister launched a stinging attack on the previous administrations, claiming that Azamgarh, which was formerly thought to be a terrorist stronghold, was now renowned globally for its black pottery. The chief minister went on to say that the 40 lakh migrant workers who came back during the COVID-19 pandemic period became a man power for the state, rather than creating disorder.

“Today's situation in UP is one of outstanding states in law and order, employment creation and industrial investment. In the past two and a half years, the worth of UP's exports has nearly doubled from Rs 88,000 crore to Rs 1.56 lakh crore despite the novel coronavirus pandemic. This is a substantial rise. The MSMEs nowadays have become a sign of reliability,” he stated.

The chief minister said that according to data from 2021, UP was in the lead in the Good Governance Index. He said UP had made impressive progress, ranking seventh in the India Innovation Index, sixth in the Export Index EPI, and sixth in the Logistics is Across Different State.

Laying the foundation stones of the flatted factories in Agra and Kanpur, the chief minister said, “Time has come for the factories to take on a multi-storey form rather than having a horizontal land expansion. The flatted factories will be constructed as multi-storey plants in a single location.”

In Agra, an 8,812 square metre cluster is being built for the construction of flatted factories worth Rs 26.41 crore. As many as 40 units will be set up in a single complex there. Similarly, the Hosiery Sewing Cluster in Kanpur, a complex being constructed in 60,657 square metres area at a cost of Rs 24.72 crore, will house 67 units.