Zohra Chatterji, secretary, textiles, recently declared open the four-day-long Asia’s largest Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (Spring) 2014, being organised by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), at the India Expo Centre and Mart.
While inaugurating the 37th edition of IHGF, Chatterji said that handicrafts is an important segment of the Indian society both from economic and social point of views. The uniqueness of this sector is that it has high export potential, low capital investment and immense scope for increasing job opportunities particularly or economically and socially backward sections of the society beside many other sectors connected with the production and exports of handicrafts.
EPCH may consider reinventing the format of the fair by introducing a special section on the highlights of the fair so that buyers may know as to what is new in the fair and accordingly plan their visit. How this can be achieved in the best possible manner is for EPCH to decide in consultation with its exhibiting companies, she added.
She further mentioned that skill development has always been one of the top priorities of the ministry and EPCH has been entrusted to form the handicrafts and carpet sector skill council to bridge the skill gap that is seriously affecting the handicrafts and carpet sector.