Craft issues

A meet on ‘export promotion of handicrafts, carpets, wool, textiles and allied products — challenges and opportunities’ and laying of foundation stone for Handicrafts Productivity Centre took place at Jaipur on July 24.

Exports of handicrafts from Rajasthan contribute 30 per cent of the total export basket of handicrafts from India. The main products produced and exported from Rajasthan are wooden handicrafts, furniture and accessories, door, frames, printed textiles material, furnishing, made ups, costume jewellery made out of metal lacquer and bones both studded with precious stones, ceramic ware and stoneware. Union Minister for textiles Dr KS Rao along with Union Minister for state Panabaaka lakshmi visited Jaipur on July 24 to discuss the problems, prospects and possibilities of increasing exports of handicrafts, carpets, wool, textiles and allied products from the state of Rajasthan. Industry leaders made a presentation to the ministers providing a road map for the growth of exports from the state. Rajendra Pareek, Minister of Industry, Government of Rajasthan and senior central and state government officers also made a presence during the interactive meet.

The council during various interactions with the exporters of Rajasthan had felt the need to set up a productivity centre at Jaipur which would help the exporters in getting access to the latest designs, trends, production techniques, quality and technological upgradation, mechanism in manufacturing and innovation in production lines and product development and testing facilities etc. The Handicrafts Productivity Centre is set at Jaipur by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts and partially funded by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The Minister of Textiles also laid the foundation stone of Handicrafts Productivity Centre at the same venue. The centre is set up at Sitapura Industrial Area in an area of almost 4000 sq mts. 

Exports of handicrafts products from Rajasthan presently are of the order of `5327.45 crores and constitute about 30 per cent. EPCH plans to double these exports in the next five years. EPCH is quite hopeful of achieving this target.