Government of Jammu and Kashmir Industries and Commerce Department REGARDING: ARTISANS

Transcription

1 Government of Jammu and Kashmir Industries and Commerce Department REGARDING: ARTISANS STARRED A.Q. No.119: MR. ALI MOHAMMAD SAGAR: WILL THE GOVERNMENT PLEASE STATE: Question Reply a) whether it is a) Handicrafts and Handloom are important sectors in the fact that Artisan State Economy. The following initiatives have been community is taken by the Department of Industries and Commerce boosting the for the socio economic upliftment of Artisan community State economy and to promote these sectors for further growth. during crucial times in the Artisans Credit Card Scheme (Self Employment to State; if so, the Individual Artisans: initiatives being taken for their The scheme is under implementation with aim to provide easy and soft credit facilities to the artisans, upliftment by weavers, members of cooperative societies and way of giving craftsmen engaged in different activities to start their incentives to independent venture. The scheme envisages financial them as assistance in the form of loan with a ceiling of Rs committed by different regimes; lakh from various banks and financial institutions. The Government provides interest on the loan over a period of 5 years. The department has covered artisans (ending 11/2017) under this scheme involving interest subsidy of Rs Crore whereas artisans have received loan to the tune of Rs. 375 Crore. Modern Carpet Looms: Carpet has remained one of the main stay of activity in the Handicrafts sector in the State. The State Government and the Government of India have been

2 promoting the craft and the Craftsmen by establishing Training Centres throughout the length and breadth of the State. The traditional Carpet Looms having been in use for long have developed various defects and in view of very high cost of timber, which the looms are made of, the Artisans are not able to replace these Looms. Therefore, the Traditional Carpet Looms are being replaced by the Modern Looms developed by the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, Srinagar in order to standardize carpet weaving as per international norms and to enhance its quality and production and to make it easier and comfortable for the weavers to weave carpets without much labour and fatigue. The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India has approved distribution of 8000 Modern Carpet Looms (2000 in Phase-I and 6000 in Phase-II) with a cost sharing pattern of 80:20 between GoI and State Government subject to a maximum of Rs. 40,000/- by GoI Looms have been distributed among the beneficiaries free of cost while the State Government provides about Rs.14000/- per loom as State Share against Central Rs /- per loom. The Ministry of Textiles, GoI has also accorded in principle approval for procurement and distribution additional lot of 6000 Modern Carpet Looms with Central Share of Rs.24 Crore. Stipend to the Trainee Artisans: 553 Artisans training centers are run by the Government under Handicrafts Sector out of which 363 centres are offering one year Elementary Training Courses and 190 centers offer two year Advance Training Courses. Approximately, 7500 persons are trained in different crafts annually in these centres. The stipend of

3 Rs. 500 per month under elementary training courses and Rs. 700 per month under advance training courses is being paid to the trainee artisans. Skill Development Schemes Certificate Course in Carpet Manufacturing (CCCM) is being conducted under Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) of Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. The objective of the course is to upgrade skill of skilled/semi-skilled weavers so that trained human resource is developed for the carpet Industry of the State. As many as 2740 persons have been trained under the course. The Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) is conducting Certificate Course for Training of Trainers (CCTOT) with the objective to create a pool of professional trained human resource for the carpet industry. The skill, knowledge and information level of 78 persons including 20 from Handicrafts Department have been upgraded till date. With a view to provide basic training on carpet weaving to beneficiaries belonging to backward class category, 06 months Certificate Course in Carpet Weaving is being conducted in concerned areas of Kashmir Division. The objective of the course is to create self-employment opportunities for the target groups. The training course is sponsored by National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation, a Govt. of India undertaking under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. As many as 300 persons from different districts have been trained till date. The Handicrafts Technical Training on Silk Carpet Weaving has been conducted by the Institute with the

4 objective to upgrade the skill and knowledge level of registered artisans who have not undergone any formal training till date. 80 persons, 20 each from Anantnag, Budgam, Bandipora and Srinagar districts have been trained under four months Training Programme. Design Studio equipped with latest digital equipments including few world famous Design Software s has been established in the Institute. As many as 872 carpet and 176Kani Shawl Designs have been developed in the digital form in the Design Studio with the application of different Design Softwares and same have been provided to the industry on nominal charges. Marketing Support: Market support is being provided to the artisans, craftsmen and Micro & Small manufacturers through exhibitions at different places within and outside the State. During till date 6 Exhibitions at IITF New Delhi, PITEX Amritsar, Chandigarh, Katra, Leh and Jammu have been organized. 04 more Exhibitions at Jaipur, Gwalior, Dehradun and Lucknow are being organized in the remaining months of the current financial year. After 12 years Handicrafts (S&E) Corporation will be participating in Spring Fair, Birmingham, UK being held from 4th to 8 th February, Besides, the Handicrafts (Sales & Export) Corporation is also providing market support through direct purchase of Handicraft items exquisite quality and designed products as per market trend viz. Carpets, Pashmina Shawls, Kani Shawls, Wood Carving furniture items, copper ware, Chain Stitch, Numdhas and exclusive Embroidery items so as to benefit the Artisans directly and middleman ship is eliminated.

5 Managerial subsidy to Handicrafts Co-operative Societies: The trainees after completion of their training are mobilized to form Co-operative Societies to facilitate them to earn their livelihood. In this direction the department provides managerial subsidy to such Handicrafts Co-operative Societies on tapering 100% for the first year, 66% for second year and 33% for the third year so as to strengthen their financial base for running their business successfully. There are 3301 Handicrafts Cooperative Societies registered with the Department as on date. e-commerce platform for artisans and weavers: The Government is very soon introducing an e- Commerce platform to link artisans and weavers of the State. The target is to increase the exports of Handicrafts and Handloom Products besides serving the prime objective of minimizing the exploitation of the multiple steps of middleman ship. The job has been tendered out for creating J&K e-commerce platform. Prime M inister s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) Under PMEGP the unemployed and under employed youth are helped for setting up their own ventures and all individuals above the age of 18 years are eligible under the scheme without any income ceiling including Artisans of the State. The maximum cost of the project/unit admissible under manufacturing sector is Rs lacs. It is a bank tie-up scheme where the beneficiary is required to contribute 5 to 10% of the

6 project cost, the Government of India provides 25 to 35% Margin Money Subsidy and the rest is provided by the Banks as loan. The Handicrafts activities are admissible and artisans are eligible for availing benefit under the programme. The current year allocation and targets have been enhanced from the previous year s allocation and target of Rs Crore and 2127 units to Rs Crore and 4125 Units which is 192% enhancement. Labeling The Labeling has been introduced in the State for Kashmir Pashmina through Craft Dev. Institute (CDI), Srinagar to facilitate the buyers to get the genuine products and remunerative prices for the Artisan. The following GI certification are available: a. Kashmir Sozni b. Walnut Wood Carving c. Khatamband d. Kani Shawls e. Kashmir Papier Machie f. Kashmir Carpets World Bank Projects The Papier Machie Cluster at Zadibal, Crewel Chain Stitch Cluster at Noor Bagh and Willow Wicker Cluster at Ganderbal have been sanctioned for funding under the World bank funded Jhelum & Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP). KVIB Clusters under SFURTI The Ministry of MSME, GoI sanctioned following clusters under SFURTI Scheme:

7 b) whether it is also a fact that incentives are not provided to the genuine Artisans; if so, the reasons therefore? c) The total number of registered/unre gistered Artisans in the State alongwith the incentives; if any, given to them so far; and d) The steps being taken to rehabilitate the Artisans in the State? a. Martand Chain Stitch & Crewel Embroidery Cluster at Anantnag sanctioned cost Rs.4.50 Crore b. Sukhnag Sozni Embroidery Handicrafts Cluster, Budgam sanctioned cost Rs.4.45 Crore b,c&d) there are a approximately 4.00 lakh Artisans engaged in the manufacturing of Handicraft goods in the State as per following breakup:- Registered = Un-registered = The incentives as per the guidelines in vogue are being provided to the registered Artisans. A few new Initiatives have been announced in Budget Speech to further incentivize the Artisans, provide better market support and ensure sustenance of quality in the Handicrafts products. 1. The Handicrafts units registered with Handicrafts Department shall be considered at par with Industrial units for the purpose of availing incentives under the extent industrial policy. 2. Rs Crore each to the Handicraft Department and Handloom Dev. Corporation for raw material and inventory upgradation which will actually reach to the Artisans and Weavers as the inventory is bought from local artisans.

8 3. A provision of Rs Crore has been set aside to support heritage craft of Carpet in manufacturing and marketing activities. 4. Laboratories at IICT and CDI shall be upgraded to handle large number of product certifications. The proposed upgradation shall be fully provided. 5. Geographical clusters where the carpet weaving is the major activity shall be designated as carpet villages for establishing Common Facility Centers (CFCs) with facilities like Raw Material Bank, Testing laboratory, Dye House with ETP, Modern Washing & Drying Facility and, carpet manufacturing workshops wherein artisans can come to work around against daily wages. All such facilities shall be created in private sector and shall be funded through J&K Bank with adequate interest subvention from the Government. Areas like Sonawari, Khan Sahib, Saida-Kadal shall be initially considered for the purpose. 6. In order to coordinate the carpet design activities and to preserve this heritage, a design bank shall be created at a cost of Rs. 1 crore which will commensurate with the market trends. Sd/- Sd/- Minister I/C Industry & Commerce

9 Assistant Director (PDM) Industries and Commerce Department