How strong and attractive are our hands?

1. How strong and attractive are our hands? An Overview of handicrafts Sector in India

2. ‘ Handicrafts are items made by hand, often with the use of simple tools, and are generally artistic and / or traditional in nature. They include objects of utility and objects of decoration’ Report of the Task Force on Handicrafts for the VIII Five Year Plan. (1989).

3. FEATURES • Largest decentralised and unorganised sector • Among India’s largest foreign exchange earners - world trade(2004):US$ 235 bn - exports(86-87) :US$ 89mn (03-04) :US$ 1.9bn - 9 items(63% of exports) Metal ware - wood ware – hand printed tex – hand kntd tex – leather goods – stone ware – carpets – floor coverings • Growth rate: 20 % market share: 2 % ; china: 30 % • competitors are China, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey and some Latin American countries

4. Year Total Export Revenue of % Of World Indian Handicrafts (US$ Mn) Exports 1999-2000 1,177 3.6 2000-2001 1,277 6.8 2001-2002 1,420 10.0

5. Exim policy • Quota free n neutral to fibre content • Include Garments, Made-up and clothing accessories. • Are produced in cottage industries. • Should not have zippers. • Must be ornamented using any one or more of the Indian folk styles.

6. INITIATIVES BY GOVT. • threshold limit Rs1,000 cr to Rs 250 cr • export house status • duty free import of embellishments/ consumables

7. Second largest employment sector in India 95 – 96 - no of units:1.2 mn; emp: 4.1 mn - 97-98:53 lakh to 03-04: 62 lakhy -annual growth rate:2.5% - direct and indirect (POP CENSUS – NSSO – NCAER)

8. A home based industry • No disturbance to social n cultural balance

9. Stone work Metal work Pottery Wood craft Gems and Jewellery Paintings Textiles Leather works Carpet Weaving Bamboo Craft Types of handicrafts in India

10. HISTORY OF CRAFTS IN INDIA • Mughal era • smaller Princely states • Imperialism • Swadeshi Movement • After Independendence

11. Present Market Scenario • Textiles great demand for rich brocades and zari work . Banarsi Amru, Tanchoi from Surat, Paithani, Patola, and Kancheevaram, Sambalpuri to the cotton saris from the tribal regions of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh

12. Carpet weaving industry is the largest export oriented craft industry • huge domestic market for a hoard of utilitarian craft items such as bedcovers, sheets, cushions, curtains, tablemats, bags, metal furniture, mats, boxes, cabinets, wood furniture, toys, utensils, garden pots, terracotta items, brass and silverware, leather products, papier-mâché products, cane, jute and coir items, carpets, rugs, durries etc.

13. demand for decorative items such as traditional wall hangings, silver cutlery, brass pots, embellished wooden sculptures, marble and wood inlay work, silk carpets, wrought iron furniture etc. is on the rise in India and abroad

14. Business Set up • Cottage and Small scale industry. • Some full scale large industries like carpet weaving, traditional textile (Banarsi silk sari, Chikankari etc), gem cutting and polishing, jewelry making, the world famous diamond cutting and polishing industry, jute products, brassware, etc. • ever-increasing demand and popularity of Indian crafts in the domestic market and abroad.

15. GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND INSTITUTIONS • Handicrafts is a state subject, its development and promotion are the primary responsibility of the State Government. • Each State has set up its own handicrafts policy. • The Central government in turn provides consultation, funds, grants and loans to encourage the states to boost the production and sale of their handicrafts. • Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) ,Ministry of Textiles,implements various developmental schemes at the central level for the handicrafts sector.

16. The main arguments advanced in support of the cottage and small-scale sectors are that: 1) For every Indian rupee of value added in this sector, the capital required is roughly one-third of that needed in large industry 2) The employment of one person in large industry requires approximately six to ten times more investment in a large scale sector than in the small scale sector 3) For a large and overpopulated country like India, only the small scale can provide opportunities of work and income all over the country. 4) It can ensure more equitable distribution of national income

17. Eighth Five Year Plan support organisations created to assist artisans in the six sub-sectors that come under the category of Traditional Industries. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC); All India Handlooms and Handicrafts Board (AIHHB); Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms); Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts); Central Silk Board Coir Board.

18. The primary task of these organisations is to assist artisans and agencies working with artisans, with inputs such as marketing, credit, training and design and product development.

19. The working group on Textiles and Jute for the 10th Plan has projected a growth in employment in Handicrafts sector @ 3% annually during 10th Five Year Plan. and by the end of Tenth Plan total employment provided by the handicrafts sector would be 67.70 lakh.

20. During the 10th Plan, the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) is implementing 8 generic schemes – Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana, Design and Technical Upgradation, Export Promotion, Marketing Support and Services, Research & Development, Training & Extension, Financial Assistance to State Handicrafts Development Corporation / State Apex Societies and Bima Yojana for Handicrafts.

21. But the facts remain that • Often less than 5% of the end price goes to the artisans - the middlemen get the rest • Most of the artisans are below the poverty line, illiterate, and in the poorest, most remote areas • Many crafts which are hundreds of years old are endangered as poor economics force artisans to move away from heritage.

22. Challengesfacing the sector and craftsmen • Market related: • Shift in consumer choice from artisanal goods to factory made ones • intermediaries • Lack of marketing skills • The traditional craft skill, however beautiful, needs sensitive adaptation, proper quality control, correct sizing and accurate costing, if it is going to win and keep a place in the market.

23. Inputs related: inadequate access to credit for both working and fixed capital problems with raw material supplies • low wages

24. Technological obsolescence: non use of simple machines low efficiency and quality of output

25. while the crafts industry is growing, especially in exports, the real wage of artisans is declining. This indicates that artisans, the creative source of the industry, need support and capacity building in order to maintain their wages and realize gains from market growth. - “handmade in India” a study funded by World bank

26. ROLE OF NGOS AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES • UNIDO –Cluster development programme Cluster- sectoral and geographical concentration of enterprises, especially Small & Medium enterprises (SMEs), have common opportunities and face similar threats key problems faced by the SMEs is more of isolation than of size they are unable to achieve economies of scale, lack negotiating power, find it difficult to specialise and have limited access to credit, strategic information, technology and markets.

27. Assessing the competitiveness and organization of SSI clusters • Assisting the clusters' actors in developing a common vision of what their cluster can achieve in national as well as international markets. • Building up (through training, workshops and study tours), the capacity of cluster actors to implement such a vision. • Providing advisory services at the policy level.

28. Role of NGOS • Implementing government programmes • Credit facilitation -SHG and microcredit model • Capacity building and training • Product diversification • Marketing assistance-Exhibitions, e-commerce • To improve other aspects of craftsmen lives such as education, health and nutrition.

29. SEWA SEWA works with over a thousand craftswomen in the Banaskantha district of western Gujarat. The women working in different skills are sub-divided into village cooperatives with locally elected craftswomen acting as the group leaders. These leaders distribute the work, make the first samples, control the quality, supervise production and monitor the payments. domestic Indian market - through SEWA and other outlets. Orders for the export market.

30. Conclusion The growth potential is huge. and it is growing at a healthy pace. Real challenge facing the craft sector today is to see that the benefits of growth reaches the producers or the craftsmen.

31. http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2002/fsep2002/f030920021.html • The Indian textile industry contributes substantially to India’s export earnings. At present, the exports of textiles (including handicrafts, jute, and coir) account for about 27per cent of total exports from India and are the largest net foreign exchange earner for the country as the import content in textile goods is very little as compared to our other major export products.

32. new scheme called Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana(AHVS) has been formulated which is essentially a people-centric approach and involves mobilization of the artisan community in important craft clusters all over the country into self-help groups and thrift and credit societies. Symposia on Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastashilp Vikas Yojana for the crystallization of critical issues and adoption of implementation module for the AHVY were organized at Jaipur, Bhopal, Lucknow and Kolkata.

33. The Government launched an integrated and comprehensive scheme called the Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana on April 1,2000 to provide assistance for the entire gamut of handloom sector activities like product development, infrastructure and institutional support, training to weavers, supply of equipment and marketing support for weavers within or outside the cooperative fold, both at the micro and macro levels. The scheme is intended to be in operation till the end of the 10th Five Year Plan. The outlay envisaged is Rs. 690 crore, including the Central share of Rs. 360.00 crore to be given to the States on submission of project