New Delhi, Dec 24 (KNN) The government today announced plans to conduct a census of handicraft artisans to help it know the number of artisans engaged in different segments of the industry in terms of location, raw-material, production, distribution of daily working hours and seasonal calendar etc. 
 
 
The other parameters like contribution of sector to the family income will also be covered in the census which has been in operation since 2009-10.The Ministry of Textile wants to engage the nodal agencies for conducting the census that will help in policy formulation and decision-making for the sector.
 
 
In this context, the Office of the Development Commissioner for Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles has sought for reputed institutions, organizations, government sponsored Institutions, PSUs, autonomous bodies for selection of a Nodal Agency of the Census of Handicrafts Artisans.
 
 
The census of handicrafts artisans planned is a complete census which will involve survey/enumeration, in every village, in every locality of urban bodies and every household of the cluster of artisans in villages and urban areas of the selected district to adopt an appropriate and adequate procedure and strategy to ensure total identification and enumeration of the handicrafts artisan.
 
 
“In this census also the enumeration of handicrafts artisans is the foremost idea, the evaluation of which will be based on criteria that the artisan contacted satisfies that the handicrafts produced by him fulfil the requirement of definition of handicrafts - items made exclusively by hand often with the help of tools to give it both a decorative and utilitarian value,” the notification added.
 
 
Earlier this year, the Ministry had said in a statement that as per the results made available on different parameters pertaining to handicrafts sector based on enumeration undertaken till now, it is estimated that the number of artisans in India during 2010-11 were 68.86 lakhs.
 
 
The census of handicrafts artisans was conducted during 1995-96 and the number of artisans in the country was 47.61 lakhs.
 
 
During April--August 2013, exports of handcrafted items grew about 11 per cent to USD 1.41 billion compared to the same period last fiscal.
 
 
The country's total handicraft exports have met the target of USD 3.3 billion for 2012--13.
 
 
The handicraft sector employs one million people. Moradabad, Jaipur, Saharanpur and Jodhpur are the major handicraft hubs in the country catering global markets. (KNN/SD)