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Handicraft sector suffers from skill shortages

Updated: May 09, 2013 01:02:38pm
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From Gunja   
New Delhi May 9 (KKN) Employees of the handicraft sector are considerably less educated, and their exposure to new technologies is limited. The sector also suffers from absence of market intelligence, said a report of a government-appointed expert group.

“The handicrafts sector contributes substantially to employment generation and exports. However drawbacks in the sector include the lack of education of persons employed, their poor exposure to new technologies, absence of market intelligence, etc.,” said the report on evaluation of the ongoing Assistance to Training Institutions (ATI) scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Handicrafts hold the key to sustaining not only the existing set of millions of artisans, but also for the increasingly large number of new entrants in the crafts activity-the total employment in the sector is 68.86 lakh presently, said the report.

Skill gaps in the sector include inadequate ability to use machines (e.g. cutting machines, dies, etc.) to perform the required functions, insufficient ability to undertake quality control, poor knowledge of materials treatment, poor ability to undertake design and development as per market requirements and insufficient ability to undertake the polishing process, in case of stone, marble, wooden and metal handicrafts.

The sector provides employment to a vast segment of craftsmen in rural and semi-urban areas and generates substantial foreign exchange for the country, while also preserving India’s cultural heritage.

In case of chindi dari, and galicha handicrafts, the skill gap includes inadequacy to ensure wastage control and quality control, insufficient ability to undertake final finishing, poor designing skills, inadequate knowledge of market trends and requirements.

The artisans of tie, dye and embroidery do not have adequate ability to use embroidery machines.

Further, skill gap also persists in leather juta and bag making. Handicrafts workers lack ability to use technology in leather cutting and stitching and suffer from poor designing skills, insufficient ability to undertake templatisation of designs and awareness of market trends.

There are some prominent training institutions for particular crafts such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur for manufacturing of handicrafts made up of metal and glass, Birla Technical Training Institute Pilani for crafts made of wrought iron, wood and embroidery.  

Moreover, Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh) trains people in applications for computer and information and technology and carpet manufacturing; and National Institute of Research on Jute and Allied Fibre Technology, Kolkata imparts training in jute handicrafts.

In order to develop natural dyes, its extraction, standardisation and formulation in powder form, dyeing and printing with natural dyes, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur provides training to people.   

However, the sector also suffers owing to its being unorganized as well as low capital, and poor institutional framework.

The export of handicrafts which includes handmade carpets up to November 2012 have been 12157.21 crore which show an increase of 34.19 per cent over the same period in financial year 2011-12, and the plan allocation during 2012-13 is Rs 177.00 crore, as per official data.

Major handicraft clusters in India for art and metal ware are situated in Moradabad, Jodhpur, Rewari, Chennai, Jaisalmer etc.

Similarly Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Agra, Amritsar, Kullu and Srinagar are known for embroidered goods.

Handicraft clusters for terracotta zari and zari goods are located in Chennai, Baster, Bareilly, Jaipur, Surat, Amritsar, Agra, Varanasi etc.
 
The Development Commissioner (handicrafts) has formulated and implemented human resource development schemes and programmes such as Babasaheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana (AHVY) for cluster based approach, design and technical upgradation scheme, marketing support and services schemes, research and development scheme, handicrafts artisans and comprehensive welfare scheme.  (KNN)  

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