Jaipur, Jul 27 (KNN) With a view to encourage skill development and establish worker linkages between the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and production in the cottage sector, the Minister of Textiles K S Rao has decided to take up the matter with the Cabinet.

“Skill development is the need of the hour and it is important to establish worker linkages between MNREGA and the production in the cottage sector,” he said.   

Launched in 2006, MNREGA guarantees 100-day employment for rural poor people.  It aims to provide jobs to people who are unemployed in the off season and it is hoped that by linking the scheme to the textiles sector the workers will also be trained.

Meanwhile Rao admitted that the demand for raising of interest subvention for handicrafts and cottage sector from the existing 2 to 5 per cent was genuine.

Today, the cost of fund is high and there is need to be reasonable so that people can invest more in their business and not in other investment avenues.

Further, he is likely to hold a meeting with the Ministry of Finance and discuss issues related to service tax on participation in overseas fairs and exhibitions by exporters and also on membership fees of the Export Promotion Councils (EPCs).

The issue of classification of items as handicrafts, which leads to delaying of shipments at the customs is a matter of concern, he said during an interactive meet on export promotion of handicrafts, carpets, wool, textiles and allied products here.  
 
He said that he would take up the matter with the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) and the Ministry of Finance.  

Meanwhile, he disclosed that the Jodhpur mega cluster project will be kicked off in a time bound manner within two months and assured a grant of Rs 10 crore for a handicrafts productivity centre.    
 
The problem of wool sector related to quarantine at ports has also been waived off by the intervention of the textile ministry, he said.

The meeting was followed by laying of foundation of Handicrafts Productivity Centre which is being implemented by the EPC for handicrafts with partial funding from the ministry of textiles. 

The centre will include facilities such as chemical treatment of wood for the purpose of export production, integrated resource centre to provide information to traders on various aspects of exports like production techniques, marketing information, financing, documentation, internet, books and journals and testing laboratory for testing of wood and textile crafts for the handicrafts exporters from the state. (KNN/GUNJ)