Indian Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari recently inaugurated 50 clusters for artisans spread over 18 states under the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI). Over 42,000 artisans have been supported in the clusters in the traditional segments of muslin, khadi, coir, handicraft, handlooms, wood craft, leather, pottery, carpet weaving, bamboo, agro-processing and tea.
The MSME Ministry has funded Rs. 85 cr for development of these 50 clusters. The Ministry’s SFURTI scheme aims to organize traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and increase their income.
Gadkari said more research needs to be done on what kinds of village products are required by consumers, and how to attractively design and market these products. He suggested that the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad may be approached to improve the design and attractiveness of traditional products, they said.
A web portal is also required, on the lines of Amazon or Alibaba, to market these products effectively, both in India and abroad, he added. The Minister also pointed out the need to step up the pace of formation of such clusters, since only 82 of the 371 announced so far are actually functional, and said a target of 5,000 clusters is easily achievable if red tape can be reduced.
These clusters are in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
