HOW CAN HANDICRAFTS UPLIFT THE RURAL ARTISANS?

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The Indigenous handicrafts undoubtedly play an integral character in the Indian ethos especially in the villages or economically backward areas of our country. The cottage industries and traditional craft industries has a steadfast growth in the Indian economy and is very important for its contribution towards the rural economy.

The two important governing bodies that drafts and executes policies for the handicraft industries are the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Rural Economy, under Government of India. The handicrafts sector is labelled under the unorganized sector of village economy of India.

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The economic policies of rural India are drafted according to the requirements of the people residing in the villages as almost 70% of the Indian population lives in villages and hamlets. In this agriculture based country, the development of rural economy is highly dependent upon the development of its seven hundred million strong rural population, a small part of the rural Indian population is associated with handlooms, handicrafts and other traditional skill based industries. Handicraft sector in rural areas became a principal sector in the current scenario as the organized sector of Indian economical structure is ready to incorporate the products from these industries. Even though, with liberal trade and export policy, the export of the Indian handicrafts industry has always been steadfast.

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Several wonderful and artistic products that are manufactured by the rural handicrafts industry of India are Art metal wares, Wood wares, Embroidered & crocheted goods, Shawls, Hand printed & textiles & scarves, Zari and an array of miscellaneous handicrafts. Most of the importers of traditional Indian handicrafts include USA, Germany, UK & Italy who majorly purchases Art metal wares, Hand printed & textiles & scarves and Wood wares. On the other hand, Embroidered & crocheted items are being bought by USA, Saudi Arabia and Germany. Shawls as art wares are exported to Saudi Arabia, USA, Japan and UK whereas UK, USA, Japan & Saudi Arabia purchases Handmade Zari.

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Some of the drawbacks that hinder the growth of the handicraft sector include the usage of traditional techniques instead of advanced technologies, high manufacturing cost, and inferior quality of products. Lack of proper marketing channels, Poor access to urban markets and mis-managed investment patterns and lack of regular investors also obstructs the advancement of handicraft sector. Product design and development needs to be aligned with the background and heritage of the craft, the artisans and the market trends. The lack of proper management of vendor and suppliers and absence of proper incentives and schemes by the governments needs to be taken care of.

credits: yourstory.com

Although, India's share in the global market stands at 2% only, the rural handicraft industries has consistent growth of 15% annually and a growth of more than 40 per cent has been calculated over the next five years.