New Delhi, Jan. 27 Handicraft exports have shown a marginal increase in December 2009 at Rs 1,124.16 crore against Rs 1,098.58 crore in the corresponding month last year, signalling a rising order books.
In dollar terms, the exports have shown an increase of $17.21 million, up 7.68 per cent over the corresponding period in 2008.
For the April-December period, the exports at Rs 5,536.28 crore ($1,150.08 million) compared with Rs 5,778 crore ($1,306 million) in April-December 2008 recorded a decline of 11.95 per cent.
The exports during October-December 2008 were Rs 1,274.12 crore ($257.04 million) against Rs 1,461 crore ($322.86 million) in October-December '09, recording a growth of 25.60 per cent.
According to Mr Raj Malhotra, Chairman, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, the declining trend was arrested due to Government stimulus.
“We believe handicraft exports during the current financial year will finally arrest the declining trend by the end of the March 2010 and will give a further impetus at an average rate of 10 per cent in the coming fiscal 2010-11.”
Art, metalware, woodware, hand-printed textile, shawls and imitation jewellery were among those that registered an increasing trend.
Mega cluster approach
Meanwhile, the mega cluster approach to scale up the infrastructure and production chain at handicrafts clusters is also taking shape.
“Innovative manufacturing as well as designing know-how, furthered by brand building of the native products hold the key to creating a niche market for the products manufactured by the clusters,” Mr Malhotra said.
The Government has also proposed to scale up infrastructure and production facility of large clusters with artisans more than 20,000 in a cluster.
Two mega clusters — Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Narasapur (Andhra Pradesh) — are being developed in public-private-partnership mode.
“The objective is to develop these two clusters with world-class infrastructure that caters to the business needs of the local artisans and SMEs to boost production and export. Modernisation and upgradation of tools and machineries, processing and other methods of manufacturing are also being undertaken,” he said.
The budget of each cluster would be Rs 70 crore in terms of Ministry of Textiles share.
However, it is estimated that at least Rs 90 crore will be required for comprehensive development of each mega cluster.
Thus overall funds needed for each of the proposed project will be mobilised by dovetailing grant funds available under various schemes of the Central and State Governments.
Additionally, the Government is also mulling setting up an advisory group at cluster level to guide and support special purpose vehicles developing the clusters.
Source : Business Line