Artisans, craftsmen get another avenue to sell products; govt to fund this proposal from states

Several states have started working on the proposal of ‘Hunar’ Hubs. (Twitter image)

The government will be funding setting up of  ‘Hunar’ hubs to help artisans, craftsmen, and culinary experts display their skills and sell their products, according to Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The minister said that several states have started working on the proposal of the government to set up ‘Hunar’ Hubs where artisans, craftsmen, and culinary experts will be given training based on current needs and will also be offered spaces to exhibit and sell goods, PTI reported. Naqvi inaugurated Hunar Haat in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The haat was organised at Sabarmati Riverfront to boost the legacy of master artisans and craftsmen.

“We have received their proposals and will be funding them,” Naqvi told reporters. The minister said they want to set up such a hub in every state with more than one Hunar hub in bigger states. Few states including Kerala, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh have begun work on it, he said. 100 such hubs have been sanctioned by the ministry across India. Establishing Hunar hubs in all states was first announced by Naqvi in March 2017 to provide a market opportunity to master artisans coming from minority communities.

Also read: Forget $108 billion target, SoftBank’s second Vision Fund could be this much smaller than first fund

Naqvi informed that hubs would bring employment to thousands of artisans, including women even as many other countries have shown interest in organising them. The cities where hubs will be organised include Indore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh etc. Artisans from states such as Telangana, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Bihar, Kerala, West Bengal, Jammu-Kashmir, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Punjab displayed their products at Ahmedabad hub that will continue till December 15.

Apart from the government, India’s leading e-commerce firms such as Amazon and Flipkart have also been focusing on helping artisans, craftsmen and small businesses in India to scale their business and sell products through the online channel. For instance, Flipkart had launched Samarth programme in July this year to onboard Indian artisans, handicraft makers, and weavers on its platform. Amazon through its Global Selling Program is getting artisans, weavers, and MSMEs on its platform to sell their products globally.