SME Times News Bureau | 23 Feb, 2021
Union
Minister for MSME Nitin Gadkari this evening inaugurated 50 artisan-based
SFURTI clusters, spread over 18 States.
In the 50 clusters inaugurated today, over 42,000 artisans have
been supported in the traditional segments of muslin, khadi, coir, handicraft,
handlooms, wood craft, leather, pottery, carpet weaving, bamboo, agro
processing, tea, etc.
The Ministry of MSME, Govt.
of India has funded an amount of around Rs.85 crore for development of these 50
clusters.
The
Ministry of MSME is implementing a Scheme of Fund
for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) with a view to organize
traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and
increase their income.
Inaugurating the clusters, Shri Gadkari said more research needs
to be done on what kind of village products are required by the 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. 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.
The
clusters were inaugurated in presence of Minister of State, MSME, Pratap
Chandra Sarangi, Secretary MSME, Shri B.B. Swain, Members of Parliament, local
MLAs, and senior officers of the Ministry of MSME.
Minister
of State, MSME, Sh. Sarangi said formation of the clusters builds the
confidence of traditional craftsmen, and it is part of the government’s
strategy of keeping villages at the core of the economic policy.
These
clusters have been inaugurated in the States of 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
As
on date, there are 371 numbers of Clusters which have are being funded by the
Ministry, supporting 2.18 lakh artisans with a total Government assistance of
Rs. 888 cr.
More than Rs.708 crore has been the budgetary allocation under the scheme,
of which more than Rs.567 crore has been released for the implementation of the
scheme so far. These clusters are spread all over the country covering 248
districts. The Ministry aims to support at least 1 cluster in each district in
the coming period.
