New Delh, 10th Feb. Sanjay Agarwal, Development commissioner (Handicrafts), Textile Ministry, Govt. of India here said that the country will soon get its first 'Handicraft Mall' and for this purpose the process of allotment of two and a half acres of land in the Vasant Kunj area of New Delhi is in its final stages.
The first and one of its kind, 'Handcraft Mall' will house Handicraft products from all the states across the country and will make way for their trade, all under one roof, said Agarwal.
Inaugurating the 'Rajasthan Saree Exhibition' at Rajasthan Emporium's 'Rajasthali'at cannaught place, New Delhi Agarwal said that Rajasthan is one of the leading states when it comes to Handicrafts. He further added that while the furniture business in Jodhpur has attained the Rs. One thousand Crores mark, at the same time Jaipur has shown great promisses in the field of textiles, block printing, stone industries and the carpet industry. Efforts are being made to establish a Marketing mall and a Crafts Institute and the Indian Institute of Crafts in Jaipur. An Urabn Hot Centre will be soon coming up in Ajmer, he added.
Further, providing details on the 'Rajiv Gandhi Insurance Scheme', Agarwal highlighted that more than Eight Lac craftsmen will be benefited through the scheme. Similarly, the 'Bheemrao Ambedkar scheme' scheme will see another four Lacs of artisans getting benefited through the same. He also said that under the 'Gandhi Shilp Hat' program, there would be 'Haat bazars' held for 14 days each in cities across the country each day.
He went on to add that the handicrafts have been divided into 32 categories and for the development of these, apart from setting up a Knowledge bank, Raw Material and Design Bank Centre, work will also be taken up under the Eleventh Five Yearly program for the Development of these handicrafts.
Speaking on this occasion, Mrs. Lalita Prasad, Officer on special duty of Rajasthali said that the rainbow exhibition has got Rahasthan's world famous sarees especially Kota Doria, Bandhej. Bandhani, Laheria, Sanganeri, Bagru, Badmeri, Akola, Block Prined, Zari and Mothda among various other designs that have been put up for display. These sarees are priced form Rs. 400 to 20,000. The exhibition will continue till 19th February.
She further added that in Rajasthan special schemes such as ' Fashion for Development' have been taken up for the development of craftsmen and artisans. They are also being benefited through the services of famous fashion designer, Ms. B.B. Rassel who has introduced various new designs for the weavers. Special efforts are being made for the development of kota Doria and Khadi sarees.