A few days ago, Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), had announced expanding and doubling the support to Artisans who might be interested in making Agarbatti. Taking these efforts further, the Ministry has now come out with new guidelines for two more schemes which include ‘Pottery Activity’ and ‘Beekeeping Activity'.

These new initiatives of the Ministry with beneficiary oriented Self-Employment schemes, are aimed at rejuvenating the grass root economy contributing to AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

For ‘Pottery Activity’ Government will provide assistance of pottery wheel, Clay Blunger, Granulator etc. It will also provide Wheel Pottery Training for traditional pottery artisans and Press Pottery training for pottery as well as non-pottery artisans in Self Help Groups. There is also provision to provide Jigger-Jolly training programme for pottery as well as non-pottery artisan in Self Help Groups.
This is being done:

• In order to enhance the production, technical knowhow of pottery artisans and to develop new products at reduced costs;
• To enhance the income of pottery artisans through training and modern / automated equipment;
• To provide skill-development to SHGs of pottery-artisans on focused /decorative products, with new pottery designs;
• To encourage the successful traditional potter to set up unit under PMEGP scheme;
• To develop necessary market linkages by tying up with exports and large buying houses;
• To innovate new products and raw materials to make international scale pottery in the country
• Preparing them to graduate from pottery to crockery and
• Trainer's training programme for skilled pottery artisans who want to work as Master Trainers.

 

In case of the POTTERY improvements in the Scheme are :

i) skill-development training on focused products like garden pots, cooking-wares, khullad, water bottles, decorator products, mural, etc. to SHGs of pottery-artisans has been introduced.
ii) Focus of the new Scheme is to enhance the production, technical knowhow of pottery artisans and efficiency of potter energy kilns to reduce cost of production
iii) Efforts will be made to develop necessary market linkages by tying up with exports and large buying houses
 

A total of 6075 Traditional and others (non-traditional) pottery artisans/Rural Un-employed youth/Migrant Labourers will get benefitted from this Scheme.

As Financial support for the year 2020-21, an amount of Rs.19.50 crore will be expended to support 6075 artisans with a Centre of Excellence, with MGIRI, Wardha, CGCRI, Khurja, VNIT, Nagpur and suitable IIT/NID/ NIFT etc, for product development, advance skill programme, and quality standardization of products.

Additional amount of Rs. 50.00 crore has been provisioned for setting up of clusters in Terracotta, Red clay pottery, with new innovative value added products to build pottery to crockery/ tile making capabilities, under ' SFURTI' scheme of the Ministry.

In case of the Scheme for ‘Beekeeping Activity’, Government will provide assistance of Bee boxes, Tool kits etc. Under this scheme, Bee boxes, with Bee colonies, will also be distributed to Migrant workers in Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan (PMGKRA) districts. A 5 days’ beekeeping training will also be provided to the beneficiaries through various Training Centres /State Beekeeping Extension Centres/ Master Trainers as per prescribed syllabus;
This is being done:

• In order to create sustainable employment for the beekeepers / farmers;
• To provide supplementary income for beekeepers / farmers;
• To create awareness about Honey and other Hive Products;
• To help artisans adopt scientific Beekeeping & Management practices;
• To utilize available natural resources in beekeeping;
• To create awareness about the benefits of beekeeping in cross pollination.

Ministry officials said that in addition to creating additional income sources through these employment opportunities, the ultimate objective is to make India self-sufficient in these products and also to eventually capture the export markets.

As Improvements in Scheme for BEEKEEPING are :

- To increase the earnings of the artisans, value addition to the honey products proposed.

- facilitating adoption of scientific Beekeeping & Management practices

- Aiming to provide help in enhancing exports of honey based products
 

To begin with, Scheme proposes to cover, during 2020-21, a total of 2050 Beekeepers, Entrepreneurs, Farmers, Unemployed Youth, Adivasis will get benefitted from these projects/programme. For this purpose a financial support of Rs.13.00 crore during 2020-21 has been provisioned to support 2050 artisans ( 1250 people from Self Help Groups and 800 Migrant labourers), with a Centre of Excellence with CSIR/ IIT Or other Top class Institute to develop honey based new value added products.
 

Additional amount of Rs. 50.00 crore has also been kept for developing Beekeeping honey clusters under the ' SFURTI scheme of the Ministry.

Detailed guidelines for these Schemes in English and Hindi have been put on the Ministry's websites. The same are also being circulated through social media outreach.

It may be recalled that the initiative to rejuvenate Agarbatti making at grass-root level fe days back, is a step which also directed towards make India AatmNirbhar in supply of this household consumption item. The interventions include the support to the artisans through training, raw material, innovation in the fragrance & packaging, use of new / alternate raw materials, marketing and financial support. The program will immediately benefit about 1500 artisans, in providing sustainable employment with increased earnings. Artisans living in rural areas, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and ‘Migrant workers’ will particularly benefit from the program. In addition to enhancing employment opportunities locally, the programme will also help in capturing the export market in such products.
 

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RCJ/RNM/IA