Odisha Handicraft Exhibition: Smt. Rita Sahu, Minister, Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts, Odisha has inaugurated the State level Handicraft Exhibition today as Chief Guest. Smt. PranatiChotray, Director, Handicrafts, Smt. KalyaniPatnaik, MD, Utkalika, Sri Saroj Kumar Patel, Special Secretary, HTH Deptt. also graced the occasion as Guest of Honour. In this occasion PadmashreeBinodMaharana was felicitated.
To provide a platform for marketing of the products of the clusters and individual artisans, an exclusive State level Handicraft exhibition is organized by the Directorate of Handicrafts at IDCO Exhibition Ground, Unit-III, Bhubaneswar to facilitate the artisans/ SHGs/ Handicrafts Cooperative societies to display and sell their products.
Around 120 handicraft artisans are participating in the exhibition from 23 districts such as Keonjhar, Jajpur, Balasore, Baragarh, Khurdha, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Nabarangapur, Ganjam, Bhadrak, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Boudh, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Nuapara and Jharsuguda. It is expected to attain a business turnoverofRs. 100.00 lakhs during this event.
Craftsmanship of Odisha has its specific identity. 51 different crafts have been approved by Government of Odisha practiced by more than 1.60 lkah artisans in varied degrees and are dispersed throughout the State. The State has got best craftsmanship with 193 artisans honoured with National level Awards including 5 nos of Padma Awards and 13 nos of Shilpigurus. Besides, 342 nos of artisans have been conferred with State level Awards.
Government of Odisha in Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Department is providing promotional supports for growth of the handicraft sector including marker assistance by organizing exhibitions.
Various need based interventions are provided to the individuals, SHGs, cooperative Societies and apex bodies for capacity building , skill up-gradation training, supply of improved tools and equipment, providing bank linkage, infrastructure development, product designing and diversification, marketing assistance to participate in different exhibitions etc. In order to produce market-oriented products, design development programmes engaging designers from inside and outside the State are conducted in clusters to create wide range of products. Steps have been taken for online Marketing of handicraft products.
