India's Gujarat state announces New Cottage Policy 2024

The policy will help create nearly 1.2 million jobs, state minister of cottage industries Balwantsinh Rajput said, while unveiling the policy in state capital Gandhinagar.

The five-year validity of the previous policy is over, an official release said.

The new policy aims at developing a self-sustaining cottage industry sector and open the doors of domestic and global markets for artisans, the minister said.

Rajput said the state will work on making credit and market support available to artisans and focus on infrastructure, skill, technology upgrades and innovation.

It has raised the maximum loan amount under this scheme from the current ₹0.8 million to ₹2.5 million, said the release.

The subsidy under the policy has been increased from ₹0.125 million to ₹0.375 million.

Under the Dattopant Thengadi Artisan Interest Subsidy Scheme, the maximum loan amount for handloom and handicraft artisans has been increased from ₹0.1 million to ₹0.3 million.

Around 60,000 micro-entrepreneurs will be trained over the next five years to enhance their skills.

Artisans associated with various Gujarat government boards and corporations now sell handicrafts and handloom items worth ₹4.6 billion. The new policy aims at raising this figure to ₹15 billion in the next five years, said the release.

The state will also register nearly 5,000 artisans and entrepreneurs on leading e-commerce platforms to help them sell their products across India and the world. It will offer incentives to nearly 2,500 artisans to boost exports of handloom and handicraft products.

An artisan census will be conducted to identify and uplift potential beneficiaries of this sector.

The artisans will also be helped to obtain geographical indication tags to protect their intellectual property rights, the release added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)