Handicraft exporters body EPCH on Thursday urged the government to allow resumption of work in craft clusters with a view to mitigate the hardship of the sector on account of lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreak.
Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) Chairman Ravi K Passi said, the government should consider permitting work resumption of work in the cottage industry as a large number of artisans and craftpersons are engaged in production of handicrafts products of home, lifestyle, fashion, furniture and textiles exclusively for the overseas markets.
The council has approached the government to provide relief to handicrafts units operational in handicraft clusters like Moradabad, Saharanpur, Agra, Firozabad, Narsapur, Jaipur, and Jodhpur, he said in a statement.
"These handicrafts units are registered with District Industries Centre and have the valid RCMC (Registration Cum Membership Certificate) of the EPCH and their inclusion would certainly help handicrafts sector which is one of the employment generating, foreign exchange earning sector of the Indian economy," the Councils Director General Rakesh Kumar said.
The sector's exports declined by 2.36 per cent to USD 1.79 billion during 2019-20. The sector employs about 7 million people directly and indirectly.
Major export destinations for domestic handicrafts items include the US, Europe, South America, Africa and China.
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The US and Europe together account for about 60 per cent of the country's total handicraft exports.
Main handicraft items exported by India include house-ware, home textiles, furniture, glassware, bamboo goods, fashion jewellery and lamp and lighting.