Associations Organisations

All India Handicrafts Board

The All India Handicrafts Board was originally set up in 1952 to advise the Government on problems of handicrafts and to suggest measures for improvement and development. The Board was also required to study technical, marketing, financial, organizational, artistic and other aspects of handicrafts and to formulate plans on these lines. Its function also included advice and assistance to the state Governments for planning and executing schemes for the development of handicrafts.

State and Union Territories

Each State and Union Territory has a department looking after the development and promotion of handicrafts. Many states including, Arunachal Padesh, Daman , Diu, Delhi and Goa have public sector corporations for marketing handicraft products. A few state corporations dealing with small-scale industries and other products have taken up marketing and export promotion of handicrafts. Besides taking up direct exports, these corporations are also expected to guide and help private exporters.

Central Corporations/Bodies

(a) The Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation of India (HHEC) is a subsidiary of the State Trading Corporation of India, and came into existence in June 1962. The corporation's policy in the field of direct exports is designed to develop new markets and expand traditional ones and to introduce new products suitable to the needs of the consumers abroad. The Corporation undertakes and executes wholesale orders, conducts retail sale operations through retail shops abroad, and participates and sells in major exhibitions of the world. HHEC also helps private exporters by affiliating them as business associates. It undertakes a number of publicity and promotional measures for the export of handicrafts and handloom products.

(b) The Central Cottage Industries Corporation, Pvt. Ltd. is a registered society which had taken over from the Indian Cooperative Union. It runs the Central Cottage Industries Emporium (CCIE) at Janpath, New Delhi, the premier sales organization in Indian handicrafts. The CCIE has branches at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Jaipur. CCIE has grown by leaps and bounds in the successive years.

(c) The All India Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Society Ltd. ,(56-58 Mittal Chambers, 5th Floor, Nariman Point, Bombay, India.), is sponsored and supported by the All India Handloom Board. This Cooperative runs handloom houses in Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Hydrabad, Ernakulam, Vadodara and Vishakapatnam. It also has branches abroad in Lagos, Singapore, Kualalumpore, New York, Mauritius and Hamburg.

All India Associations

India has All India Organizations for three of its most popular handicrafts items; hand printed textiles, carpets and zari. These Associations serve as a platform for consultations among the manufacturers and exporters on one hand and the Handicrafts Board on the other. The Board uses these Associations to disseminate information useful to crafts.

(a) All India Carpets Manufacturers Association; Post Box No. 63, Bhadohi, District Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

(b) All India Federation of Zari Industry; Safe Deposit Chambers, Surat, Gujarat, India.

(c) All India Textile Handprinting Industries Federation, 1106 Prasad Chambers, Swadeshi Mill Estate, Bombay, India.

Social- Voluntary Organizations

A number of social organizations including non profit making registered societies and cooperatives support the field of handicrafts. Their principal aim is to provide work to the poor craftsmen. Many of them run training cum production centres, while others are concerned with marketing. Certain voluntary organizations are running Regional Handicrafts Training Institutes for Women, under the All India Handicrafts Board.

(a) Handicrafts Teacher's Training College (The Arts and Crafts Society), Adarsh Nagar, Worli, Bombay, India.

(b) Regional Training Institute of Handicrafts (Bharat Sevak Samaj), Dharwar, Maharashtra, India.

(c) Regional Handicrafts Training Institute for Women, (Andhra Mahila Sabha) Vidya Nagar, University Road, Hydrabad, India.

(d) Regional Handicrafts Training Institute for Women, (Karma Kutir) 32 Ballygunge Palace, Callcutta, Bengal, India.

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