The two-day National Conference on Handlooms & Handicrafts 2025, held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, brought together senior officials from States/UTs, sector experts and policymakers.
Key Highlights
Formulated the blueprint for a forthcoming national mission: the National Traditional Textile Mission (2026–31) with focus on: women-led development, cluster infrastructure, universal financial support for artisans, and GI-linked branding.
Deliberated on design innovation, digital empowerment and cooperative federalism to strengthen artisan livelihoods and preserve cultural heritage.
Announced a six-monthly conference cycle for continuous review, data-sharing and inter-state coordination to accelerate sectoral transformation.
The conference reaffirmed the government’s commitment to repositioning India’s handmade sector as a core pillar of the “Viksit Bharat 2047” vision and reflects a shift from treating handlooms/handicrafts as niche cottage sectors to viewing them as strategic industries. By layering innovation, design-driven value chains, digital tools, and inter-state collaboration, the ministry aims to scale artisan enterprises, strengthen export potential, and deepen rural non-farm employment.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders:
How can the ministry operationalise the mission blueprint so that artisan clusters, women-led groups and youth creatives across states get integrated into value-chains, digital platforms and export-markets — rather than remain at the production end?
Follow the full news here: New Scheme Framework Charted for India’s Handmade Economy
