With an economic slowdown continuing in the United States and Europe, Indian artisans and manufacturers of handicrafts and handloom are increasingly looking towards the Middle East, Russia and East European and Asian countries for export of their goods.
Keeping this in mind, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, S.S. Gupta is keen that Indian exporters upgrade their products and match the standards of goods available in these countries.
“Exporters would also have to understand that sensibilities of people living in Russia and its neighbouring countries, besides the Gulf countries are different in comparison to people living in the U.S. and Europe. These countries have seen growth over the past two years,” says Mr. Gupta, who has been studying trends in designs across the globe.
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“Secondly, exporters also need to maintain confidentiality. They need to know a thing or two about copyright. We can only provide creative inputs and increase their knowledge about design and product specification but eventually designers and exporters would have to make their products commercially viable.”
The Ministry is putting a lot of emphasis on design, skill development and market. “All are inter-linked. We are also conducting workshops. We will be soon sending national-level and State-level awardees to foreign destinations whenever exhibitions are being hosted there. Exporters who are part of Export Promotion Council would also be sent abroad. I have made a proposal that even designers should be sent abroad so that they can study the design trends and come out with constructive suggestions and something innovative which is an amalgamation of Indian design and the design of the particular country.”