State-owned Poompuhar, the arts and crafts wing of Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation, has surpassed its revenue target of Rs. 40 crore. The unit has posted Rs. 40.27 crore revenue in 2016-17.
By embracing technology, this department saw its revenue jump from Rs. 31.07 crore in 2014 to Rs. 40.27 crore.
“Bringing all operations online helped and the revenues have increased showing positive signs. Today, from airports to individual houses, people are knocking on the doors of Poompuhar to decorate their walls and install art work on their premises,” said Santhosh Babu, chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd.
Review meetings in this department now costs about Rs. 2,000 per review compared to Rs. 1 lakh per review earlier. “iPads have been given to all officers of the corporation for supervision and e-Review through Face Time. An audio review system has been installed,” Mr. Santhosh added.
Poompuhar’s tie-up with e-commerce portals, including Snapdeal, Flipkart, Shopclues, Crafts villa and India Mart, has taken handicrafts and art work to the younger audience throughout the world.
“This has taken our products to younger audience. Our foray into social media and online digital marketing is an added advantage for the department,” says Mr. Santhosh. Today, this department has its presence in 10 social media platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube.
Web-based repository
A comprehensive web-based repository of all artisans in Tamil Nadu, with dedicated web pages for each artisan and special features to promote marginalised groups of artisans, has been created. Funding to the tune of Rs. 1 crore was obtained from the State Innovation Fund for this venture.
“We expect about 1.5 lakh web pages to be created, making it one of the biggest market places of artisans in the world. Each artisan gets one web page and data has been captured in a standardised format.
“The site is live now,” added Mr. Santhosh.
Incorporated in 1973, the annual turnover of the corporation was Rs. 50 lakh when it started.
