Page 10 - NIS English September 1-15
P. 10
Social Concern
Empowering Artisans
POWER
TO POTTERS
The Government
distributing 17,000
electric chalks to
potters is a step
towards their
economic empowerment
arthen pottery and terracotta always Industries Commission (KVIC) has sped up
played a significant role in the Indian the scheme of distributing 17,000 electric
Ecultural fabric. Any festival or wedding potter wheel (Chalks) which will benefit over
is incomplete without them. 75,000 members of the community. This
In order to increase the earnings of potters, move aims at making Prime Minister’s Self-
the Government through Khadi and Village Reliant India campaign even more powerful.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah distributed
electric chalks to 100 trained potters on
July 24, 2020 in his Lok Sabha constituency
Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat. Shah said, “Our
brothers and sisters from the community
are carriers of Indian craft. Now, we can
enhance their production capacity through
the use of technology. This will make their life
comfortable.”
EMPOWERING TRADITIONAL ARTISANS “Under the Potters’ Empowerment Scheme,
lElectric potter wheels producing 2 Crore KVIC is doing tremendous work to revive the
earthen cups (Kulhad) which are sold at 400 traditional art of pottery in order to strengthen
railway stations the status of marginal potters’ community,”
l Income of potters has been enhanced Shah said.
from Rs 3,000 to Rs 12,000 per month under He further said that it is the dream of
Potters’ Empowerment Scheme the Prime Minister to enrich the country's
l Electric potter wheel turns 800 kgs of traditional crafts and upgrade the skills of
soil into clay in eight hours while traditional individual craftsman.
methods take five days to turn similar KVIC chairman V K Saxena informed
amount of soil into clay that the country has approximately 4 Crore
l The scheme is implemented in Rajasthan, population of potters’ community. Electric
MP, Himachal, UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, West potter wheel enhanced the income of a
Bengal, J&K, Ladakh, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil potter from Rs 3,000 to about Rs 12,000 per
Nadu, Odisha and Telangana month. n
8 New India Samachar
