Craft fair, Hunar Haat to be back in business after seven-month hiatus
The Hunar Haat programme was commenced by the Minority Affairs Ministry in 2017 as a part of Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) launched in 2015 with the objective of boosting the rich heritage of traditional art and crafts practised by Minorities.
According to Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, “Government’s Hunar Haat Craft Fair has created the employment opportunities for over 5 lakh artisans, craftsmen, culinary experts and other associated people in the last 5 years,”
The fair will be resuming again from November 11-22 as lockdown kept it out of business for seven months following the social distancing norms.Vocal for Local-themed Haat will be organised in Delhi during November 11-22 with over 100 stalls. Over 2 dozen such fairs in various cities across India such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, Indore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, New Delhi, Ranchi, Kota, and Surat/Ahmedabad are proposed for Hunar Haats in FY21, as mentioned in the website of the Ministry.
Recently the Prime Minister urged masses to buy local products to support the livelihoods of artisans and MSMEs, and the government has long been pushing for the use of local products through its Vocal for Local campaign. According to National President B. C. Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal, “Last month, traders’ body CAIT had announced that Chinese exporters to India are likely to suffer Rs 40,000 crore business loss during Diwali season as the local traders are geared up to boycott the sale of goods from China. Out of around Rs 70,000 crore business done during Diwali season by traders, goods worth around Rs 40,000 crore were imported from China in the past years.”
Cover pic: Rajya Sabha TV
