National Handicrafts Development Programme (NHDP)

To focus on minimizing occupational hazards and enhancing productivity of weavers through development of ergonomic loom designs and Technical, infrastructural support for pre-loom, on-loom and post-loom operations.

NHDP has been formulated for its implementation during financial year 2021-22 to 2025-26. The scheme will follow need-based approach for integrated and holistic development of handlooms and welfare of handloom weavers. The scheme will support weavers, both within and outside the cooperative fold including Self Help Groups etc. towards raw material, design inputs, technology up-gradation, marketing support through exhibitions, create permanent infrastructure in the form of Urban Haats, marketing complexes etc.

National Handicrafts Development Programme (NHDP) Objective Image

Objectives

To focus on minimizing occupational hazards and enhancing productivity of weavers through development of ergonomic loom designs and Technical, infrastructural support for pre-loom, on-loom and post-loom operations.
To give equal marketing opportunities including direct linkages domestically and internationally to handloom workers with special focus on talented and uncovered weavers for enhancement of their incomes.
To focus on development of pockets at the intersection of handlooms & handicrafts, untouched by commercialization, pockets requiring revival of languishing crafts and having export potential.
To reorient IIHTs as handloom and handicraft hubs by collaborating with NIFT, NID & DC (HC).
To ensure capacity building of handloom workers and other stakeholders, especially technical, managerial & entrepreneurship skills, exposure to banking for finance, laws & legal terminology, export procedures & foreign market trends, digital literacy and ecommerce, etc.
To ensure preservation and archiving of traditional designs, tribal weaves, languishing weaves, looms etc.
To focus on brand building of handloom under India Handloom Brand as an eco-friendly, sustainable and aspirational high-quality textile segment through awareness, promotion of natural dyes/fibers and adoption of global standards of labelling, packaging & quality by the weaving community.
To link handlooms with fashion through interface between weavers, professional designers & the industry and tourism through creation of handloom craft villages for according greater visibility and outreach to the sector.
To facilitate formation of more egalitarian structure of producer companies of handloom workers and their handholding to ensure their sustainability & commercial viability as well as percolation of benefits of professional expertise, operational and financial freedom to them.
Recognition of talented handloom workers for their outstanding work by conferring Awards.
To ensure availability of concessional credit to handloom weavers, producer companies, Self Help Groups etc.
Integrated & holistic development of handloom Clusters in clearly identifiable locations for specific handloom products with close linkages and inter-dependency amongst the key players.
To ensure welfare of handloom workers through provision of life & accidental insurance cover, scholarships for school and higher education to their wards and financial support to indigent handloom awardees.

Benefits

For all NHDP components (except infrastructure and specific components of AHVY) 100% funds in the form of grant-in-aid shall be sanctioned to the eligible organizations. Funds will be released in two installments out of which 75% of the sanctioned amount shall be released as 1st installment and balance amount shall be released as 2nd and final installment in the shape of reimbursement after receipt of requisite audited statement of expenditure, UC in GFR-12A format, performance cum outcome report, inspection report of field office singed by Assistant Director and other required documents etc. In case of departmental activities, 100% payment will be done as reimbursement only. The fund release pattern shall follow the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance guidelines released from time to time.

National Handicrafts Development Programme (NHDP) Benefit Image

Eligibility

Central/ State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporations, Central / State Government Bodies/ Departments.
Non-Government Voluntary Organizations empaneled with O/o DC(Handicrafts), Registered SHGs, registered cooperative Societies and National level Apex Societies
Producer Companies registered under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) and rule 18 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014] and supported in formation by O/o DC Handicrafts.

How to Apply?

Submission of project proposal: Eligible agencies should submit the proposals after recommendation of concerned AD of field office against advertisement only. The advertisement for the proposals under different sub-schemes shall be mandatory published on official website of O/o DC(HC). However, need based projects can be conducted by HQ based on stakeholder/ feedback from field offices.

Selection of artisans: artisans having valid Pahchan card are eligible beneficiaries for NHDP interventions. Beneficiaries should be selected in a fair & transparent manner, through well-defined objective parameters/criteria, giving equal opportunity to all artisans, under the supervision of the concerned AD(H). the field office to ensure that same artisans are not repeated frequently in the interventions.

Selection of MasterCraft person and Designers: For any programme of NHDP the field office/ implementing agency shall involve the empanelled masterscraftperson and Designer of DC(HC) only. The field office will ensure that same mastercraftsperson and designer shall not be repeated frequently.

Inspection and monitoring: The field office/AD should ensure successful execution of event and compliance of guidelines. The requisite monitoring by the field office along with inspection documents (Report, Photographs, List of beneficiaries), Utilization Certificates (GFR documents, audited income/ expenditure report and Performance cum achievement report).

Mode of payment to beneficiaries: The payments to all beneficiaries/concerned should be made using PFMS/ DBT only.

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