September 25, 2019
Bangla Govt aims to promote muslin products on a global scale
The Bangla Government is contemplating global promotion of muslin and other handicraft products.
While saying this recently, the State Finance and MSME Minister Dr Amit Mitra mentioned that the visits made by approximately 1.2 lakh international tourists to various handicraft hubs across 15 districts had given a tremendous boost to the village economy.
The Biswa Bangla outlet set up at the Kolkata airport has also been attracting a lot of buyers; foreigners who are buying the products at this outlet may feel the need of having such items in their countries and thereby contributing to the export automatically. We have specific plans to increase the export of muslin through various phases, elaborated the Minister.
Muslin products sold via Biswa Bangla store outlets are hugely popular and in great demand. Bangla had been one of the largest exporters of muslin sarees during the pre-colonial era.
The Government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UNESCO in 2013 for the enhancement of soft skills of artisans, through which they have immensely benefited. It has helped the artisans not only raise their incomes but also uplift their social status.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has taken a special interest in bringing back the golden days for weavers. There are more than 300 families that are associated with the production of muslin sarees. The programme began with 3,000 artisans. Today, around 25,000 artisans are involved with the programme. Their income has increased from Rs 500 a month to Rs 7,500 while a few of them are even earning up to Rs 12,000 a month.
