EPCH raises pertinent issues with UP Minister Nandi, demands handicrafts park at Yamuna Eway

Uttar Pradesh – 04th January’2024 – Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, Minister for Industrial Development, Export Promotion, NRI, Investment Promotion along with Durga Shankar Mishra, Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh; Amit Mohan Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME & Export Promotion U.P.; Anil Sagar, Principal Secretary, Infrastructure and Industrial Development Deptt and IT, Govt of U.P.; Pranjal Yadav, Secretary, MSME and Export Promotion UP; Nitish Suri, Jt. DGFT; Amit Kumar, Jt. DGFT met the heads of various Export Promotion Councils to discuss the Export performance and export promotion strategies was held today at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Dr. Neeraj Khanna, Vice-Chairman-EPCH; Dr. Rakesh Kumar Chief Mentor–EPCH & Chairman-IEML; Avdesh Agarwal, General Secretary, Moradabad Handicrafts Exporters Association (MHEA); Rajat Asthana, President, Handicraft Exporters Association (HEA); Mohd Ausaf, General Secretary, Saharanpur Wood Carving Manufacturing Association; Anwar Ahmad, Secretary, Saharanpur Wood Carving Manufacturing Association; Vishal Agarwal, General Secretary, Young Entrepreneur Society (YES); Rajesh Jain, Anurag Mittal prominent member exporter from Uttar Pradesh along with Rajesh Rawat, Addl. Executive Director EPCH attended the meeting.

Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’, Minister for Industrial Development, Export Promotion, NRI, Investment Promotion spoke about the export target which is required to be reached from the current level of Rs. 1 lakh crore to Rs 3 lakh crores in next three years by Government of Uttar Pradesh. He assured all possible help to the trade & industry towards achieving that target.

Durga Shankar Mishra, Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh spoke about CM vision of 1 trillion economy from state of Uttar Pradesh and various steps been undertaken towards achieving that goal. He highlighted all the various infrastructure projects been undertaken to provide boast to the exports from Uttar Pradesh.

Amit Mohan Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME & Export Promotion U.P spoke about the current challenges been faced with respect to exports from the country and also from the state of Uttar Pradesh owing to the global headmen’s. However, he urged the exporters to keep working hard to achieve exports growth in years to come. He also urged exporters to put forward suggestions which can be undertaken and implemented by the state government in order to kick start the export growth.

Dr. Neeraj Khanna, Vice-Chairman-EPCH highlighted several key issues affecting the handicrafts industry, which plays a significant role in preserving traditional art forms, generating employment, and contributing to the economic growth of the region. He emphasized on various issues including nominal charges on House tax on Industry, Grant for Compliances Scheme (VRIKSH, REACH, C-TPAT, ROHS etc) and Redevelopment of SEZ.

Dr. Rakesh Kumar Chief Mentor–EPCH & Chairman-IEML shared insights on the evolving landscape of eCommerce, omni-channel exports, and the role of third-party logistics (3PL) in shaping the future of trade. He shared that eCommerce sector has witnessed unprecedented growth, and India has a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on this trend. Dr. Kumar highlighted the importance of adopting omni-channel strategies for exports, allowing businesses to seamlessly integrate online and offline channels to enhance customer experience and reach a broader audience. He further added that strategic partnerships with reliable 3PL providers is needed to optimize logistics, reduce costs, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Avdesh Agarwal, General Secretary, Moradabad Handicrafts Exporters Association (MHEA) stressed on setting-up of a “Handicrafts Park” in the Yamuna Expressway Area at a price rebate of 30% of land prices, a similar kind of initiatives as approved for “Textiles Sector”, increased financial assistance towards domestic/ international fairs and interest subsidy for UP exporters.

Rajat Asthana, President, Handicraft Exporters Association (HEA) emphasized on upskilling of Manpower through training programs, waste management programs, technical and quality management support systems for handicrafts sector supported by the Government of U.P.

Mohd Ausaf, General Secretary, Saharanpur Wood Carving Manufacturing Association shared that subsidized raw materials for handicraft sector to be provided so that exporters can price their product competitively as comparted to China.

Rajesh Rawat, Addl. Executive Director – EPCH presented export performance of the sector which has shown signs of recovery and highlighted the potential of Uttar Pradesh and its sustained efforts towards strengthening India’s Handicrafts position in the global market.

Exports Awards were also distributed by Minister on the occasion and the Handicraft exporters who received the awards were M/s Dewan & Sons, M/s Malhotra Handicrafts, M/s Exmart international, M/s Famous Art & Antique International, M/s Transparent Overseas, M/s Chopra Musicals and others.

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts is a nodal agency for promotion of exports of handicrafts from the Country and create brand image of magic of the gifted hands of millions of artisans and crafts persons engaged in production of home, lifestyle, textiles, furniture and fashion jewellery & accessories products in different craft clusters of the Country. The overall Handicrafts exports during the year 2022-23 was Rs. 30,019.24 Crores (US $ 3,728.47 Million) informed R. K. Verma, Executive Director, EPCH.