Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh visits EPCH’s Trade Facilitation Centre in Jodhpur

On Jul 27, 2024

Jodhpur, 27.07.2024: The Minister of Textiles, Government of India, Giriraj Singh, visited the Trade Facilitation Centre at Jodhpur Rajasthan on 27th July 2024 (Saturday), marking his first visit to EPCH’s Jodhpur Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) after assuming the charge as the Minister of Textiles.

The Minister was welcomed by Dileep Baid, Chairman, EPCH. Also present on the occasion were EPCH CoA Members – Hansraj Baheti & Nirmal Bhandari; Prajakta Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of textiles; Radhe Shaym Ranga, prominent member exporter; R. K. Verma, Executive Director and member exporters from Jodhpur.

The Minister visited Trade Facilitation Centre at Jodhpur and met member exporters and interacted with them. During the interaction, various issues pertaining to growth and development of the Handicraft sector were raised such as Relaxation for exporters under MSME provision pertaining to timely receipt of payments, Production Linked Scheme for Handicraft Sector, High container charges levied by shipping lines, Request for flexible labour laws for handicrafts to suit seasonal work load, Financial assistance for necessary compliances for certifications pertaining to wood, EU regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), Establishment of testing labs for wood, Incentive for Geographical Indications (GI) products, Double-stack container train from jodhpur to mundra port to name a few.

Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble union Minister of Textiles, in his address said that he’s happy to know, EPCH has set an ambitious target of tripling exports to Rs 1 lakh crores by 2030, and he will consider the request made by handicraft exporters and will try and coordinate with the other ministries to find a solution. He urged all the member exporters to coordinate and work towards achieving this target.

Dileep Baid, Chairman-EPCH in his address said that we at EPCH realize that new opportunities have emerged since the global companies are adopting China-plus-one policy. The council has set an ambitious though achievable target of tripling the exports of handicrafts to 1 lakh crores by 2030. We are adopting a multipronged strategy to kick start growth in the sector which include Focus on new product and design development; Productivity enhancement; Better packaging and Brand building.

Hansraj Baheti, Member CoA, EPCH, said that all the exporters from Jodhpur are committed to enhancing exports from this important craft cluster. He raised issue pertaining to Railway container depot being setup at Jodhpur by Government of India and a container depot being set up by Government of Rajasthan at Jodhpur to be made operational at the earliest.

Nirmal Bhandari, Member CoA – EPCH shared that TFC serve as a platform to hold trade fairs, retail exhibitions, buyer-seller meets, special promotional events, conduct workshops and conferences. He further added that this centre is an important landmark in Jodhpur which helps in nurturing entrepreneurship, facilitating exports of handicrafts and providing livelihood to many.

Mr. R. K. Verma, Executive Director of EPCH, shared that “It’s our honour to welcome the Minister, Giriraj Singh, at the TFC in Jodhpur. EPCH, under the guidance of Ministry of Textiles, has always taken important initiatives to shoulder the handicrafts sector. We are confident that under the vision of the Minister, we will achieve tremendous success in the coming future.” Kumar emphasized EPCH’s dedication towards enhancing exports and supporting the growth of the nation’s handicraft industry. He added,

During the visit, minister also witnessed the display of handicrafts of Rajasthan, with live demonstration by the artisans. He interacted with them and appreciated their craft and said that handicraft artisan are truly backbone of sector and in case sector has to grow its important that the artisans are to be encouraged and promoted at national and international levels.

EPCH is a nodal agency for promoting exports of handicrafts from the Country to various destinations of the world and projecting India’s image abroad as reliable supplier of high quality of handicrafts goods & services. The Handicrafts exports during the year 2023-24 was Rs. 32758.80 Crores (US $ 3956.46 Million) registering a growth of 9.13% in rupee term & 6.11% in dollar terms over the previous year, informed by Mr. R.K. Verma, Executive Director-EPCH.