Mega Mission of Economic Empowerment of Artisans Has been Visualised Successfully at Hunar Haat: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here that the 20^th “Hunar Haat”, organised by Union Minority Affairs Ministry at India Gate Lawns, Rajpath, New Delhi from 13 to 23 February 2020, was historic and successful.  He said that Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla visited “Hunar Haat” and encouraged artisans and craftsmen.

Addressing the media on the conclusion of 20^th “Hunar Haat”, Shri Naqvi said that more than 250 artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts from across the country participated in the “Hunar Haat”. For the first time, these artisans included more than 50 per cent women artisans.  He said, this “Hunar Haat” proved to be a “Mega Mission” of “Empowerment of Indigenous Legacy” and “Economic Empowerment” of artisans as sale worth crores of rupees of their indigenous products took place. They also got large scale orders for their products from India and abroad.

The Minister said that Minority Affairs Ministry will get these artisans and their products registered on “GeM” (Government e Marketplace). The Ministry is also in discussion with several export promotion councils so that these artisans and craftsmen receive large scale orders from India and international markets regularly.

Shri Naqvi pointed out that during “Mann Ki Baat” on February 23,2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi appreciated “Hunar Haat” and artisans, craftsmen and their exquisite indigenous handmade products. By mentioning about “Hunar Haat” in “Mann Ki Baat”, the Prime Minister has reiterated Government’s commitment to promote and encourage the magnificent legacy of our indigenous arts/crafts, Shri Naqvi said.

He said that Prime Minister made a surprise visit to “Hunar Haat” and  his visit gave a tremendous boost and world-wide recognition to talent of Indian artisans and craftsmen. Shri Modi also enjoyed “Kulhad Ki Chai” and Bihar’s delicious “Litti-Chokha”. During his about one-hour long presence at “Hunar Haat”, the Prime Minister visited several stalls and interacted with artisans and also took information about their indigenous products.

Shri Naqvi said that the visit of the Prime Minister gave a tremendous publicity to “Hunar Haat” as the number of visitors increased day by day after his visit. More than 15 lakh visitors, both domestic and international, visited “Hunar Haat” at India Gate Lawns, Rajpath, in these last 11 days. The visitors encouraged the artisans, craftsmen and also enjoyed traditional delicacies of various states at “Bawarchikhana” section at “Hunar Haat”.

Besides, renowned artists, singers and poets enthralled the audience daily with their performance. These artists included Anu Kapoor, Surendra Sharma, Manzar Bhopali, Praveen Shukla, Nikhat Amrohi, Shambhu Shikhar, Dilbag Singh, Bhupinder Singh “Bhuppi”, Simple Sisters, Mukesh Pancholi and others.

The “Hunar Haat” at India Gate Lawns was inaugurated by Union Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal; Union Minister for Urban Development (Independent Charge) Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and President ICCR Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on 13^th February.

Shri Naqvi said that this “Hunar Haat”, organised on the theme of “Kaushal Ko Kaam” witnessed gracious presence of Union Ministers Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Smt Smriti Irani, Shri Mahendra Nath Pandey, Dr Jitendra Singh, Parliamentarians, senior officials, senior Diplomats from various countries and other dignitaries from India and abroad. These dignitaries encouraged and lauded artisans and craftsmen and their indigenous handmade products.

Shri Naqvi said that the next “Hunar Haat” will be organized at Ranchi from 29th February to 8th March and in Chandigarh from 13th to 22nd March, 2020. In the coming days, “Hunar Haat” will be organized in Gurugram, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Dehradun, Patna, Bhopal, Nagpur, Raipur, Puducherry, Amritsar, Jammu, Shimla, Goa, Kochi, Guwahati, Bhubneshwar, Ajmer and other places.

So far, “Hunar Haat” have been organized at various places in the country such as Delhi, Mumbai, Prayagraj, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Puducherry and Indore.