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J&K Govt notifies 2 revamped schemes for artisans, weavers  

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Credit Card Scheme for Artisans and Weavers will replace Artisan Credit Card Scheme with upper limit of Rs 2 lakh

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Srinagar, Oct 1: Jammu and Kashmir Government on Thursday notified two revamped financial schemes for artisans, and craft cooperatives and SHGs with an aim to provide relief to the beleaguered handicraft and handloom sectors.

These schemes will provide financial support and credit facility to the traditional craft industry affected by COVID19 pandemic, an official spokesperson said.

The financial support scheme for cooperatives and SHGs registered in the Handloom and Handicrafts Department will provide one-time support of Rs 1 lakh in two instalments of Rs 50,000 to a cooperative or SHG through DBT mode. The new scheme will replace the existing Managerial Subsidy Scheme, under which each cooperative was provided Rs 19,104  over a period of three years. But the scheme was not reviewed since 1975.

An annual target of 2000 Cooperatives and SHGs has been fixed for implementation in both rural and urban areas of the Union Territory.

The government also announced a new Credit Card Scheme for Artisans and Weavers of the handicrafts and handloom sectors by subsuming Artisan Credit Card Scheme and Micro Credit Plan Scheme for Weavers. In the new scheme, the loan subsidy has been enhanced from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh with interest subsidy of 7% for a period of five years from the date of disbursement of the loan.

All artisans and weavers who are registered with the Handicrafts and Handloom Department and are involved in production and manufacturing processes will be eligible for credit facility under the scheme, the spokesman said.

“The objective of the Scheme is to provide adequate and timely assistance to the artisan community from the financial institutions to meet their credit requirement of both investment needs as well as working capital in a flexible and cost-effective manner,” he said.

The annual target under the scheme has been fixed at 5,000 in J&K, with break-up of 4,000 artisans in handicrafts and 1,000 weavers in the handloom sector.

Both the schemes have been notified on the recommendations made in the J&K Wool Processing, Handicrafts & Handloom Policy – 2020 which has been adopted vide Government Order No.54-IND of 2020, dated 10.03.2020. The operational guidelines have also been notified along with the schemes for hassle-free implementation, he said.

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