Union Minister Najma Heptullah today launched ‘USTAD’, a welfare scheme aimed at upgrading and promoting the skills of artisans from the minority community.
“We call those people ‘Ustad’ for whom we carry the utmost respect in our hearts and craftsmen of the city are actually Ustad because of their excellent work,” she said at the launch.
Upgradation of Skills and Training in Ancestral Arts/Crafts for Development (USTAD) was announced in 2014 with the Finance Ministry allocating Rs 17 crore for the scheme.
Launching the scheme at Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Heptullah said that the programme is linked to the ‘Make in India’ campaign that seeks to help weavers and artisans connect with buyers both nationally as well as internationally.
“The NDA government led by PM Modi is committed for the development of traditional artisans of the city and its adjoining places and also to restore the glory of Varanasi,” Union Minister of state for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
“After the scheme, the artisans or craftsmen will not only earn a good livelihood but their life will be full of confidence and dignity. It will also empower women from the minority communities socially and economically,” he added.
Heptullah, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, termed the scheme as “close to the PM’s heart”
It is a major initiative of our government to promote the skills and works of the craftsmen. The rich traditional work of the craftsmen mainly from the minority community has given India a unique identity the world-over, she said.
A portal dedicated to the programme was also launched to?help artisans to log in and get connected to potential buyers world-over.
The National Institute of Design along with a host of other bodies would be associated with this mission and improve designs of the produce if needed, Heptullah added.
PTI