Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that artisans and craftsmen have received orders worth crores of rupees from national as well as international buyers: during the “Hunar Haat” this year.

Naqvi said, “Hunar Haat” receives the prestigious India International Trade Fair, 2021 Silver Medal for strengthening commitment to “Vocal for Local” and its strong presence at the Trade Fair.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that while on one hand lakhs of people visited “Hunar Haat” at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, on the other hand, sale of indigenous products worth crores of rupees took place at the “Hunar Haat” which encouraged artisans and craftsmen from across the country.

Talking to reporters here on the conclusion of “Hunar Haat” in Pragati Maidan here said that while people purchased indigenous exquisite handmade products worth crores of rupees at the “Hunar Haat”, the artisans and craftsmen have also received orders worth crores of rupees from national as well as international buyers.

Over 550 artisans and craftsmen from more than 30 States and Union Territories participated in the 33rd “Hunar Haat”, organised at India International Trade Fair, IITF at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 14-27 November 2021.

“Hunar Haat” organized by the Ministry of Minority Affairs received the prestigious IITF, 2021 Silver Medal for strengthening commitment to “Vocal for Local” and its strong presence at the Trade Fair.

Naqvi said that while on one hand, visitors made large-scale purchases of indigenous traditional products from every corner of the country at “Hunar Haat”, on the other hand, renowned artists of the country mesmerised the audience through their various cultural and musical programmes.

He said that the visitors also enjoyed “Circus” at “Hunar Haat”, where the Indian Circus artists performed spectacular diverse traditional entertainment shows. Visitors also enthusiastically took selfies at splendid Selfie Points at the “Hunar Haat”.

The Minister further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “mantra” of “Vocal for Local” and “Swadeshi to Swavlamban” has encouraged and promoted India’s traditional and ancestral legacy of handloom-handicraft.

With 300 stalls, this was the largest participation by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs in IITF this year. Canara Bank had set up a stall in the “Hunar Haat” to provide easy loans to artisans and craftsmen for employment and self-employment, a Ministry note stated.

Renowned artists such as Annu Kapoor, Vinod Rathore, Sudesh Bhosale, Roop Kumar Rathore and Sonali Rathore, Suresh Wadekar and Padma Wadekar, Amit Kumar, Mohit Khanna, Prem Bhatia, Osman Mir, Rekha Raaj, Vivek Mishra, Ankita Pathak, Priya Mallick, Bhupendra Singh Bhuppi, Mirza Sisters, Posh James, and others e enthralled the audience with their spectacular performances every evening at the “Hunar Haat”.

Naqvi said that “Hunar Haat” virtual and online platform http://hunarhaat.org and GeM portal, better marketing linkages, new designs, better packaging, training & credit linkages have opened enormous opportunities for economic empowerment of artisans and craftsmen. More than seven lakh artisans, craftsmen, and people associated with them have been provided employment and employment opportunities through “Hunar Haat” in the last about 6 years.

The next “Hunar Haat” will be organised at Surat (11 to 20 December) and at the JLN Stadium, New Delhi (22 December 2021 to 2 January 2022). “Hunar Haats” will also be organised in Mysuru, Guwahati, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Patna, Puducherry, Mumbai, Jammu, Chennai, Chandigarh, Agra, Prayagraj, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Kota, Sikkim, Srinagar, Leh, Shillong, Ranchi, Agartala and other places in the coming days, according to the Minority Affairs Ministry note.