‘Local For Global’ Bosting Traditional And Small Businesses: MP Medha Kulkarni

Pune, 29th August 2024: “The Ministry of Textiles & Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) of the Government of India has lauched various schemes for weavers, handloom professionals under the guidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ‘My Pride, My Handloom’, an initiative of Government of India encouraging the handloom weavers, says Prof. Dr. Medha Kulkarni, Rajya Sabha MP. PM Modi’s initiative ‘Local for Global’ is boosting traditional & small businesses, she added.

She was addressing the media after inaugurating a grand handloom exhibition organized by the Indian Silk Gallery at Harshal Hall, Karve Road, Pune. Srinivas Rao, Deputy Director (Retd) of the Central Silk Board of the Union Ministry of Textiles, Columnist Shefali Vaidya, former Mayor of Pune Rajlaxmi Bhosale & other dignitaries were present at the occasion.

“This exhibition will be useful to make the consumers aware of silk fabrics. It is an attempt to bring Punekars to the forefront through handloom, cotton, silk, and linen fabrics from different parts of the country. There are many options available for upcoming festivals, including sarees for wedding ceremonies,” mentioned Prof. Dr. Medha Kulkarni.

The Indian Silk Gallery has organized this exhibition to promote weavers, handloom traders, and handloom garments. The exhibition is being held under one roof in collaboration with the Handloom Development Commissionerate, India Handloom, and Handloom Mark. More than 60 handloom traders and weavers from Maharashtra and 15 other states have participated in the exhibition. This exhibition is open to all free of cost till 5th September 2024 from 11 am to 8 pm, informed Srinivasa Rao.

Rao said, “We are happy to present the craftsmanship of weavers from all over the country to the people of Pune. Handloom Products strives to elicit the Beauty and Charm of the women’s fraternity. Beautiful and elegant embroidery work has been done on the hand-woven fabrics of skilled craftsmen. Silk consumers are ignorant and unaware of the duplicate materials available in the market. By taking advantage of this, the unscrupulous Manufacturers and Traders sell synthetic materials such as Silk.”

Boutique sarees of West Bengal, Printed, Chanderi, Paithani, Maheshwari, Banarasi, Garhwal, Kalamkari, Kanchipuram, and Karvathi are some of the well-known sarees of various states. There are stalls of sarees, dress materials, and other materials from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. More and more Punekars should take advantage of this exhibition and also encourage weavers, he added.