Manipur Handloom & Handicrafts Development Corporation (MHHDC) on Monday signed a MoU with ecommerce platform Amazon to offer an e-market platform for traditional handloom and handicraft items.
The MoU was signed during the Manipur Heritage Expo, which is underway at Imphal.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who attended the function, stated that the interest shown by Amazon was an acknowledgement to the unique quality of the handloom and handicraft items produced by weavers and artisans belonging to various communities.
"Now that the Amazon platform is available, weavers will not face lack of marketing space for their finished products. Already 250 handloom and handicraft items have been uploaded on the e-marketing platform," Singh said while stressing the need for preservation of the handicraft and handloom items through Geographical Indications (GI) tag.
According to the National Handloom Census Report, 2019, Manipur has around 2.12 lakh handloom weavers, around 2.11 lakh looms and around two lakh handicraft artisans.
"The handloom and handicraft has helped in generating employment as well as income in our state," he said adding that the weaver and artisans can apply for financial assistance under the state government's Rs. 100 crore Start-Up Scheme.
Additional Chief Secretary, Manipur, P Vaiphei said joining hands with Amazon was an appropriate step as online shopping and online delivery has become a forte of all entrepreneurship.
Published 06 June 2022, 15:22 IST