Odisha government mulls world bank help to boost textile, handicrafts sector

The Odisha state government has decided to seek support from the World Bank (WB) to develop its textile, handloom and handicrafts sector. 

A meeting of senior officials from both sides was held recently in Bhubaneswar to finalize a project to raise the income of the artisans and weavers by increasing domestic sale and exports and standardise design patterns.

“No financial decision has been taken yet on the project. We expressed Odisha government’s keen interest and they also expressed theirs,” the state’s development commissioner R BalaKrishnan told media persons.

A newspaper in Odisha, however, reported that around Rs 460 crore will be invested in the project initially. Odisha hosts 52 kinds of handicraft and weaving art forms and around four lakh people are engaged in this profession directly or indirectly.