OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN 2019-20 · 2 days ago · 2| ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20 | EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRATS The Committee of Administration of Export Promotion Council

1EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRATS | ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20 |

OVERVIEWOF ACTIVITIES IN 2019-20

2 | ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20 | EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRATS

The Committee of Administration of Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts is pleased topresent its 34th Annual Report, for the period ending on March 31, 2020 (April-March) withthe audited Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Accounts, for the same period.

Overview of Handicraft ExportsExports of handicrafts during the period under reporting have registered a decline, showingdecline in exports to all significant markets. As per the export data handicrafts exports during2019-20 amounted Rs. 25,270.14 crores in comparison to Rs. 25,548.97 Crores during 2018-19. In dollar terms, the exports of handicrafts 2019-20 is US $ 3654.60 Million against US$ 3564.33 Million in 2018-19.During the period, the exports of Woodwares, Embroidered & Crocheted goods, Agarbatties& Attars and Misc. Handicrafts showed the increasing trends of 3.45%, 11.09%, 12.28% and0.03% in Rupee terms respectively. However, Artmetalwares, Hand printed Textiles, Shawlsas Artwares, Zari & Zari goods and Imitation Jewellery showed negative growth by 0.43%,23.06%, 52.99%, 9.35% and 11.84%. In USD terms exports of Woodwares, Embroidered &Crocheted goods and Agarbatties & Attars showed increasing trends of 2.01%, 9.54%, and10.72% respectively. Whereas Artmetalwares, Hand Printed Textiles, Shawls as Artwares,Zari & Zari goods, Imitation Jewellery and Misc. Handicrafts showed negative growth by1.82%, 24.13%, 53.64%, 10.59%, 13.07% and 1.37%. Overall decrease in the Rupee termswas 1.09% and decrease in the US $ term was 2.47%.During the period, in Rupee terms exports to Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, UAE, U.K.,LAC and Other Countries have shown decline by 5.65%, 5.98%, 19.77%, 7.83%, 12.26%,4.27%, 0.44% and 6.43%. While France, Germany, Netherland, Switzerland and USA increasedby 1.00%, 10.88%, 8.94%, 60.03% and 5.08%. In US Dollar terms Australia, Canada, France,Italy, Japan, UAE, U.K., LAC and Other Countries decreased by 6.96%, 7.29%, 0.40%, 20.89%,9.12%, 13.49%, 5.60%, 1.83% and 7.73%. Whereas Germany, Netherland, Switzerland andUSA increased by 9.34%, 7.42%, 57.80% and 3.62%

Enrolment / Membership of the CouncilThe Council enrolled 1232 new members during 2019-20. The total membership of the Councilwas at 9405 members as on March 31st, 2020, including renewed memberships.

Overview for the Accounting Period 2019-20(April 2019 - March 2020)

EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRAFTS


Proceedings of the Committee of AdministrationThe Committee of Administration met five times during April 2019-March 2020, during which,regular business was conducted besides consideration and approval of membership, selectionfor export awards, participation in exhibitions abroad, organising seminars, inviting designersof handicrafts from foreign countries, activities related to IHGF Delhi Fair and commercialpublicity abroad, decisions on policy matters, EXIM, DEPB, Duty Drawback and administrativematters were taken up by the Committee.The Committee also took various other decisions to improve the services and ensure efficientfunctioning of the Council and for boosting exports of handicrafts. The Committee initiatedimportant activities highlighted in the report and various decisions were also taken as and whenrequired. The following important decisions were taken by the Committee of Administration:✦ Approval of Activities and their Budget Estimates and Revised Budget Estimates for

the year 2019-20✦ Annual Action Plan for Export Promotion Activities 2019-20✦ Approval and adoption of Annual Report, Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure

Account for the period 2018-19✦ Retirement / Election of COA members as per section 256 of the Companies

Act. 1956

Organisation of the Council (2019-20)The Composition of the Committee of Administration as on 31st March, 2020 was as under:

*These members were retired and re-elected in the 33rd AGM of the Council held on 14th December 2019.** These members were elected in the 33rd AGM of the Council held on 14th December 2019.

Committee of Administration (COA) Members

Shri Arshad Hussain Mir Shri Ashok Boob Shri Dileep Baid

Shri L R Maheshwari* Smt. Jesmina Zeliang Shri Sagar Mehta

Shri K.N. Tulasi Rao Shri Sudhir Tyagi Shri Mr. Hansraj Baheti**

Shri Prince Malik Shri O P Prahladka Shri D Kumar

Shri Nabeel Ahmad** Shri Kamal Soni** Shri Sharad Kumar Bansal**

ChairmanShri Ravi K Passi

Govt. Nominees

Additional Development Commissioner (Handicrafts)Director, Deptt. of North East Region

Executive Director cum Secretary / Director General

Shri R K Verma / Shri Rakesh Kumar

Vice ChairmenShri R K Malhotra* Shri Naved Ur Rehman


✦ Marketing activities of Jodhpur Mega Cluster, Rajasthan✦ Disbursement of MAI grant to the members✦ Organising IHGF Delhi Fair (Autumn 2019 & Spring 2020 ) and other product specialised

fairs - IHDS and IFJAS✦ Publicity Campaigns in Overseas Markets✦ Participation in International Fairs / Exhibitions, Festivals of India and Buyer-Seller

Meets✦ Dalbergia Species (Indian Sheesham/Rosewood) schedule II under CITES issues, approval

of Vriksh and issuance shipment certificate under VRIKSH Scheme✦ Seminars / Workshops / Training & Awareness programs in craft clusters✦ Brand Image Promotion and Road Shows in Overseas markets✦ Construction of Trade Facilitation Centre at Jodhpur✦ Upgradation of Saharanpur CFC✦ Meetings & representations to the Government on GST and other matters concerning

promotion of exports of handicrafts✦ Wooden Testing Lab at Jaipur / TFC at Jodhpur & other Places✦ Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 and other Policy Issues✦ Administrative & Staff Issues✦ Compilation of Export Data✦ Other Activities for Export Promotion

Annual General Meeting33rd Annual General Meeting of the Council was held on 14th December 2019 at New Delhiand completed the business as per Articles of Association of the Council.


SEMINARS ANDTRAINING WORKSHOPS

With an objective to provide guidance for gearing up and aggressivelymoving on to capture a larger share of the international market, EPCH

reached out to its members in various craft pockets and regions in India,through industry oriented informative seminars as well as interactive events.

Conducted by professionals/experts in various fields, the focus of theseprograms was on product development, technical expertise, integrated

marketing, design development, export promotion & facilitation, policies& procedures, potential & future prospects, etc.


Symposium on Filling the Gap: Emerging Opportunities for IndianTextiles and Crafts in the Present Global EnvironmentEPCH participated in a symposium on ‘Emerging Opportunities for Indian Textiles and Crafts’ at TheImperial, New Delhi, on February 19, 2020. This was held under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles, Govt.of India and the deliberations were on opportunities on how India should fill the supply gap and positionitself as an alternate sourcing hub, by stepping up its manufacturing & supply capabilities. The objectivewas to discuss the impact as well as meet the rising challenges and emerging opportunities in the presentglobal scenario, especially the situation after the outbreak of the ‘Corona Virus’ in China. Hon’ble UnionMinister of Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani was the Chief Guest and

Mr. Ravi Capoor, Textiles Secretary, wasthe Guest of Honour. Mr. Shantmanu,Development Commissioner (Handicrafts);Mr. Sanjay Rastogi, DevelopmentCommissioner (Handlooms); and officialsfrom the Ministry of Textiles, Ministry ofCommerce and DGFT were also present.Officials from the Indian Missions inBrussels and Washington - Dr. Smita Sirohi,Adviser, Embassy of India (Belgium,Luxembourg and the EU); Dr. Manoj KumarMohapatra Minister (Commerce) and Dr.Shyam Prasad Katipalli, First Secretary(ITOU) & Commerce from Embassy of Indiain Washington, also attended thesymposium through video conferencing.

Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani encouraged all theEPCs (Export Promotion Councils) to reachout to MSME units in their segments forhand holding towards quality, compliance,R&D and certification which theGovernment would support. Mr. RaviCapoor, Secretary Textiles, encouraged theindustry to believe that every crisis hasan opportunity and Indian industry couldleverage the bold moves made by the Govt.of India in certain sectors. Mr. RakeshKumar, Director General, EPCH, made anemphatic call for immediate action.

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Trend Forecasts, Design Directions, Design SupportTrends & Forecasts for Spring Summer 2020 and TechnologyUpgradation in Fashion Jewellery & AccessoriesInformative session organised in preparedness for the sourcing season ahead as well as EPCH’s upcomingshow-Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show-IFJAS 2019. Held on 12th April 2019 at New Delhi,offered Spring/Summer 2020 forecasts and trend guidelines for segments like, Bed & Bath, Colour, DecorativeAccessories, Experience Design, Fashion Connection, Furniture & Lighting, Garden & Outdoor, Hospitality,Interior Style, Kids’ Room, Kitchen & Tabletop, Paper & Packaging, Print & Pattern, Seasonal Gifting,Textiles, Vintage & Craft, Walls & Floors and Wellness. Participants were also encouraged to create theirown palettes using full Pantone, CSI, CNCS colour libraries. Seminar was interactive with the audiencesharing their experiences.

Design, Trends & Forecast for Spring Summer 2020Organised to brief member exporters about trends in the global market with insights, updates and forecastson colours, trends and designs as well as help them chalk out export strategies for retail, customercommunications and business. Held at Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 28th June 2019.Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, COA Member, EPCH, as well as prominent member exporters from Jaipur werepresent. Mr. Sunil, Designer, EPCH, detailed on the topic, combining the creative, technical and outfittedaspects of a product and the business. Ms. Amla Shrivastava, Head Designer, EPCH, facilitated this seminarheld at Moradabad Resource Centre on 18th July 2019, with focus on the importance of working withmaterials, finishes, textures, etc. as per upcoming trends. Session was graced by EPCH COA Members -Mr. Sudhir Tyagi and Mr.Naved Ur Rehman. In Varanasi, this seminar was held on 7th December 2019and was graced by Mr. A Junaid Ansari,President, and Mr. Rajesh Khushwaha,Secretary, Eastern UP Exporters Association(EUPEA); and Mr. S K Jha, Joint Director,Varanasi Extension Center, NIFT Rae Bareilly;Mr. Amit Kumar, ITS, Deputy DGFT, Varanasi;and Mr. Ranveer Yadav, Designer-NIFT. Mr.Amit Kumar appreciated EPCH’s effortsin helping exporters in Varanasi brace upbetter for competition. Mr. S K Jha explainedhow his institute has been serving in thefield of design for years; suggestedinnovations with new technology, designand materials in existing crafts.

How to improve value of yourproduct with designOrganised in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh on3rd July 2019, this seminar had two sessions- one on design innovation and the otheron credit risk management. Mr. RanveerSingh Yadav, designer from NIFT guidedthe participants on studying marketsuitability and how applying new designsin their existing products can enhance theirappeal/value. He also shared about thedemand and taste of different markets and

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advised them to stay updated with trends and forecasts. Mr. Mukesh Kumar, Branch Manager, ECGCExporters Branch, Moradabad, spoke about ECGC and its Export Credit Insurance Covers for exportersagainst Credit Risk losses in export of goods & services.

Design Trends & ForecastSeminar organised at Awake Office Auditorium, Bangalore on 29th August 2019. Participants comprisingEPCH member exporters, Awake members as well as young entrepreneurs from the region, benefitedfrom an informative presentation & guidance from eminent designer, Mrs. Aparna Gujral who has beeninstrumental in setting up a premium jewellery brand that she currently works with - GANJAM. She looksafter their design & merchandising department, understands the requirements of a growing luxury brand,and is known to be an excellent mentor to design students, budding designers, and other accessorystart-ups on their product range. Her guidance was insightful.

Home & Lifestyle Trends for Spring Summer 2020Seminar organised at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida on 19th October 2019. Aimed to provideparticipants in-depth knowledge of design trends for Spring Summer 2020 with Dr. Kaustav Sen Gupta,Associate Professor, NIFT Chennai. He summed up the 19/20 trends and elaborated on 20/21 forecastswith focus on materials, styles, patterns and colours. Participants learnt of alternate and new sustainablematerials like cocohusk, hemp, seaweed, fruit pulp based materials and rubber that will replace leather.The major colour trends for the season were shared besides inclination for recycled paper productsincluding papier machie and origamy, bio plastics that will replace plastics, reinvention of terrazo withthe inclusion of post-industrial waste, inspiration from geological elements, etc.

Design, Trends and Forecast for Autumn Winter 2020/21 and SpringSummer 2021Aimed at educating entrepreneurs and manufacturers in the handicraft clusters to help them make productsas per trends and demands in the international market as well as towards preparadeness for the upcomingIHGF Delhi Fair-April 2020 with focus on categories specific to the regions. Seminar was held on 20thDecember 2019 with a detailed guidance on international design and trends on textile based crafts,furniture and the decorative segments by Head Designer, EPCH, Ms. Amla Srivastava. Present were eminentmember exporters from Mumbai including Mr. Pradip Muchhala from M/s Muchhala NV. In Jaipur, thiswas held on 20th December with focus on textiles, bed, bath, kitchen, furniture, packaging, prints &graphic. This was graced by Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, former Chairman and Regional Convenor, EPCHand was attended by EPCH member exporters as well as 35 women trainees of EPCH ONGC CSR livelihoodinitiative. Seminars on the same lines were conducted in Saharanpur on 14th December 2019 and inBangalore on 21st December 2019. S

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Export Promotion, Documentation, Procedure,Strategies, SchemesIndia Customs Single Window - IceGate Portal (eSANCHIT)Organised on 10th May 2019 in New Delhi to help member exporters in understanding process of Customs’Paperless processing under SWIFT (Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade). Prof. Ram Singh,guest faculty from IIFT, New Delhi, informed about eSANCHIT–Step-by-Step procedure enumerating thevarious steps in the entire process. Mr. Babu Lal Meena, Dy. Commissioner, Central Board of IndirectTaxes and Customs (CBIC) was also present on the occasion.

Export Promotion & MarketingGuest speaker and expert faculty at this seminar held in Pune on 6th June 2019, Mr. Ashok H Sharma,shared his views on handicraft development in Pune with focus on traditional skills and contemporarydesigns, and how the sector can benefit from design development and institutional support. Participantslearnt how to understand the market suitability for exports and its need of promotion; different marketsituation and merits in understanding the demand and market of handicrafts; and political stability,economic standards and evaluation of business in a market. Mr. Sharma also made a presentation onpackaging and documentation & procedures of export.

Export Documentation and their ObjectivesOrganised on 26th June 2019 at Bangalore, with an aim to make the audience, identify and understandthe functional aspects of each and every document in the export process and make sure that they createand use error free documentation.Conducted by Prof. K R Nath, a well-knownspeaker on the subject, who also advocateda thorough understanding of the basicdocumentation system system required tobe generated and transmitted between theparties of transaction.

Role of Buying Agency inExport BusinessConducted with an objective to createawareness about the role of buyingagencies and their professional & strategicapproach that makes finding buyersoverseas much easier than it was in thepast. Through their customised services,buying agents pre-qualify and identify thebest prospects in selected country ofinterest and arrange either face-to-facemeetings or represent themselves asrepresentative of import/ export unit. Thisseminar at the Handicrafts ProductivityCentre, Jaipur, on 19th July 2019, wasaddressed by Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari,former Chairman & Member COA - EPCH;and Ms. Seema Malini from M/s Pulse India.

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Export Procedure, Documentation and Export Credit InsuranceOrganised at D S I A Auditorium, Mangalore on 30th August 2019 and graced by Mr. Socrates, DeputyDirector and Mr. M P Saji, Asst. Director, O/o DC(Handicrafts), Mangalore; Mr. Srinivas Rao, RegionalHead, ECGC Mangalore; and guest faculty, Mr. Annappa Pai, President of Small Industries Association,Mangalore. Attended by member exporters of EPCH as well as NGOs and Master crafts persons fromsurrounding places like Bellary, Sandur, Sirsi, etc. and young entrepreneurs from in and around the city.Participants learnt of various documents required for international trade and the importance of beingthorough in them as well as Export Credit Insurance covers offered by banks and other financial institutions.

Export Promotion Schemes available for Business in Handicrafts SectorOrganised in the Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 21st September 2019. Focused on updatingthe participants on various export promotion schemes available for business in the handicrafts sectorso that they can anticipate, prepare and respond to competition by managing and sustaining strategicinnovation. Leading member exporters from the region attended. Guest faculty, Mr. Priyabrata Banerjeedetailed on the Govt.’s strategies and policy measures which catalyse growth of exports in differentsectors as well as in newer markets. The audience also gained information and updates on Export PromotionSchemes-Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 and others that provide promotional measures to boost exports.

Workshop on Export Promotion, Documentation & Procedure2 days workshops were conducted with the support of District Industries Centre (DIC), at Cairn EnterprisesCentre, Barmer, Rajasthan on 14th & 15th November 2019 and at Panchayat Samiti Bhawan, Jaisalmer,Rajasthan, on 27th & 28th November 2019. Participants learnt of entrepreneurship development; exportpromotion, documentation & procedure; export finance, banking and exchange rate regulation; exportcredit/loan facilities available that can help entrepreneurs start their own business; foreign exchange management;various registrations & licenses as well as RBI Regulations and Guidelines. Guidance was also given onproduct designing, marketing and timely delivery for export shipment. Participants were encouraged tobecome successful exporters with the help of EPCH, DIC and other Govt. organisations.

Export Procedure & DocumentationOrganised at the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers Association Building, Coimbatore, TamilNadu on 27th January 2020. Designed to help participants identify & understand functional aspects ofeach and every document in the export process towards error free documentation. They were updatedon role of various documents required for international trade, the role of DGFT and their outreachprogrammes for entrepreneurs; Exim Bank and its Grass Root Initiatives nd its role in the developmentof micro entrepreneurs; EPCH and its trade platforms. Chief Guest, was Mr. Shaman, ITS, Joint DirectorGeneral of Foreign Trade, Coimbatore. S

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Banking, Finance, Export Insurance, Payment TermsBasic Regulatory Guidelines on Export Finance and InterestEqualizationThe seminar, organised at New Delhi on 17th May 2019 had guest faculty from YES Bank- Ms. MehakKeswani, Vice President, Business Banking Trade and Mr. Danish Zaheer, Senior Vice President, StrategicBusiness, share information about the steps/procedures involved in basic regulatory guidelines forexports, touching upon basics like, need of export finance and its benefit to MSMEs; types of exportfinance; regulatory timelines; export data processing & monitoring system (EDPMS); third party exporttransaction; banking products available for exporters; pre & post shipment finance; eligibility underinterest equalisation scheme; comparision between export finance & cash credit; financing againstmerchandising trade transaction; export finance at forward rate; and FCTL & LCS.

Collateral Free Export FinanceBAA & Drip Capital organised this knowledge seminar in Moradabad on 19th July 2019, in associationwith the exporters associations of Moradabad, viz. YES, MHEA, LUB & IIA. This was graced by Mr. RakeshKumar, Director General, EPCH and Chairman, IEML; Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; Mr. Sudhir Tyagi,COA Member, EPCH; Mr. Ankur Khaitan, Country Head, Drip Capital; Mr. Ullas, Sr. Manager, Drip Capital;Mr. Neeraj Khanna, National Chairman, YES; Mr. Amit Agarwal, Chairman LUB; Mr. Naved Ur Rehman,President, MHEA; Mr. Suresh Gupta, Chairman IIA; Mr. Sumit Chhabra; Mr. Vishal Dhingra, Vice Chairman,BAA; and Ms. Anchal Kansal, General Secretary, BAA. BAA & Drip Capital formally signed an MoU whichwill entail a partnership covering pan India events organised by BAA. Another MoU was signed betweenEPCH, YES, BAA, Moradabad Charitable Trust & Research Centre and Asian Vivekanand Super SpecialityHospital to provide highly subsidised treatment for artisans. This was followed by a felicitation addressesby Mr. Avdesh Agarwal from MHEA;Mr. Neeraj Khanna from YES Society; Mr.Amit Agarwal from IIA; Mr. Ravi K Passi fromEPCH; and Mr. Rakesh Kumar.

Finance for Micro & SmallExport EnterprisesOrganised in Jodhpur on 22nd July 2019,this seminar was graced by Mr. NirmalBhandari, Patron, Jodhpur HandicraftsExporters Federation; Mr. Naresh Bothra,President, Jodhpur Handicrafts ExportersFederation; Mr. Ashok Chouhan, JointSecretary, Jodhpur Handicrafts ExportersAssociation; Mr. Navneet Aggarwal, AssistantDirector, World Trade Centre, Jaipur;Mr. Kiran V N, Assistant Director, O/oDevelopment Commissioner (Handicrafts),Jodhpur; Ms. Pooja Mehra, Assistant Director,District Industries Centre, Jodhpur; Mr. JayShekhawat, Vice President, HDFC Bank, Jaipur;and Mr. Prabhat Singh, Cluster Head, HDFCBank, Jodhpur. The participants learnt offinance schemes for MSMEs as well as thevarious useful Govt. schemes related tofinance.

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Trade Service - Export Import Digital Solution (TOL)Organised at Moradabad on 8th August 2019, this seminar aimed at informing the participants aboutthe trade services of ICICI Bank as well as the upcoming Asian Gifts & Premium Show at Hong Kong.Mr. Jitendra Suneja, Regional Head, and Mr. Gaurav Aggarwal, Zonal Head, Business Banking, ICICI Bank,briefed the audience about trade services for import and export, offered by their bank including thenewly launched New Trade account variants which would further enhance trade customers sourcing. Thebank’s comprehensive range of trade services for import-export business was also shared. The secondsession was addressed by Mr. Anson Chan, Comasia Ltd. - organisers of Asian Gifts & Premium Show,Hong Kong, scheduled from 20-23 October, 2019 at Hong Kong.

Export Credit, Risk Assessment and ManagementThis seminar was organised in Mumbai on 21st August 2019 in association with YES Bank and saw thepresence of Mr. Ashok Boob, EPCH Convenor for the Western Region; Mr. Pradip Muchhala, COA Member,EPCH; guest faculty, Mr. Kishore Kothari, Executive Vice-President, YES Bank and member exporters fromMumbai. Mr. Kishore Kothari explained in detail about export credit, risk assessment and managementin relation to international trade.

Risk Management through ECGC Ltd.Organised in Agra on 19th September 2019, in coordination with ECGC Ltd. under their Export Development& Awareness Programme. It was addressed by Dr. S K Tyagi, Coordinator, EPCH Extn. Counter - Agra;Mr. S Jamsuanpau, Branch Manager, Mr. Gajendra,Manager and Mr. Aksh Pathak, Assistant Manager,ECGC Ltd., Agra Branch. Participants learnt of various activities of EPCH as well as the need for insurancesupport such as those ECGC provides in the wake of defaults and insolvencies in export scenario.

Methods of Payment Risk Mitigation and Export Insurance throughECGC Ltd.Informative sessions on the topic were conducted in New Delhi in 21st September 2019 and in Kolkataon 23rd September 2019. Participants learnt of methods of payment in export business, how to succeedin today’s global marketplace and win sales against foreign competitors as well as about ECGC’s schemesfor export risk management. Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; Mr. Rajesh Jain, COA Member, EPCH; Dr.Ram Singh, guest faculty from IIFT, New Delhi; and Mr. Partha P. Banerjee from ECGC graced the NewDelhi seminar. The Kolkata session had speakers like, Mr. Subhasish Saha, Executive Officer, ECGC Ltd.;Mr. KK Chatterjee, Head WB, Madhya Pradesh Lahu Udyog (Mrignayni), West Bengal; and Mr. RajarshriDas, Founder, Creative Bengal Foundation. A session was also held at India Expo Centre, Greater Noidaon the topic with Mr. Partha P. Banerjee, Asstt. General Manager, ECGC as guest faculty. S

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Export Schemes & Benefits, Export Banking and Credit InsuranceSeminar organised in cities in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Well attended by several member exporters ofthe region. Objective was to appraise member exporters of the region about various schemes and exportbenefits available to exporters/ manufactures and artisans; export marketing strategies to be followedin order to enter into the field of exports; payment risks involved in international trade and credit insuranceschemes available to combat them; and opportunities offered by EPCH. Session in Ahmedabad on 27thSeptember 2019, was addressed by Mr. Girish Chandra, AD, O/o DC(Handicrafts), Ahmedabad; Mr. PrashavMehta, Sr.Vice President, YES Bank; and Mr. Amit Kumar, Branch Manager, ECGC. Seminar on the subjectorganised in Indore on 26th November 2019, in association with ECGC Ltd. had Mr. R K Maru, Consultant,International Trade and Mr. Nilesh Tiwari, Branch Manager, ECGC Ltd. Indore among speakers. Sessionin Mumbai organised in association with ECGC Ltd. was graced by Mr. Pradeep Muchhala, Member, COA,EPCH; expert faculty, Mr. Mihir Shah, Consultant, International Trade; and Mr. Mahalingam, Branch Manager,ECGC Ltd, Mumbai. In Pune, the seminar was organised on 13th March 2020 with expert faculty,Mr. Ashok Sharma; and Mr. Vishnu Khanolkar, Branch Manager, ECGC Ltd, Pune.

Methods of Payment, Risk Mitigation and Export Insurance (ECGC)Organised at Rajiv Gandhi Handicraft Bhawan, New Delhi on 7th February 2020 with guest faculty fromECGC - Mr. Saurabh Srivastava and Mr. Vikash Deshmukh. Attendees learnt about choosing appropriatepayment method to minimise payment risks while also accommodating the needs of the buyer; relateddocumentation as well as risk factors connected with uncertainty over the timing of payments; ECGCLimited and its export credit insurance support to Indian exporters.

Currency Risk Management and Investment to Expand BusinessOrganised at Rajiv Gandhi HandicraftBhawan, New Delhi on 23rd November2019. Addressed by Mr. Vijay Kaushik fromIIFT, New Delhi, who is also a senior expertin Currency Risk Management. The seminarwas also conducted in Mumbai and Puneon 22nd and 23rd January 2020, respectively.Participants learnt of present currencysituation, forecasting of currency priceforecasting & hedging trends and factorsthat impact currency demand & supply.

Export Schemes, Benefits,Export Marketing & CreditInsuranceOrganised in Nagpur, Maharashtra on 27thDecember 2019, in association with ECGCLtd. Attendees gained insight oninternational trade, recognition &protection crafts get through GeographicalIndication(GI) of handicrafts and variousschemes of ECGC for the benefit ofexporters, export marketing strategies.Participants were encouraged to makeefforts to reach international marketsthrough various schemes as well as

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opportunities provided by EPCH and government agencies. Speakers were, Mr. Nitish Dhote, Consultant& Trainer on International Trade, Ms. U Guha, IPR Attorney and Mr. Rajesh Desurkar,Branch Manager,ECGC Ltd., Indore.

Simplifying GST, Foreign Trade PolicyGoods & Services Tax - How to file GSTR-9 Annual ReturnInformative seminars organised across regions with expert faculty who explained about GSTR 9 form,the procedure of filing it and answered queries. Participants were also updated on Council’s activities.Northern Region - Organised in New Delhi on 27th April 2019 with expert faculty, Mr. Manoj Goel, thissaw the presence of Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; Mr. Sagar Mehta, Vice Chairman, EPCH; Mr. R KVerma, Director, EPCH; and Mr. Rajesh Rawat, Joint Director, EPCH. In Jaipur, a Business Conclave onthe topic was organised on 24th May 2019, with support from HDFC Bank. This was graced by Mr. LekhrajMaheshwari, former Chairman & Member COA, EPCH; Mr. Avindher Laddha, Additional Director, Dept.of Industries; Mr. Shiv K Kedre, Asstt. Director (Handicrafts), O/o DC (Handicrafts); Mr. Girish Agarwal,member exporter from M/s Sankalp International; Mr. Navneet K Chordia, Vice President, HDFC Bankand expert faculty - CA A K Atolia and CA Deepak Goyal. In Jodhpur, the seminar was conducted in theCommon Facility Centre on 28th May 2019, with member exporters, entrepreneurs and officials fromJodhpur Handicrafts Exporters Association along with SHGs/NGOs. Among speakers were Dr. BharatDinesh, President, Jodhpur Handicraft Exporters Association; Mr. Jai Shekhawat, Vice President, HDFCBank, Jodhpur; and Mr. Pradeep Jain, Charted Accountant.Central Region - In Agra, the seminar was organised on 1st June 2019 by EPCH in association with theHandicrafts Exporters Association (Agra). CA Deependra Mohan and CA Gaurav Goyal explained thetopic and cleared doubts. Mr. Ayyob Ali, Joint Commissioner, GST Dept., Agra and his team informedthe participants about the benefits of GST regime. In Moradabad, this awareness seminar was organisedon 11th June with guest faculty, CA Abhinav Agarwal.Western Region - In Mumbai, this session was on 14th June 2019 and had two topics. The one on GSTwas addressed by guest faculty, Charted Accountant Parita Shah and the one on Designs, Trends &Forecasts was addressed by Ms. Amla Srivastava, Head Designer, EPCH. The process on GST filing waselaborated while clearing doubts of the exporters on the topic. The design presentation focused on2020 on probable market situation and designs on jewellery, furniture and decoratives.Southern Region - In Bangalore the seminar was organised on 30th May 2019 and was graced byMr. Sharath Babu, President, All India Agarbathi Manufacturers’ Association, Bangalore; Mr. K L Ramesh,ex-Regional Convenor - Southern Region, EPCH; and guest faculty, Mr. M V Sridhar, an eminent expertretired from Central Excise and Custom department. He explained in detail about GSTR9 and the varioussteps involved in the process. In Narsapur, this session was conducted at the International Lace TradeCentre on 22nd June 2019 and was graced by Mr. MSRK Somesh, Commissioner O/o State Tax, Palakol; S

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and Mr. K N Tulasi Rao,COA Member and Convenor (Southern Region), EPCH. The presentation on GSTwas made by CA Uma Maheswararao. In Chennai, the seminar was held on 29th July and facilitated byMr. Siva Guru, Chartered Accountant from the city. The occasion was graced by Mr. K N Tulasi Rao,Regional Convenor - South, EPCH; and Mr.Subramaniyan, former COA Member, EPCH. Member exportersincluding those from Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Dev. Corpn., attended. In Pondicherry, this session wasconducted on 30th July 2019 at the Art and Craft Village by guest faculty, Mrs.Laxmi P.R., Auditor fromPondicherry in the presence of Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, Regional Convenor - South, EPCH; and Mr.VinothKumar, Asst. Director, O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Pondicherry.

FTP as a boon & beeps (benefits, exemptions, schemes)Organised at Karnataka State Agarbathi Manufacturers Cooperative Society Limited, Bangalore on 10thJune 2019, this was graced by Mr. Sharath Babu, President of the Cooperative Society; and Mr. K LRamesh, ex- COA member, EPCH. Expert faculty on the subject, Prof. K R Nath made a detailed presentationon the topic and the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, emphasising on the importance of understandingit and abiding by its provisions, in order to enjoy all the benefits, exemptions and export promotionsschemes available in it to export organisations.

Dispute Resolution Scheme for Excise & Service Tax Cases, andGoods & Services Taxes -UpdatesOrganised at the Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 28th September 2019, and focused on theDispute Resolution Scheme operationalised from 1st September 2019 to 31st December 2019. EPCHorganised this seminar with expert faculty, CA Keshav Gupta from M/s R. Sogani & Associates, to providea detailed analysis of the scheme along with practical case studies to understand the scheme in aneasier manner.

Foreign Exchange Services to SMEsThis seminar held at India Expo Centre,Greater Noida on 18th October 2019, aimedto guide the attendees on financial andbusiness matters to evaluate information,merits and risks of export in the contextof their financial position and particularcircumstances. The speakers - Mr. SushilKumar, DGM(IB), SBICRM; and Ms. SeemaSrivastava, AGM& Faculty(IB), SBICRM,offered guidance on how to have financialcapacity to bear the risks involved in anexport business.

Goods & Service Tax andExport ProcedureThis seminar was organised at Sagar,Shimoga District, Karnataka on 11thNovember 2019, by EPCH with sponsorshipfrom Exim Bank. Objective was to educateparticipants about the latest updates onGST returns and export procedure in theGST regime. Insightful talks and informativepresentations on EPCH’s role in overall

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growth of the sector and in export promotion, importance of participating in its workshops and fairs,benefits to member exporters, etc., were made by Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, Regional Convenor-SR, EPCH; Mr.Veeresh Naik, Assistant Director, DIC, Sagar; Mr. Dayanand Nayak, MD-KSHDC; Mrs. Sumana Sarkar,AGM, Grassroots Initiatives & Development and Marketing Advisory, Export Import Bank of India, Mumbai;guest faculty, Mr. Shriram; and Mrs. PLSreedevi, Regional Coordinator, EPCH, Bangalore. Guest faculty,Mr. Sriram spoke about GST and the types of returns. He also elaborated about the export procedure.

Quality Compliance, Packaging, LogisticsImportance of Quality Control and Necessary CompliancesThis was conducted on 7th June 2019 at the Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur, with an objectiveto create awareness among entrepreneurs, manufacturers and crafts persons/artisans on importance ofquality control and necessary compliances. Guest faculty, Mr. Neeraj Yadav, Director, Qualicon ConsultancyCo., addressed the participants on the topic with focus on the process of Quality Control (QC) and itssignificant contribution to long-term revenue and profitability as well as a competitive edge in theinternational market. Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, former Chairman & Member COA - EPCH, informed theparticipants about the Council and his various activities towards the overall growth of handicrafts.

Importance of Packaging & it's purpose in ExportsThe seminar on 9th August 2019 at International Lace Trade Centre, Narsapur, was conducted by guestfaculty, Mr. K Prasanna Kumar, Designer, Centre for Sustainable Design and State Awardee in woodenmechanical toys. Through a detailed presentation, he informed about packaging and types of packaging,highlighting the various aspects of the process like definition, purpose, safety from tampering, brandvisibility for customers for recall value as well as bundling. He also informed on the types, levels andfunctions of packaging.

Technical Competence in PackagingHeld at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida on 18th October 2019. Expert faculty in this seminar, Mr. MadhabChakraborty, Joint Director and Regional Head, IIP Delhi and Mr. Lalit Mohan Gupta, Director, Package,Design, Research & Test Lab, made insightful presentations on obtaining technical competence in packaging.Mr. Lalit Mohan Gupta, started with ‘transport packaging’ using corrugated boxes and Kraft paper inwhich he explained parameters for packaging - bursting strength, compression strength, edge crust test(ECT) and Moisture absorption (cobb), through an illustrative presentation, detailing differentiation andreason for various parameter tests. Mr. Madhab Chakraborty also spoke about transportation packagingthat relates to retail packaging as well. The speakers shared how transit of products to various placeshelped them to rethink their packaging and come out with effective export packaging. S

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Quality Testing Parameters for Handicrafts IndustryOrganised at Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 30th November 2019, with guest faculty,Mr. Benjamin, from M/s Modern Testing Services Pvt. Ltd. Highlighting importance of safety, environmental,regulatory and government standards, across the world, he spoke of how manufacturers can cater to ahighly complex and changing marketplace by meeting compliance and quality requirements. They canbe achieved through a strategised process that culminates in a proper testing mechanism, he explained.Thereafter, Mr. Benjamin detailed on testing - an important component of managing quality assurancethroughout any organisation supply chain. The testing process begins with understanding the productfrom manufacturing organisation point-of-view - Where will the product be marketed? Who will use theproduct and what are the quality expectations? He also informed that EPCH has established a woodentesting laboratory at Jaipur for testing of quality of wooden products which in turn help to increase thecredibility of Indian wooden handicrafts among buyers and informed the audience that this is a CertifiedTesting Laboratory by the International Safe Transit Association.

Export Scope, Marketing Strategies, TerminologyPricing of Handicraft Products in the International MarketThis seminar was organised in Kolkata on 9th August 2019, with an objective to discuss strategic pricingof handicraft products to enable exporters to place their products in competitive markets and fix agood profit margin. Guest faculty, Dr. Gautam Dutta, Professor - Marketing, Indian Institute of ForeignTrade (IIFT), guided the attendees on the subject with focus on ‘export pricing’ in terms of promotingexports and facing international trade competition. The attendees learnt of pricing strategies and thatan ‘optimum price’ has a vast impact on the sales and maximises profit from the product, while remainingattractive to customers. With this seminar, the participants got a better understanding on how to succeedin export business by implementing rightmethods to set the right pricing of theirproducts. They also learnt how pricing canbe determined as well as factors that canhelp exporters get the best value for theirproducts.

How to source ForeignBuyersOrganised in Mumbai on 9th October 2019,the objective of the seminar was to guidethe participants on how to evaluate thepotential of products and services theyaspire to export to their respective targetcountries, the sources of entry and theexisting pacts and policies undertaken toencourage exports. Besides, this sessionwas also aimed at providing exporters/entrepreneurs with the information on howto understand and find overseas buyers.While guiding the participants on thesubject, expert faculty on international trade,Mr. Ajit Shah, mentioned that exporterscan’t run a successful export businesswithout suitable customers.

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Next Big Wave of Importers is Coming – Are You Ready?With distinctive speakers from USA, Singapore and Australia, this seminar at India Expo Centre, GreaterNoida on 17th October 2019, aimed to guide the attendees on the fast growing e-Commerce industryand carve their success stories. Ms. Meghla Bhardwaj from Singapore - founder of India Sourcing Trip,the first-ever learning + sourcing + cultural guided tour for global e-Commerce and Amazon sellers toIndia, explained about retail versus e-Commerce and spoke with focus on Amazon, USA. Other speakerswere, Mr. Tim Jordan from USA - CEO/Founder of Hickory Flats, Inc. and Founder of Private Label Legion;Mr. Gary Huang from USA - owner of a number of private brands, founder of 80/20 Sourcing and the7 Figure Seller Summit; Ms. Margaret Jolly and Mr. Kevin Oldham, Amazon sellers from Australia whosource all their products from India; and Mr. Chris Thomas from Australia, Amazon coach and consultantas well as host of The Australian Seller Podcast, and speaker at conferences around the world.

Effective Communication for Export Business and Personal SuccessMr. Abhishek Arora, Soft Skills Trainer and Co-Founder of M/s Personal Reflection, conducted this seminarorganised by EPCH in Jaipur on 31th January 2020. The occasion was graced by Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari,former Chairman and Regional Convenor, EPCH; member exporters from Jaipur-Mr. Pawan Sharraf,M/s Uma Wood Industries, Mr. Mahesh Agnani, M/s Sheela Fashions, Mr. Ajay Agarwal, M/s VaidehiGems & Jewellers and Mr. Narayan Maheshwari, M/s Sparshh. Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari appreciated theefforts of EPCH for conducting such awareness programs. Speaking about the seminar’s topic he said,“communication is often essential to the overall success of business. Mr. Abhishek Arora touched uponthe common barriers to effective communication and how they can be overcome.

Trade Barriers, Challenges, OpportunitiesGlobalisation and Positioning of Products & Services in WorldwideMarket SegmentsAimed at making the audience understand about the Omni-channel retail strategy, this seminar at NewDelhi on 6th April 2019 had Dr. Mike Invanof and Mr. Shamsher Gill from Global Box, Canada, as guestfaculty. They informed how this approach to sales and marketing provides customers with a fully-integratedshopping experience by uniting user experiences from brick-and-mortar to mobile-browsing and everythingin between. They also explained about the fundamental difference between an Omni-channel vs. multi-channel strategy with examples. At Mumbai, the seminar was conducted on 3rd May 2019, by expertfaculty, Mr. Sudhakar Kasturae who offered details on the term - omni-channel and how it leads to aseamless experience where content and actions transfer from platform to platform.

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Trade Agreements and their Relevance in Enhancing InternationalTradeOrganised in New Delhi on 30th November 2019. Expert faculty, Dr. Tamanna Chaturvedi from IIFT, NewDelhi touched upon trade agreements and how they determine the tariffs and duties that countriesimpose on imports and exports, thereby affecting international trade. She shared opportunities andinsight based on itemised trade syncracies and India’s strengths, calling for a need to identify wheregrowth and opportunity exists, in order to apply focused export promotion by applying market intelligence.She explained about Free Trade Agreements (FTAs); the present international trading environment withfocus on trade barriers and examples; regional economic organisations that usually characterised byliberal trading agreements and joint investment projects which enable the member countries to getaccess to larger markets and supplies of capital; the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT);United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Generalised System of Preferences(GSP); Chambers of Commerce as well as other business organisations, etc.

Product Innovation and BrandingThe seminar at Mumbai on 11th December 2019, was aimed to educate entrepreneurs and manufacturersin the handicraft cluster of Mumbai. Guest faculty - Mr. Shrinivas Shikaripurkar, spoke on the topic withexamples. He detailed on innovation and product branding, explaining the various steps in the processwith respect to competition and market situations as well as competition to India.

Digital Marketing, Online Sales, Cyber SecurityGlobal Online Sellingthrough amazon.comOrganised to help participants understandthe potential of the emerging digitalplatforms in fuelling the growth of the smalland medium enterprises, this seminar atMoradabad on 28th May 2019, wasaddressed by Mr. Sourav Chatterjee,Category Manager, International Expansion,Amazon India. The highlight of the seminarwas to educate exporters and manufacturerson B2C exports via the e-Commerce routeand enable them to sell across internationalmarketplaces. He deliberated on everyaspect and value chain of e-Commerce andprovided insight on how MSMEs from thehandicrafts sector can leverage the platformof amazon.com to reach out to the globalmarket by using a “marketplace” model,a familiar retail concept in India. He alsotouched upon the new logistics,warehousing and shipping services offeredby Amazon Services and options availablefor members. It was also informed thatamazon.com is assigning one accountmanager to each supplier to manage theiraccounts and inventory of their products.This concluded with a Q&A.

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e-Commerce Led Exports-Challenges and OpportunitiesOrganised at the Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 31 May 2019 with Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari,formerChairman & COA Member, EPCH, presiding over the proceedings and guest speakers - Mr. Rahul N.Duggal from M/s Aravali; Mr. Mayank Agarwal, Regional Manager, eBay India; and Mr. Gaurav Passy,Territory Manager, DHL IN. They touched upon the advantages of exporting as well as e-Commerce ledexports, describing the processes, challenges and opportunities, step-by- step with an understanding ofthe target market, its culture, laws and customer profile as well as use of different communication strategiesand how one can edge over existing competitors.

Effective use of Social MediaOrganised at the Common Facility Centre, Jodhpur on 28th June 2019 with guest faculty-Mr. Rakesh Jain,Business Consultant; and Ms. Prachee Gaur, Founder & CEO, Remarkable Education Pvt. Ltd. Jodhpur.They explained the usage and aspects of Social Media including their built-in data analytics tools, whichenable companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns.

How to Safeguard Business from Cyber Crime; and Banking Solutionfor Importers and ExportersOrganised at the Handicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 26th July. Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, formerChairman & Member COA - EPCH; Mr. A Q Khan, M/s Nabila Impex; and Mr. Deepak Sinha, M/s NeerjaInternational Inc. graced the occasion. Mr. Hitesh Anand, Executive Vice President, YES Bank Ltd.; andMr. Anuj Tewari, Vice President, Risk Management, Yes Bank Ltd. explained the topic in detail. Participantslearnt how to be on the lookout for email scams; securing computer from cybercrime attacks; stayingsafe on social media; exercising caution when shopping online; keeping personal information protected;and adopting strategies to prevent exposure to inappropriate online content. The seminar was organisedin Meerut on 31st August 2019 with guest faculty and speakers like, Mr. Gaurav Rana, Sub Inspector, UPPolice Cyber Cell; Mr. Sanjeev Tyagi, Cluster Head, Meerut Cluster, HDFC; Mr. Raman Pandey, ForeaxArea Head, HDFC; and Mr. Vaibhav Talwar, Area Head and Finance Deptt., HDFC Bank. The attendeeslearnt that cyber-crime often crosses legal jurisdictions and even international boundaries.

Good to Great and Marketing through e-CommerceOrganised on 9th August 2019, with an aim to educate entrepreneurs and manufacturers in the handicraftscluster of Ahmedabad. Guest faculty and leading business consultant from Mumbai, Mr. Ashok H Sharma,made informative presentations on the two topics. Some of the participants had also displayed a rangeof their products. During the session, the faculty shared his views and the necessary steps to follow tobring about, successful teaming. S

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Export Marketing and e-CommerceOrganised at and sponsored by C E Kamath Institute for Artisans at Karkala, Karnataka on 27th September2019. Saw the presence of several participants from Manipal, Hirangadi, Udupi, etc. who benefited frompresentations by Mr. KN Tulasi Rao, South Regional Convenor and Committee Member, EPCH, on theCouncil’s various activities and its membership benefits; and expert speaker - Prof. Nideesh from JusticeKS Hegde Institute of Mgmt., Karkala. The occasion was also graced by Mr. Prabhu, Director of the hostinstitute and Mr. M P Saji, Asst. Director, O/o DC (H), Mangalore. Mr.Nidheesh spoke about export marketingand opportunities for artisans in e-Commerce, explaining about strategy planning for exports, regulatorycompliances, branding, e-Post, shipping & logistics, payment terms, etc.

Online Marketing & e-CommerceOrganised in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu on 19 December 2019. Seminar was initiated by Mrs.P L Sreedevi,EPCH representative in Bangalore and graced by Chief Guest, Dr. T Arun, IAS, District Collector, Pondicherry;Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, Southern Regional Convenor, EPCH; Mr. Vinoth Kumar, Assistant Director,O/o DC(Handicrafts), Pondicherry; Mrs. Parvathi Mogaveera, Chief Manager-Grassroots Initiatives &Development and Marketing Advisory Services, Exim Bank of India, Mumbai; and Mr. Ganesh Subramanianfrom Amazon.com, Bangalore. Mrs. Paravathi Mogaveera, highlighted the various schemes of her bankand its concern to revive traditional Indian crafts from the grass root level. Mr. Ganesh Subramanian,executive from Amazon.com, Bangalore, explained how Amazon is the best destination for investors tolaunch and build a brand by providing increased brand discoverability, marketing opportunities andself-serve brand tools.

Future of Exports through Digital Innovation & Sales throughe-CommerceSeminar, sponsored by Exim Bank, Mumbai,was held at Kanara Chamber of Commerce& Industry, Mangalore, Karnataka on 30thJanuary 2020. Mr.Socrates,Deputy Directorof MSME DI Mangalore inaugurated thisprogram in the presence of Mr. Issac,President, KCCI; Mr.Mohammad, Secretary,KCCI; Mr. Sushil Kumar, HPO, O/oDC(Handicrafts), Dharwad; Mr.SanthoshShetty, Secretary, Puttur Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, Puttur; Mr. UtpalGokhale, General Manager, GrassrootsInitiatives & Development and MarketingAdvisory Services, Exim Bank of India,Mumbai; and Mr. Ganesh Subramanian fromAmazon.com, Bangalore. Mr. Utpal Gokhale,General Manager, Exim Bank of India,highlighted the various schemes of his bankand its concern to revive traditional Indiancrafts from the grassroot level. Mr. GaneshSubramanian from Amazon.com, Bangalore,spoke about Amazon as the best destinationfor investors to launch and build a brandonline. The main aim of this program wasto provide knowledge about exports ande-Commerce to young entrepreneurs andartisans, especially from the MSME sector.

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How to grow Export Business through e-CommerceOrganised in Moradabad on 18th February 2020, to make member exporters understand how they cangrow their trade by doing business through Alibaba.com e-commerce portal. It was addressed byMr. Amit Midha, Vice President, TDI International India (P) Ltd. (a first Authorised Channel Partner ofAlibaba.com), on various aspects of growing trade by using Alibaba.com an e-commerce marketingplatform. The session was initiated by Mr. Naveen Gaur, Assistant Director and Regional Incharge-CentralRegion, EPCH. Mr. Amit Midha informed that as per the current situation due to corona virus it is difficultto visit affected countries but buyers and sellers can do business by using e-Commerce portals. He alsoinformed that Alibaba.com is providing virtual showcase where sellers can upload their product photographsby the help of account managers deputed by Alibaba.com.

Driving Profit using Digital MarketingOrganised in Jaipur on 20th February 2020, with an expert on the subject, Mr. Hiranya Vasu, founder, M/s Aomni Marketing Solution. Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, former Chairman and Regional Convenor, EPCH,graced this session. Member exporters from the region and their personnel attended. The program startedwith an update on EPCH and its various activities, forthcoming trade events, etc. Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwariemphasised the importance of digital marketing as a significant marketing tool in today’s times. Adetailed understanding of the subject was provided by Mr. Hiranya Vasu with an emphatic introductionabout, “67% of a buyer's journey taking place online; it only makes sense that businesses evolve accordingly.Gone are the days of only offline marketing strategies. To be successful in today's market, companiesmust create a sales process that aligns with the needs of online consumers. However, the key to developinga best-in-class digital selling strategy doesn't just involve having an online presence, but a well-roundeddigital brand that connects with target consumers in a meaningful way.

Disputes & Solutions, Intellectual Property Rights,ChallengesHow to Manage Business in a Differential TimeOrganised at EPCH House, Moradabad on 11th April 2019. Guest faculty and corporate trainer, Dr. MosamSinha guided the audience on facing the various challenges in business and how to cope with them.Participants learnt that the most important of all is to retain the interest of all stakeholders to buildmomentum in a short span of time and that running a small business can be rewarding both personallyand financially. The participants also got pointers on managing business and organisational performancethat rests on the two ‘Es’ - Efficiency - a measure of how well or how productively resources are usedto achieve a goal; and Effectiveness - a measure of the appropriateness of the goals pursued and achieved.

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Promotion of GI Crafts and IPR Protection of Narsapur Crochet Lacethrough Geographical Indication ActRegional level seminar/workshop was organised at Common Facility Centre, Jodhpur on 6th September2019 and at International Lace Trade Centre, Narsapur on 13th September 2019, to share informationon GI registration of artisan crafts and how artisans and crafts persons can benefit from it. Participantswere updated on schemes of O/o DC (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, the importanceof GI crafts as a strong medium for promotion of regional/artisan handicraft products, what makes itdifferent from other forms of intellectual property rights and its registration process. In Narsapur, theywere also explained about the schemes of NSIC, Udyog Adhaar and the other financial support cumfacilities provided by NSIC registration for visiting international trade fairs.On 24th December 2019, a seminar on IPR Protection of Narsapur Crochet Lace through GeographicalIndication Act was organised at the International Lace Trade Centre and was attended by EPCH memberexporters, crafts persons including state awardees and National awardees; Presidents of MAC societiesand lace artisans. The program was inaugurated by Mr. MSRK Somesh, Assistant Commissioner, O/oState Sale Tax, in presence of Mr. KN Tulasi Rao, South Regional Convenor and Committee Member,EPCH; Ms. M Suvarchala, HPO, O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Vijayawada; Dr. KAmmaji,Principal, BGBPS Women’s College; Mr. K Veera Swammy, Secretary, All India Crochet ExportersLace Association; Mr. HK Chari, National Advisor, IL&FS; and Mr. YV Rao, O/o Textile Committee, Hyderabad.During his address Mr. MSRK Somesh gave a few examples on GI registrations like Manipuri crafts (MoirangPhee, Shaphee Lanphee & Wangkhei Phee) where the Manipur Government allotted housing to womenmembers of that product consortium. Referring to the expanse of lace crafts’ dominance in the region,Mr. KN Tulasi Rao advised the participants to focus on GI that can be used as an effective marketingtool. Benefits of GI Registration and the roadmap of Crochet Lace for the Registration under GI Act wasshared.

Soft SkillsLeadership Skills forOrganisationalDevelopmentOrganised in Jaipur on 30th April 2019,to bring the audience closer to attributesof a good leader and how leaders inspire,influence and achieve results. Guest faculty,Mr. Pradipta Mishra, CEO, Detroit Consultingand Sourcing, made a presentation onleadership skills and how the objectivesof leadership are geared towards bringingout the best in employees bycommunicating effectively about what needsto be done and why it matters emphasisingthat the success of any organisation is largelydependent on how its top leader inspiresand leads other leaders through exemplarycharacter, great communication, optimism,making decisions, managing goals,genuineness, dialogues, honesty, ethics andcourage. He further added that successfulleaders achieve these through a blend ofnatural ability and commitment forimprovement.

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Team Management and Motivational SkillsOganised in New Delhi on 21th June 2019, with an endeavour to bring the audience closer to teammanagement and how leaders inspire, influence and achieve results. Guest faculty, Ms. Radhieka Khannahelped the participants understand the importance of team work and workplace motivation. They alsolearnt that when one hires the right team and manages them well, the result is a workforce characterisedby outstanding performance and growth. In Mumbai, the seminar was held on 26th July 2019 with Mr.Ashok Sharma, leading business consultant from the city. He shared about the steps in successful teaming,significance of motivation to co-workers and necessity of strategic set up of team management. InNarsapur, the seminar was conducted on 26th July 2019 at the International Lace Trade Centre by Dr.NGS Prasad, HOD, Management Studies, Swaranadhra Group of Institutions. He spoke on the improvementof the time efficiency and effectiveness of a business. Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, COA Member and ConvenorSouthern Region, EPCH, shared his experience of working in a team as well as the confidence team workbrings about to achieve goals and production targets.

Attitude for Excellence to Excel in BusinessOrganised at the Rajiv Gandhi Handicraft Bhawan, New Delhi on 23rd August 2019. Had an establishedexpert in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management as guest speaker - Dr. S P Chauhan,Professor (OB & HR) and Dean - Executive Education at Asia Pacific Institute of Coaching. Participantslearnt about attitude of successful business professionals and that such people commit to certain decisionsthat help shape them into elite businessmen and women.When people choose to make every momentcount, each day is an open opportunity for mastering skills and furthering goals. Success often comesdown to having the right attitude and smart decision making, as a positive attitude is an optimisticmindset that focuses on the good, while a negative attitude promotes fear and a narrow mind, focuseson the bad. So, having a true positive attitude makes life seem broad and full of possibilities. That viewleads to actually living in a way that makes it natural to be exposed to and acquire new skills, the facultyexplained and enumerated pointers to achieve this.

Negotiation Skills for International Trade/MarketsOrganised in Mumbai on 6th September 2019, with guest faculty, Mr. Shrinivas Shikaripurkar who guidedparticipants on International Negotiation - a process of power-based dialogue intended to achievecertain outcomes to the satisfaction of all parties. Participants were explained about International Negotiation- a process of power-based dialogue intended to achieve certain goals or outcomes to the satisfactionof all parties. They were explained how the art of negotiation is the process of discussion by which twoor more parties aim to reach a mutually acceptable agreement and that negotiating with internationalcustomers, regulators and partner often require meticulous preparations with analysis and evaluation.A brief on various activities concerning negotiation tactics, cross cultural negotiations and nationalcommunications patterns were also explained with case studies.

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International Consumer and Buyer BehaviourOne day awareness seminar was organised by EPCH in association with World Trade Centre, Jaipur, atCommon Facility Centre, Jodhpur on 9th October 2019. Objective was to educate participants about thevarious aspects of international consumer and buyer behaviour as these are integral for the development& promotion of export business. Insightful talks and informative presentations were made by Mr. NirmalBhandari, Patron, JHEF; Mr. S L Paliwal, Jt. Director cum GM DIC Jodhpur; Mr. Priyesh Bhandari, Secretary,Jodhpur Handicrafts Exporters Federation; Mr. Kiran V N Asst. Director, DC(H); Mr. Navneet Aggarwal,Asst. Director, WTC Jaipur; and expert faculty, Mr. Nalin Mathur, NIFT, Jodhpur.

Achieving the Next Level of ExcellenceThe seminar at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida on 19th October 2019, guided attendees on soft skillsfocused on a positive attitude to achieve ‘the next level of excellence’ in business. Guest faculty, CommanderVK Jaitly, Chairman, C_cube Consultants, urged the audience to strive towards excellence by eliminatingthe fear of failure and following the simple mantras of life. Encouraging the audience to have the courageto dream, Mr. Jaitley said, “our goals should be high enough to motivate us, yet realistic enough to avoiddiscouragement”. Our goals must be SMART which is short for Specific, Must be measurable, Must beachievable, Relevant and Time-bound. If our goals are SMART, chances of failure would be minimal.

How to Optimise Human Resources and Business OperationsThe seminar at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida on 19th October 2019 provided an in-depth knowledgeof how business processes and controls are inter-twined with the culture of an organisation. SpeakerMr. Indeep Bhatia, Principal Consultant, Mentors Unlocked, made the audience aware of how to strengthen/better the workings of their organisationand presented them with a few indicatorslike using a balance score card - a strategyperformance management tool that canbe used by managers to keep track of theexecution of activities by the staff withintheir control and to monitor theconsequences arising from these actions.

Effectiveness &EntrepreneurshipDevelopmentThe seminar, organised on 23rd January2020 at Madgaon, Goa, was aimed toeducate entrepreneurs and manufacturersin the handicraft cluster of Goa on the exportpotential of the region’s crafts.Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH, sharedabout EPCH, its multifarious activities, tradepromotion objectives and membershipbenefits. The presentation on the seminar'stopic was facilitated by guest faculty, Mr.Ashok Sharma. He elaborated on marketingstrategies for entrepreneurship as well asits benefits with special reference to theglobal market situation.

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Comprehensive seminars on multi-topicsExport Promotion, International Marketing, Custom Procedure forExport Promotion, Digital Marketing, Packaging, QualityCompliance, Design & MarketingConducted on 2nd December 2019 at Pilakhuwa, a textile craft hub in Uttar Pradesh. Participants wereinformed and updated on how EPCH helps entrepreneurs in export promotion through its various activities;importance of exports and how one can develop contacts with exporters and international buyers; relevanceof design and why one should develop products as per design forecasts; various schemes of O/o DC(Handicrafts) for the welfare of artisans and promotion of their crafts; opening of bank account, “Mudra”Loan scheme, medical schemes for artisan families; and schemes that assist in participation in exhibitions,etc. by Mr. Naveen Gaur, Assistant Director, EPCH; Dr. Vaishali Dhingra, Joint Registrar (R&D), TeerthankarMahaveer University, Moradabad; Mr. Ranvir Yadav, Designer-NIFT; and Mr. Pulkit Jain, Assistant Director,O/o DC(H), Saharanpur. A seminar on the same topics was organised in Bhuksa Tharu Cluster, VillageRajpur, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, on 10th January 2020, with expert faculty, Mr. Ravishekhar, Designer-NIFT and Empanelled Designer of DIC (Udhamsingh Nagar); and Mr. Naveen Gaur, Assistant Director,EPCH. Focus was on importance of entrepreneurship development, bringing out local crafts orientedinnovations in multi-utility products, quality, buyer/market requisites as well as market demands andhow EPCH helps entrepreneurs in export promotion through its various activities.

Export Management, Product Selection, Design & Marketing for STArtisansOrganised in Barmer, Rajasthan on 16 December 2019, with an objective to guide and encourage STartisans, the seminar had Mr. Lekhraj Maheswari, former Chairman and Regional Convenor EPCH; Mr.Kiran VN, Assistant Director, O/o DC (Handicrafts), Jodhpur; Mr. Vikram Singh Choudhary, Secretary,Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan, Barmer; Mr. Adil Khan, Secretary, Mahila Mandal, Barmer; Ms. LataKachhawaha, Joint Secretary, Sure Sansthan, Barmer; Ms. Saloni Sheikh, Faculty from NIFT, Mumbai; andMs. Ranu Soni, Faculty, Academy of Trade Finance, Jodhpur, among dignitaries and speakers. The participantswere guided and motivated by Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari. Ms. Ranu Soni informed the participants aboutbasic principles for Export Management including Product Planning for Exports, Buying Behaviour, Channelsof Distribution, Promotion for Products in the Global Market and Export Organisation.Ms. Saloni Sheikh made an illustrative presentation on Design & Marketing. She also spoke about thesignificance of visual merchandising. S

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Export Procedure, Documentation, Entrepreneurship Development,Design Development and MarketingWith an objective to educate exporters, entrepreneurs and manufacturers, crafts persons/artisans, NGOs/SHGs in the handicraft cluster of Bareilly and on the request of Dr. (Mrs.) Alka Jaiswal, HOD- FashionDesigning Department, Sahu Ram Swaroop Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Bareilly, to organise informativeseminars for the students of their department, EPCH in association with the Vidyalaya organised thisseminar in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh on 15th January 2020. Among guest faculty were, Dr. Mosam Sinha,Corporate Trainer; and Mr. Kuldip Prakash, Designer NIFT, Delhi. The attendees learnt about EPCH andits various activities and schemes available with the Govt. of India and State Govt. for upcoming entrepreneurs.Dr. Mosam Sinha, Corporate Trainer, spoke on entrepreneurship development and leadership qualities.He briefed the participants about the characteristics of entrepreneurship like, indispensable or necessary- ability to take Risks, Innovation, Visionary, Leadership, Open Minded, Confident and Well Informed. Mr.Kuldip Prakash, Designer NIFT, Delhi, explained about the requirements of design upgradation as perthe market demand. He explained about various designs, patterns and the latest trends in various productsegments, urging the participants to create new products and designs by using locally available rawmaterials. Dr. (Mrs.) Alka Jaiswal extended her thanks to EPCH for the “eye opener” seminar.

Export Promotion, International Marketing, Custom Procedure forExport Promotion, Digital Marketing, Packaging, QualityCompliance, Design & Marketing for SC Community ArtisansThe awareness seminar/workshop was conducted at Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh on 26th February 2020,for artisans/crafts persons of SC community, at Saharanpur. This was attended by 50 participants andsaw the presence of Mr. Pulkit Jain, AssistantDirector, DC(Handicrafts), Saharanpur;Mr. Sunil Kumar, Carpet Training Officer(CTO), O/o DC(Handicrafts), Saharanpur;faculty- Mr. Madan Lal, Vice President &Professor, EXIMEDGE; Ms. Chakshu Tomar,Designer, EPCH; and Ms. Shritima Chauhan,Trainer, TDI India, New Delhi; and EPCHteam at CFC, Saharanpur - Mr. Mohd. Asif;and Mr. Ankit Sharma. Mr. Madan Lal spokeon Export Promotion, InternationalMarketing, Custom Procedure for ExportPromotion and Packaging & QualityCompliance, explaining each segment withexamples and detailed descriptions. Mr.Pulkit Jain informed about the variousschemes of the O/o DC (Handicrafts). Ms.Shritima Chauhan focused on DigitalMarketing and Design & Marketing withtechniques to be adopted and the prevalentbusiness environment where social mediamarketing becomes inevitable. Ms. ChakshuTomar spoke on Design Trends & Directions,explaining about inspiration,implementation and prototypedevelopment. She also touched upon visualmerchandising, branding, packaging andlabeling.

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Interactive SessionsEnhancing exports from JodhpurAn interactive session for enhancing exports was organised with member exporters of Jodhpur at CFC,Jodhpur, 6th April 2019. This was graced by Mr. O P Prahladka, Chairman EPCH; Mr. Rakesh Kumar, DirectorGeneral, EPCH; Mr. Ravi K Passi, Vice Chairman, EPCH; Mr. Sudhir Tyagi, past Chairman, EPCH; COA members,EPCH - Mr. Prince Malik and Mr. Neeraj Khanna; as well as prominent member exporters from Jodhpurlike, Mr. Bharat Dinesh and Mr. Nirmal Bhandari. Various options for handicraft export growth and issuesfaced by the exporters related to GST, compliance, Custom, certification for leather and bone & hornproducts, etc. were discussed.

Need Assessment of Common Facility Centre for Fashion Jewellery& Accessories ExportersOrganised at at New Delhi on 12th April 2019, this session had a presentation on trends for Spring/Summer 2020 by Ms. Amla Shrivastava. There was exchange of ideas and interaction on the need for aCommon Facility Centre for fashion jewellery & accessories exporters. This was attended by a largenumber of exporters from this product segment like, Mr. Ravi K Passi, Mr. Rajesh Jain, Mr. Sagar Mehtaand Mr. Chintu Kohli. They suggested that Common Facility Centres for the fashion jewellery segmentcan come up with the support of the Govt. and EPCH, so that costs can be saved in plating, casting, labtesting and other such procedures.

Certifications, Occupational Safety & TrainingExport of Wooden Handicrafts made from Legally Procured Woodand VRIKSH CertificationThis was organised on 18th July 2019, at the Institute of Engineer’s Conference Hall, Mysore and aimedto make the audience aware of responsible sourcing of wood for wooden handicraft exports throughEPCH’s VRIKSH Certification. Present on the occasion were, Mr. Sunil Kumar, Assistant Director,O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Mysore; Mr. S Ramu, President of Handicraft Association,Mysore; Mr. Ismail, Secretary of the Association, and veteran EPCH member firms like M/s Lakshmi FineArts, Majid Fine Arts and other prominent rosewood manufacturers from the region. Dr. Prashanth Kumar,IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Mysore division spoke on the Legal Procurement Certificate (LPC),explaining how to apply, the procedure, guidelines and necessary documents required for obtainingLPC. He informed that he is the first officer who issued LPC to EPCH member exporter - M/S Majid Artsin Mysore and they have cleared their shipment without any hassle. This created a lot of morale boost S

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and confidence for other exporters. Further he touched upon information on CITES regarding rosewood.Mr. Deepesh updated the audience on how to apply for VRIKSH, the related guidelines, etc. The seminar'sparticipants were also assured that if the documents are complete within a month they can obtain thecertificate from the forest authority.

Fire Safety and Prevention PlanningThe guest speakers informed about the secure methods and purpose of a fire prevention plan withdetails on identifying potential fire hazards to prevent unwanted scenarios in future, urging the participantsto never underestimate the devastation, loss of life, and financial toll caused by fires. Organised atHandicrafts Productivity Centre, Jaipur on 23rd November 2019. Expert faculty, Mr. Ravi Kumawat fromM/s Men at Work, offered detailed presentation and demonstration of firefighting equipments. Participantsalso learnt causes of occupational diseases. The training was successfully carried out as it brought outthe various loop-holes that can pose hazards to workers and facilities. He informed that in recent timesthere has been considerable advancement in passive & active measures of fire protection as well asmethodologies for detection & fire fighting in buildings. He focused on legislative measures such asbuilding codes & municipal bye laws that have been made more stringent as these guidelines lay downthe minimum requirements that are to be followed so that the possibility of fire is minimised & loss tolife and property is taken care of. In New Delhi, the seminar was organised at the Rajiv Gandhi HandicraftBhawan on 21st December 2019 with Mr. Rajendra Atwal, Divisional Officer, Delhi Fire Services; and FireConsultants -Mr Ravi Gupta and Mr. Ganpat Chaudhary as speakers. The speakers encouraged the participantsto perform regular risk assessments at their premises and identify the weak areas to improve safety.Finally, the topic of safe evacuation procedure was taken up and the speakers explained how casualtiescan be prevented. The session had many examples coming forth and the participants actively sharedsome of their experiences for the benefit of each other. This concluded with a demonstration.

Trade Shows and theirOpportunitiesEffective Participation inOverseas Fairs &Exhibitions andGovt. Schemes/Subsidy forParticipationsSeminar organised in Mumbai on 15thNovember 2019. Expert faculty, Dr. Mihir Shahexplained how unlike other marketingactivities, exhibitions and trade fairs offera wide platform for exporters to showcasetheir products & services and communicatetheir key message during such events.Participating in exhibitions and trade fairsenable exporters to offer their products toa broader audience, make them aware ofthe products & services in question and helpsin building brand proximity with the othervisitors who visit these events with the rightmind frame. He also explained about schemesand subsidies from various Ministries andDepartments for participation.

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FOCUS ON CRAFTS OFEAST & NORTH EAST REGION

With an objective to educate and groom crafts persons/artisans/NGOs/SHGs, entrepreuners and primary producers, EPCH conducted various

programs in the Eastern and North Eastern Region of India forComprehensive Development of NE Crafts under Research and

Development (R&D) Scheme of DC (Handicrafts) as well as SFURTI(Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries under Ministry

of MSME). Expert faculty motivated the participants on confidencebuilding and guided them on Skill Development, Design Intervention,

Promotion of Traditional Skills, Technical Training as well as ExportPromotion, International Marketing, Packaging, Quality Compliance and

Design & Product Development.


Motivational ProgramThis was organised on 3 May 2019 at Kaliabor(Nagaon), Assam, in association with the RD & TDC (NER),O/o DC (Handicrafts), North East Regional Office Guwahati, Assam, with an objective to make womenartisans aware about the income and employment opportunities available for them under various schemesof O/o DC (Handicrafts). Ms. N L Palai, Regional Director (NER), O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts);and Mr. Narendra Borah, designer and exporter from Assam guided on how women can enable themselvesto earn livelihood and also become economically self-sufficient by engaging in the handicrafts sector.

Promotion of Mishing Textiles & Market LinkagesA one day workshop was organised under SFURTI on 13th May 2019, in collaboration with Women DevelopmentCentre (WDC), Guwahati, at village Mori Dirgha, North Lakhimpur District, Assam. The aim was to providedesign support to the cluster artisans which would in turn help the WDC to develop prototypes forplacement in the market with the help of EPCH. Participants were from Telahi, Nowboicha blocks ofN. Lakhimpur and Machkhowa Blocks of Dhemaji District. With Ms. Bhagyawati Bhuyan, Project Director,WDC; Program Officer, EPCH North East Region (NER), Mr. Bhaskar Baruah; and Designer EPCH,Mr. Dhurbo Jyoti Barman, the program encourageed women artisans and farmers towards sustainablelivelihoods with their existing traditional skills.

Awareness Programs towards Cluster DevelopmentThese were organised under SFURTI, in association with Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahatiand Implementing Agency of the program* as well as EPCH, at various clusters. The participants wereinformed about the objective and various provisions of SFURTI Project, activities listed in Action Planand role & responsibilities of all stakeholders of the project i.e. Nodal Agency (NA - IIE Guwahati),Technical Agency (EPCH) and Implementing Agency. The objectives of the program were simplified forthe easy understanding of artisans, i.e. to equip traditional artisans of the associated clusters with improvedskills & capabilities through training and exposure visits and to make provision for common facilitiesand improved tools and equipment for artisans in order to strengthen the cluster governance systemswith active participation of the stakeholders. They were also updated on valuable information regardingthe products of the cluster and their demand in the market. Artisans were also informed about thesignificance of crafts in keeping alive culture & tradition of a society and were encouraged to involvemore in the crafts sector. (*Silk Khadi - Pragatisil Khadi Sammittee and SERI-FED, Lakhimpur; TraditionalDress Making and Embroidery – GRIB and Anjali Sukhati SHG Foundation; Cane & Bamboo-Seva BharatiPurbanchal and Indigenous Community Development Organisation; Dress Making - Bosco Reach-out;Silk and Handicrafts - Kaliabor Silk and Handicraft Co-operative Societies Kaliabor; Dokra Craft - SwatirthaCharitable Trust).

Silk Khadi Cluster, Kalita Kuchigaon (Hajo), Assam; 23rd May 2019

Traditional Dress Making Cluster, Hazarikapar (Sipajhar), Assam; 27th May 2019

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Handicrafts and Naga Traditional Textiles Cluster, Dimapur, Nagaland; 27th July 2019

Sitalpati Cluster, Dubapara, Goalpara, Assam; 19th August 2019

Traditional Dress Making and Embroidery Cluster; Kokrajhar, Assam; 28th August & 11th September 2019

Silk Khadi Cluster, Nowboicha, Lakhimpur, Assam; 30th August 2019

Cane & Bamboo Cluster, Selsella, Meghalaya; 24th September and 28th November 2019

Balijana Dress Making Cluster, Goalpara, Assam; 26th September 2019

Silk and Handicraft Cluster, Kaliabor, Nagaon, Assam; 4th November 2019

Dokra Craft Cluster, West Bengal; 11th November 2019

Nungourok Village, Tengnoupal District, Manipur; 29th November 2019

Sharon Cane and Bamboo Craft Cluster, Chandel, Manipur; 17th & 19th December 2019

Silk Khadi Cluster, Lakhimpur, Assam; 30th December 2019

Craft Promotion Program and Silpi SabhaEPCH in collaboration with Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), NER, organised a discussion campwith MCPs at Chapar Terracotta Craft Cluster, Dhubri, Assam on 6th April 2019, to discuss issues artisanswere facing in product development and marketing aspects. Ms. Nira Laxmi Palai, Regional Director(NER); and Mr. Rajib Ch Roy, HPO o/o DC (Handicrafts) also attended the program. The artisans wereassured of all necessary assistance from the DC’s Office, towards developing new products and arrangingmarkets for them.

A craft promotion program was organised at Sarthebari, Barpeta, Assam on 5th July 2019 with an aim toprovide a direct market linkage for the artisans of NER and promotion of their crafts in both nationaland international markets. Artisans were informed about the significance of their crafts and were encouragedto involve more in the sector. A Silpi Sabha-discussion camp with MCPs at Sarthebari Bell Metal CraftCluster, Bapreta, Assam was organised on 14th July 2019, for connecting the artisans so that they couldexchange ideas and learn from each other towards mutual benefit.

Awareness programme on Bee KeepingThis programme was organised at Baksa (BTC), Assam on 12th July 2019, by EPCH, NER and IndianInstitute of Entrepreneurship, Guwahati in association with Industry and Commerce development (BTC),Kokrajhar. Dr. Bhaskar Jyoti Saud, faculty of Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, Guwahati; Mr. BhaskarBaruah, Project Officer, EPCH, NER; Mr. B C Kalita, Retired KVIC official, Guwahati; Mr. Taizuddin Ahmed,G.M., DICC, Baksa; Mr. Nava Kr. Talukdar, Director, Industry & Commerce Deptt., BTC, Kokrajhar;Mr. Achintya Goswami F.M., DICC, Baksa; and Mr. Nava Kumar Boro, Director, Alliance Mantra, were presentin the program.The officials provided valuable information about the economic benefits of bee keepingand their demand in the market.The Director also inaugurated the construction of a CFC at Baksa.

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Session with officials of NIRDAt Khanapara, Guwahati, Assam on 16th July 2019, Mr. Bhaskar Baruah, Project Officer, EPCH, NER, spokeabout marketing linkage and activities of EPCH in NER with officials of NIRD (National Institute of RuralDevelopment and Panchayati Raj), updating them on marketing events throughout the year, for theartisans / entrepreneurs of north eastern states. He also informed of the Technical Support EPCH isoffering in 13 clusters and 5 new clusters will be taken up this year.

Product & Design Development ProgramsSarikchi, Nongpoh, Meghalaya29th April 2019A program on ‘exportable product development’ was organised on 29th April 2019 at Sarikushi Village,Nongphu, Meghalaya, with exporters, designers and officials of EPCH (NER), alongwith AD, HSC, Shillongand RD (NER), towards national and international linkages. The trainees had a discussion on a sustainablemodel of training to achieve the objective of income generation through handicrafts. The programswere conducted as a 4-month training for 96 days with a Master trainer and a designer.

Aizawl, Mizoram11th July - 3rd August 2019EPCH organised a 24 days product and design development programme at Aizawl, Mizoram from 11thJuly 2019 to 3rd August 2019 with the financial support of O/o DC(Handicrafts), NER. The objectivewas to improve international competitiveness of locally produced craft products and to provide marketingplatform to the lesser explored crafts of the area in a bid to improve livelihood of the craft practitioners.The developed craft products are to be placed international buyers in IHGF Delhi Fair - Autumn 2019.

Terracotta Cluster, Chapar, Assam15th August - 15th November 2019With an objective to improve international competitiveness of locally produced craft products and toprovide innovative & creative design marketing support to artisans as per market demand, this 90 daysproduct and design development program was conducted under SFURTI, at Terracotta Cluster, Chapar,Assam, with financial support of O/o DC (Handicrafts), NER. Mr. Bhaskar Baruah, Project Officer, EPCH(NER); Ms. Nira Laxmi Palai, Regional Director, NER; and Mr. Sanjeev Singh, Asst. Director, HSC, Gauripur,attended the program on 10th September, 2019, to take stock of the progress. Products were developedfor IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 2019.

Product Development Program, Namchi, South Sikkim9th September - 3rd October 2019To improve international competitiveness of locally produced craft products and to provide marketingplatform to lesser explored crafts of the area towards improved livelihood of the craft practitioner, this

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25 days product and design development program was conducted at Namchi, South Sikkim, with financialsupport of O/o DC (Handicrafts), NER. Ms. Romi Roy, Handicraft Promotion Officer, O/o DC (Handicrafts),NER; and Ms. Tashi Wangmu, Designer, attended the program on 9th September, 2019 and providedfruitful design support to the artisan community. The developed craft products were placed before internationalbuyers at IHGF Delhi Fair - Autumn 2019. The exposure enabled artisans to understand buyer needs,marketing strategies, design requirements and packaging for international markets.

Cane & Bamboo Cluster, Imphal, Manipur9th September - 26th October 2019This was a sample product development program of 48 days, under Technical Training Program on “(2'C’ to 4' C’)” Combo for Dine Area’ towards display in IHGF Delhi Fair - Autumn 2019. With financialsupport of O/o DC (Handicrafts), NER, this was conducted at M/s Hijam Krishna Priya Cane & BambooCrafts, Kongpal Kongkham Leikai, Porompat, Imphal East. Smt. Y Jagyashwori Devi, Assistant Director(Handicrafts), HSC, Imphal, O/o DC (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, inaugurated theprogram on 9th September 2019. In course of the program, on 14th September 2019, Ms. Maibam SurjamalaDevi, Designer, EPCH, NER, visited and inspected the proceedings of the program. She shared designsupport and innovative ideas with the artisans for development of pottery products.

Skill Upgradation on Product Innovation ProgramDubapara Sitalpati Cluster, Goalpara, Assam; 13th -19th September 2019With the objective of bringing in improvements to existing products and processes and adapt to changingcircumstances, this 7 days program was organised under SFURTI, in association with Indian Institute ofEntrepreneurship (IIE) and Dubapara Sitalpati Shilpa Samabay Samitee Udyog-Implementing Agency (IA)of the Sitalpati Cluster. This program aimed to encourage workforce to increase their productivity, capability,capacity and mobility.

Field Visits of Monitoring Teams from Ministry of MSME to Clustersunder Project SFURTIWith an objective of monitoring the project, the Nodal Agency (Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship)approached the Technical Agency (EPCH) to mobilise the artisans of the said cluster, for the visit ofmonitoring team from Ministry of MSME. In this context, a field visit was organised to the said cluster.Observations and recommendations were made by EPCH, to the Implementing Agency for the smoothfunctioning of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). During the visit EPCH also interacted with the artisansat their homes, verified distribution (under the SFURTI project) as well as usage of machines and tools.

Barpeta Brass Metal Cluster, Sarthebari, Assam; 17th September 2019

Dress Making Cluster, Goalpara, Assam; 18th September 2019

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Observation Field Visits to Craft Clusters in West Bengal and AwarenessPrograms thereafterOn 10 November 2019, field visits were conducted with officials of Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship(nodal agency) at Dokra Craft Cluster and Fashion Accessories Cluster, West Bengal. Various observationswere made on the products, raw material usage, design inspirations, process, time taken, etc. It wasalso noted that the products were sold only in local markets; artisans lacked formal/structured training;traditional ways of preparation of products lacking diversified skill traits and modern machineries, etc.In quick succession of the field visits, awareness programs were conducted on 11 November 2019, withSwadhin, Implementation Agency for the Fashion Accessories Cluster, West Bengal and Swatirtha CharitableTrust, Implementation Agency for Dokra Craft Cluster; with support of EPCH (NER) and Indian Instituteof Entrepreneurship (IIE). The artisans were informed about the various activities/interventions to betaken up under SFURT and how the training would organise traditional industries and make them competitiveas well as provide support for their long term sustainability and economy of scale.

This camp covered various subjects in the broad scope of rural development. Subjects related to differenthealth insurance of the artisans like Janashree Bima Yojana & Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and variousschemes like Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) & Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana(PMSBY) were discussed. The artisans were also appraised about the Artisans Card and the Aadhar Cardmentioning the benefits, privileges, rights as well as their specific responsibilities along with necessaryundertakings. The mandatory opening of Bank Account by Artisans under Jan Dhan Yojana and alsothe formation of SHGs were also highlighted. In the last session, the officials introduced a Cluster DevelopmentExecutive (CDE) for representing the artisans and carrying out various cluster activities smoothly.

Fashion Accessories Cluster, West Bengal; 10th &11th November 2019

Dokra Craft Cluster, West Bengal; 10th &11th November 2019

Training ProgramsEPCH (NER) organised 1 day training to educate and motivate Cluster Development Executives (CDE)and members of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) as well as Implementation Agency(IA) at the cluster. Theaction plan of the program was shared with details on interventions and the help it would be offeringthe cluster. Valuable information was shared and insightful presentations were made with an aim forbetter socio economic development and sustainable livelihood. During the program, designs for productdevelopment were also shared with the artisans. The resultant products from the clusters were to bepromoted in the upcoming IHGF Delhi Fair.

Dubapara Sitalpati Cluster, Goalpara, Assam; 21st November 2019

Terracotta Craft Cluster, Dubri, Assam; 21st November 2019

Traditional Dress Making & Embroidery Cluster, Sipajhar, Assam; 23rd November 2019

Silk Khadi Cluster, Kalita Kuchigaon (Hajo), Assam; 28th November 2019

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Self Help Group Formation ProgramOrganised by the implementing agencies with support of Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) andEPCH (NER), the 2 days Self Help Group Formation program under SFURTI discussed all details aboutSelf Help Groups like their need, how their meetings are organised, how these groups take shape andfunction, etc. This initiative also aimed to make handicrafts artisans self - reliant through proper trainingwith sophisticated equipment. Motivated with the presence of senior officials from the concerned agenciesand cluster development executives as well as sartisans already actively involved with the clusters, theparticipating artisans eagerly participated and actively involved in the cluster activities.

Dokra Craft Cluster, Chandipur, Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal; 7th & 8th January 2020

Fashion Accessories Cluster, Tatarpur, Muluk, Birbhum, West Bengal; 8th & 9th January 2020

Sample Product DevelopmentSilk and Handicraft Cluster, Kaliabor, Assam3rd January 2020 -1st February 2020EPCH (NER) in association with Silk and Handicraft Cooperative Society Kaliabor organised a SampleProduct Development Program from 3rd January to 1st February 2020 at Silk and Handicraft Cluster,Kaliabor for display of products in IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020. The objective was to provide a directmarket linkage for the artisans of NER and promotion of their crafts in both national and internationalmarkets. Mr. Bhaskar Baruah, Project Officer, EPCH (NER); and Mr. Dhrubajyoti Barman, Designer, EPCH(NER) shared design support and innovative ideas with the artisans for development of handicraft products.

Training Program in Design Innovation and Development & Dyeing,Textile Design, Product DesignKaliabor Silk and Handicraft Cluster,Nagaon, Assam3rd January 2020 - 1st February 2020Silk and Handicraft Cooperative Society Kaliabor,Implementing Agency of Silk and HandicraftCluster, Kaliabor in association with Indian Instituteof Entrepreneurship (IIE) Guwahati and EPCH(NER) conducted three activities under the softintervention activity of SFURTI Project, across 25days, from 3rd January 2020 to 1st February 2020at Kaliabor Cluster, Nagaon, Assam.

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Technical Training Program in Cane & Bamboo CraftCane & Bamboo Cluster, Tangmang Village, Meghalaya13th January 2020A one day Technical Training Program in Cane & Bamboo craft under HRD scheme was implementedby Handicrafts Service Centre, Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Meghalaya at Tangmangvillage, Meghalaya. Mr. Issac Laltanpuia, Designer, EPCH (NER) attended the training program on 13thJanuary 2020 and addressed the participants. He spoke on how EPCH fairs are the best platforms forhandicraft marketing and also shared of design support.

Training Program in Product Design & Quality ControlCane & Bamboo Cluster, Chandel, Manipur13th January 2020 - 6th February 2020Indigenous Community Development Organisation (ICDO), Implementing Agency (IA) of Sharon Caneand Bamboo Craft Cluster, in association with Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and EPCH (NER)conducted this 25 days training program under project SFURTI at Sharon Cane & Bamboo Craft Cluster,Chandel, Manipur from 13th January, 2020 to 6th February 2020 for 150 artisans. Fruitful design supportwas offered to the artisan community.

Training Program on Modern Practice for Design and Quality Control15 days training was organised by the respective implementing agencies with the support of IndianInstitute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and EPCH (NER). A Master trainer adept with the respective craft andmodern technology conducted each training. The trainees learnt of their current scenario as craft artisansand the importance of training for improving design and marketability of their products. They also gotupdates on Government initiatives and contribution for development of local artisans.

Dokra Craft Cluster, Chandipur, Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal; 17th - 31st January 2020

Fashion Accessories Cluster, West Bengal; 17th January 2020 - 1st February 2020

Skill Upgradation Training Program on Advance LoomsSovima Village, Nagaland16th January 2020 – 5th February 2020Naga Women’s Welfare Society-Implementing Agency (IA) of Bamboo Handicraft & Naga TraditionalDress Cluster in collaboration with Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati and EPCH (NER)conducted a comprehensive program on Advance Looms at Sovima, Thitrhongse, Thilixu, Zani villageand Diezephe village. This 15 days training program from 16th January 2020 to 5th February 2020 was

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organised to upgrade skills of prospective weavers and crafts for existing artisans and also developskills of new workers and technicians. The basic objective was to provide training to equip them withbetter and improve technological skill of production.

Design Development ProgramSovima Village, Nagaland22nd January 2020 -15th February 2020Naga Women’s Welfare Society-Implementing Agency (IA) of Bamboo Handicraft & Naga TraditionalDress Cluster in collaboration with Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati and EPCH (NER)conducted this 25 days program at Sovima village from 22nd January to 15th February 2020, as an attemptto reflect the many possibilities in new design and development of a whole range of products that canaddress the local needs of rural communities. It is self-sustainable as it utilises locally available raw-material which is extensively available. It utilises the talents of highly gifted crafts persons. It can becomean initiative which can aptly be called ‘for the people, of the people and by the people’. It encourageslocal entrepreneurship and self-employment opportunities and directs the potentials of locally availableskills for meeting basic community needs.

Participation of crafts persons in Manipur International TextileExpo (MANITEX)EPCH arranged participation of three artisans from Manipur at MANITEX Fair 2019, held at Imphal, Manipurfrom 5th to 14th November 2019, with an objective to provide a marketing opportunity as well as generateawareness in the market regarding regional crafts from the North Eastern Region Craft Clusters. ManipurInternational Textile Expo was organised by Department of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Governmentof Manipur at Manipal Trade & Expo centre, Imphal. The main objective of MANITEX is to showcasehandlooms, handicrafts, dyeing & printing, powerloom, apparel, embroidery and costumes of Manipuron a large platform with participation of different States and countries.

Promotion of NER crafts at IIMTF KolkataWith support from O/o DC (Handicrafts), EPCH set up a Theme Pavilion promoting crafts from Easternand North Eastern Region, with 21 artisans, at International Mega Trade Fair (IIMTF), Kolkata, organisedby the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries and GS Marketing from 13th to 25th December2019. The participating artisans from West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,Nagaland and Mizoram collectively represented varied crafts. The objective was to market region-specificproducts to a mass as well as trading buyer base and to acquaint crafts persons with the challenges &opportunities of an active market environment. Participation of artisans served a twin purpose of exploringexports, creating awareness and enhancing export market for products of the Eastern and North EasternRegion, to in turn, generate employment in the craft clusters.

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Eastern and North East Region Theme Pavilions at otherinternational trade platforms and trade connect programs in Indiaand overseasWith an objective to spread awareness about sustainable & heirloom crafts and exclusive handlooms& silk products from NER, as well as facilitate market exposure to artisans and upcoming entrepreneursfrom this region, EPCH organised NER Theme Pavilions at international trade platforms and trade connectprograms in India. Participants at these platforms have been able to reach out to both domestic andoverseas buyers and learn of their customer tastes & market trends. Some of them have booked ordersand are already working with overseas as well as domestic volume buyers. This exposure has been instrumentalin confidence building of many, especially women entrepreneurs.

Home Expo India 201916th-18th April 2019; New Delhi NCR

Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show 20194th-6th July 2019; New Delhi NCR

India International Hospitality Show 20197th - 10th August 2019; New Delhi NCR

FORHEX Fair 201915th - 18th August 2019; Jaipur, Rajasthan

IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 201914th - 18th October 2019; New Delhi NCR

India International Mega Trade Fair 201913th - 25th December 2019; Kolkata, West Bengal

The Dallas Total Home & Gifts Market8th – 12th January 2020; Dallas, USA

Atlanta Intl. Gift & Home Furnishing Market, USAAtlanta, USA; 15-19 January 2020

Maison & Objet 201917th - 21st January 2020; Paris, France

Ambiente 20207th-11th February 2020; Frankfurt, Germany

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FOCUS ON CRAFTS OFHIMACHAL PRADESH

With an objective to educate and groom crafts persons/artisans/primaryproducers in Himachal Pradesh so that their optimum potential isachieved with empowerment, livelihood enhancement and market

reach through skill development and hand holding initiatives,EPCH conducted various programs in the State for Comprehensive

Development of Himachali crafts that are in a nascent state right now.EPCH has been making inroads into this State with support of

DC (Handicrafts).


Launch of Handicrafts Roadmap for Himachali EntrepreneursEPCH had designed a roadmap for Himachali entrepreneurs to help them combat challenges such aslack of design development, skill upgradation and market linkages. To reach out, EPCH, in associationwith Prayas (NGO working with artisans of Himachal Pradesh) organised an orientation program in Sujanpur(Hamirpur District), Himachal Pradesh, on 4th November 2019. A large gathering of crafts persons andentrepreneurs were familiarised with EPCH’s activities, initiatives and interventions required for growth,development and exports of handicrafts from the State of Himachal Pradesh like, providing hand holdingto the artisans by enhancing their skills through structured curriculum based skilling programs, designdevelopment, production process to ensure quality norms, international product regulations and theirparticipation in fairs & exhibitions. The occasion was graced by Mr. Arun Chandan, Regional Director,National Medical Plant Board; Mr. O P Malhotra, Shilp Guru; Mr. Kirti Chandel, BDO, Sujanpur; Ms.Shilpi Baekta, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Sujanpur; Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH; and Mr.Avnish Parmar, Treasurer, Prayas, Himachal Pradesh; and Mr. Sandeep Sachan, Associate Professor, NIFT.

Presentation of Roadmap to State’s Chief SecretaryIn continuation to the orientation program at Hamirpur, Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH,called on Mr. Shrikant Baldi, Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh and other officials of the State Govt. on2nd December 2019, to make a detailed presentation of the roadmap for Development of HandicraftsSector in Himachal Pradesh. The meeting, chaired by Mr. Shrikant Baldi, Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh,also saw the presence of Mr. Hansraj Sharma, Director, Industries, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh; Mr. VirenderKumar, Regional Director, O/o DC (Handicrafts); as well as representatives of Himachal Pradesh KaushalVikas Nigam; Himachal Pradesh State Handloom and Handicrafts Corpn.; NIFT, Kangra; and HimachalPradesh Khadi Village and Industries Commission. Mr. Shrikant Baldi, Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh,appreciated EPCH's efforts and was very receptive to the idea.

Seminar on Export Promotion, Digital Marketing, Packaging,Quality Compliance and Design & Product DevelopmentThe awareness seminar was conducted at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh on 9th February 2020. Graced byMr. Avdesh Thakur AD, O/o DC (H); Mr. Sandeep Sachan, Associate Professor, NIFT, Kangra; Mr. RakeshKumar, Director General, EPCH; Mr. Parveen Kumar, HPO, Mumbai; Mr. Piar Chand, Coordinator, PrayasSujanpur (an NGO working with artisans of Himachal Pradesh); Mr. Mukesh Dhiman, National Awardee;Mr. Vishal Pathania, guest faculty; and Mr.Ankit Kapoor, Designer. Mr. Rakesh Kumar touched uponthe crafts and skills of Himachal Pradesh and the scope of realising their full potential. Assuring ofEPCH’s help in times to come, Mr. Kumar spoke on individual entrepreneurs’ well-being as EPCH membersand shared merits of IHGF Delhi Fair as a comprehensive trade platform. Mr. Avdesh Thakur AD, O/o DC(H), shared information about various Govt. schemes for artisans that they will be eligible for, oncethey get their ‘Artisan Card’. Mr. Sandeep Sachan and Mr. Brijesh Kumar - Associate Professors from P

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NIFT, Kangra shared their views and experience in making products from local materials. Detailed sessionson digital marketing; export promotion and documentation as well as packaging & quality compliance;and design & product development, were facilitated.

Handicraft Technical Training Programs and ExhibitionEPCH, with financial support from O/o DC (Handicrafts), and in association with NGO Prayas, conducted2 Handicraft Technical Training Programs on Bamboo and Hand Embroidery crafts at Hamirpur District,spanning 50 days. Designers from NIFT, Kangra and trainers from Barmer and Palampur were engagedto train artisans to produce hybrid products. The programs were organised as per the NSQF aligned jobrole and 2 programs with 20 artisans in each batch were trained. Tool Kits too were distributed. Therafter,for confidence building of artisans and crafts persons as well as to prepare them for international tradeplatforms, EPCH organised a Craft Exhibition of Bamboo craft and Hand embroidery at HPCA Stadium,Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.



TRAININGS &OUTREACH PROGRAMS


Reaching out to Budding Entrepreuners of Handicraft Industry in theSouthKarnataka: An interaction with the leather puppet artisans at Bagepalli village of Kolar district, Karnatakawas held on 4th October 2019 in association with National SC/ST Hub, Bangalore. Artisans were briefedabout schemes and benefits from the Hub for the welfare of SC/ST artisans as well as about EPCH, itsactivities and membership benefits. An awareness seminar on Export Documentation and EPCH’s Objectivesand Benefits of Membership for Budding Entrepreuners of Handicraft Industry, was organised on 12thNovember 2019 at Shramajeevi Ashram of Charaka, Bheemanakone, Karnataka. Objective was to provideknowledge about exports to young entrepreneurs. This was addressed by Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, RegionalConvenor-SR, EPCH; guest faculty, Mr. Shriram; and Mrs. PLSreedevi, Regional Coordinator, EPCH, Bangalore.Attended by entrepreneurs including few dealing in areca nut plates in the region. Another such seminarwas organised on 13th November 2019 at Rudset Institute, a skill training centre in Nelamangala, Karnataka.EPCH was invited to present the Certificates to outgoing entrepreneurs and conduct an awareness seminar.The participants learnt about EPCH, its hand holding initiatives and benefits of membership.

Tamil Nadu: An awareness seminar on Entrepreneurship Development & Export Potential in HandicraftsSector, sponsored by Exim Bank, was organised at Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on 13th March 2020. Mrs. PriyankaBalasubramanian, IAS, Addl. Collector, Rural Development, Madurai graced the occasion as the ChiefGuest, alongside, Dr. I Nagaraj, Head of the Department, Thyagaraja College, Madurai; General Managerof SIPPO- Small Industries Product Promotion Organisation, Mr. Palanivel Murugan; President, Formationof Educational Development Centre for Rural Organization and Training (FEDCROT), Mr. M Subburam;General Manger of Exim Bank, Mumbai, Mrs. Parvathy Mogaveera; and eminent guest faculty, Dr.Tiruppathy.Program designed to help participants identify and understand the functional aspects of entrepreneurshipdevelopment and potential of export markets with emphasis on Entrepreneurship Development at GrassrootsLevel, Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurial Behaviour Perspectives, Scope of Entrepreneurship Developmentin India, Business Areas for Entrepreneurial Venture and Export Potential.

Participation in Special Camp for benefit of SC artisansThe Handicraft Service Centre, Jodhpur, organised a 2 days Special Camp with COHANDS (Council ofHandicrafts Development Corporations), New Delhi and O/o DC (Handicrafts), Jodhpur, at Shanti Vatika,Soorsagar, Jodhpur from 21st to 22nd June 2019, for the benefit of SC artisans with an objective tosensitise them about various welfare schemes of O/o DC (Handicrafts) as well as EPCH, IGNOU, DIC,etc. This saw the presence of Mr. Jeetaram, Industry Extension Officer, District Industries Centre, Jodhpur;Mr. Ajay Vardhan Acharya, Regional Director, IGNOU, Jodhpur; Mr. Kiran V N, Assistant Director,O/o DC (Handicrafts), Jodhpur; Mr. Harsh and Mr.Amit, in-house designers of NCDPD, Delhi; and EPCHrepresentative, Jodhpur. 200 SC handicraft artisans from in and around Soorsagar, Jodhpur, participated.Demonstration and display of craft was also made. Around 300 applications were mobilised under PEHCHANinitiative and assistance was also given to avail loans under MUDRA.

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Skill Development Program under Comprehensive HandicraftCluster Development Scheme (Jodhpur Mega Cluster)Addressing current limitations of the cluster in terms of lack of skilled manpower towards producinghigh value added and diversified products, O/o DC (Handicrafts), sanctioned a Skill Development Programto EPCH under Jodhpur Mega Cluster for Jodhpur and Barmer. EPCH carried out the training for artisansof wooden, applique, hand embroidery, block printing, etc. Total batches covered during FY 2019-20is 28 with 1,120 artisans covered in the program. As part of this, standardised NSQF aligned training wasimparted, which also included various soft skills and entrepreneurship development, aimed at the overallcapacity building of artisans. The program was visited by many Govt. officials from local administrationlike O/o DC (Handicrafts), Jodhpur, NABARD, DIC, Gramin Marudra Bank and others.

Mobilisation and Sensitisation Camps for Cluster Developmentlaunched in RajasthanEPCH received the project from Commissioner Industries, Govt. of Rajasthan, under State Cluster DevelopmentScheme for Artmetal craft for Jodhpur, Hand embroidery craft for Jaisalmer and Leather craft for Barmer.Mobilisation and sensitisation camps were organised for selection of artisans for the project on 1st,20th and 21st August 2019. The artisans were briefed on schemes offered by DIC, like requirement ofloan on low interest, requirement of machinery, etc. They were encouraged to form Self-Help Groups(SHGs)towards collective self-reliance and participation in local as well as international fairs. The objective ofthe Cluster approach is to help artisans sharpen their techniques and gain learning on improving theircraft for new designs. A Master crafts person along with a designer was deputed for helping artisanswork on these aspects in course of the program.

Cluster Development Project takes offWith support from Commissioner Industries, Govt. of Rajasthan, EPCH is implementing 3 Cluster DevelopmentProjects in Jodhpur, Barmer and Jaisalmer in Artmetal craft, Leather craft and Hand embroidery for threeyears. For each cluster 200 artisans have been mobilised and Self Help Groups formed to unite them forbetter production and livelihood. With a purpose to strengthen the production base and create sustainablelivelihood for artisans, major focus areas of the project are skill development, design intervention andmarketing opportunities. Following are the achievement of the 1st year:

Jodhpur-Artmetal Craft - Mobilised 200 artisans -Formed 12 SHG - Organised 4 Skill Programs covering110 artisans

Barmer-Leather Craft - Mobilised 200 artisans - Formed 12 SHG - Organised 4 Skill Programs covering120 artisans

Jaisalmer-Hand Embroidery Craft -Mobilised 200 artisans-Formed 12 SHG -Organized 4 Skill Programscovering 120 artisans

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Handicraft Technical Training ProgramsWith the objective to increase the handicraft sector’s production base by involving more and morepersons in it, a large number of training programs in hard and soft skills are required to be undertakento fill the gap of the skilled workforce. EPCH, with financial support from O/o DC (Handicrafts) andunder HRD Scheme, organised Handicraft Technical Training Programs at Moradabad, Narsapur, Jaipur,Jodhpur, Kolkata, Mathura, and Hamirpur, in Metal Craft, Bamboo Craft, Hand Embroidery and JewelleryMaking. All programs were organised as per the NSQF aligned job role and 20 programs with 20 artisansin each batch, covering 400 in all, were trained. Tool Kits too were distributed. Details of programs:

Traditional Hand Embroiderer, Jodhpur, Rajasthan-3 programs

Traditional Hand Embroiderer, Jaipur, Rajasthan-3 programs

Bamboo Utility Handicraft Assembler, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh-1 program

Engraving Artisans, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh-4 programs

Hand Crochet Lace Maker, Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh-4 programs

Fashion Jewellery for SC artisans, Howrah, West Bengal-2 programs

Hand Embroiderer, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh-1 program

Fashion Jewellery, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh-2 programs

The quality of the program was closely monitored by the O/o DC (Handicrafts) and EPCH RegionalConvenor. To improve the quality of the program EPCH also invited officials from NABARD, Banks andother local Govt. administration to share information about various schemes available for artisans andfinancial linkages. Some Programs being conducted by EPCH continue as details below:

Traditional Hand Embroiderer for SC artisans, Chaksu, Rajasthan- 3 programs

Metal Engraving for SC artisans, Moradabad, Rajasthan- 4 programs

Jute Handicrafts, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal - 2 programs

Fashion Jewellery and Metal Crafts for SC artisans, Birbhum, West Bengal - 2 programs

Soft Skill Training Programs for SC Community artisans & crafts personsConducted in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh through November, December 2019 and January 2020, these 5day programs covered topics like Microfinance, Entrepreneurship Development, Preparation of BusinessPlans, Preparation of Projects, Packaging, Export Procedures and Documentation. Trainers were expertfaculty from Resonance International Inc., Dehradun, Sharp Staffing Solution Pvt. Ltd., Saharanpur andInternational Trainer Federation, New Delhi; Mr. Mohd. Asif from EPCH; Mr. Deepak Singh from ASAIIndi Glass Ltd., Roorkee; Mr. Sunil Kumar, Designer, EPCH; and Mr. Pulkit Jain, Assistant Director, O/o

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DC(Handicrafts), Saharanpur. The training included project planning; use of good tools and techniquesfor getting information from other people; that entrepreneur is an entity that has the ability to find andact upon opportunities to translate inventions or technologies into products and services with commercialviability; what export documentation involves and how it plays a vital role in the flow and movementof goods & services in international markets; microfinance as a category of financial services targetedat individuals and small business who lack access to conventional banking and related services as wellas micro financing organisations; design and its importance in export trade; schemes of Central / StateGovt. for artisans; business planning, quality control& packaging and labeling.

Integrated Design and Technical Development Programs in RajasthanWith support from O/o DC (Handicrafts), EPCH is undertaking Integrated Design and Technical DevelopmentPrograms in Rajasthan, for Blue pottery, Hand embroidery and Leather craft. Each program has a Mastercrafts person and a designer. The program comprises first month of preliminary survey by the designer;design development & creating prototypes for 75 days; market testing and refinement of the product;batch production; and participation in two marketing events. Program details below:

Blue Pottery, Jaipur, Rajasthan- 75 days program

Hand Embroidery, Bikaner, Rajasthan- 75 days program

Leather Craft, Ajmer, Rajasthan- 5 months program

Stone Craft, Jaisalmer , Rajasthan- 5 months program

Bandhej Craft, Nagaur, Rajasthan- 5 months program

RPL in various crafts across India continues successfullyEPCH initiated the drive to recognise the skills of crafts persons through RPL - Best in Class EmployerProject, in collaboration with Handicraft & Carpet Sector Skill Council(HCSSC), supported by NationalSkill Development Corporation. RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning), a project of Pradhan Mantri KaushalVikas Yojana (PMKVY 2.0) scheme under Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) wasintroduced by MSDE and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to ensure wider outreach tolarge workforce across all the sectors in the country through direct partnership with Sector Skill Councils(SSCs). EPCH in collaboration with HCSSC initiated a drive to assess and certify over 85,000 artisansacross the country, ensuring to link the artisans of various crafts with the mainstream. Under this projecta total over 50,000 artisans of Hand Embroidery, Artmetalware, Wooden Craft, Crochet Lace, BambooCraft, Hand rolled Agarbatti, Carpets, Ceramic Craft, Fashion Jewellery, etc. have been enrolled fromAssam, Tripura, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,J&K and Punjab. RPL -Best in Class Employer Project provides a sense of pride, confidence and socialrecognition to crafts persons and would help enhancing their livelihood in future.

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Handicrafts Outreach ProgramBolpur, West Bengal : EPCH and DGFT organised this export awareness seminar on 5th September2019, under Niryat Bandhu Scheme. This was addressed by Mr. Anand Mishra, Deputy DGFT; Mr. TanmoyBrahma, GM DIC, Birbhum; Mr. K D Bhattacharya, Deputy Director, MSME - DI, Ministry of MSME, Govt.of India; and Mr. Debabrata Sengupta, Secretary, The Santiniketan Artistic Leather Goods ManufacturersWelfare Association. EPCH guided on Entering Export Market and services provided to the handicraftsfraternity with special reference to Trade Fairs. Participants also learnt about salient features of ForeignTrade Policy, export procedures and export promotion schemes.

Chaksu, Rajasthan : EPCH and DGFT jointly conducted this outreach program under Niryat BandhuScheme, on 22nd November 2019. Participants were informed of role of EPCH, its activities and how ithelps artisans and entrepreneurs develop business through marketing linkages, like IHGF Delhi Fair,etc. Mr. K C Meena, FTDO, O/o DGFT and Mr. Mahendra Meena, HPO, O/o DC (Handicrafts) informedabout schemes available with their office for benefit of SME sector. A DGFT Orientation Program underNiryat Bandhu Scheme was also conducted in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on 26th September 2019.

Puri, Odisha: EPCH organised this Export Outreach Programme under Niryat Bandhu Scheme of DGFTaimed at informing and educating probable exporters at the very base level, on 17th January 2020, atPuri, Odisha. The programme aimed at segments of the MSME cluster that include artisans and entrepreneursengaged in handicrafts with special focus on shell, applique and stone crafts. The programme was facilitatedby Mr. Abhijit Bakshi, Jt. DGFT, Kolkata; Mr. AK Panigrahi, Senior AD, O/o DC (Handicrafts); officialfrom DIC, Puri and some renowned exporters. A Handicraft Outreach Programme was also conductedat Jamshedpur, Jharkhand on 28th June 2019.

Sustainable Livelihood initiative under ONGC CSR ProjectWith the aim to empower lace craft artisans in Narsapur and hand embroidery artisans in Jaipur andequip them with tools to become self-reliant through skill up-gradation (focusing on design aspect)programs in respective craft clusters, EPCH approached ONGC(CSR) for support. Through this programEPCH helped artisans in both clusters with the introduction of contemporary design inputs, strategicmarket positioning, gearing-up of the institutional infrastructure and support to Business DevelopmentService (BDS) providers. A total of 100 artisans, mostly women, benefited.

10 Days Design Training ProjectThis was organised at Common Facility Centre, Jodhpur from 11th to 22nd July 2019, with support ofUniversal Just Action Society(UJAS), Jodhpur. This training in designs & trends was attended by 15 artisans,officials from District Industries Centre, Jodhpur, O/o DC(Handicrafts) and UJAS.

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INTERNATIONAL EVENTSIN INDIA

EPCH’s flagship show, IHGF Delhi Fair held in Autumn 2019 and nowworld’s biggest congregation of handicraft exporters, saw the

successful organisation of its 48th edition. This year also witnessedEPCH’s sectoral events - Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show

as well as premium ‘Home Total’ show - Home Expo India.


8th Home Expo India16th-18th April 2019

Home Expo India 2019, concluded on 18th April 2019, after its three day sojourn. This 'Home Total' showhad among its 600 participants, a cross section of exhibitors from manufacturing hubs across India.Buyers and trade visitors could meet them at the Permanent Showrooms as well as bedecked exhibitorstalls in the Mart area of the Expo Centre. This edition listed a thematic presentation of North EastRegion (NER). An exclusive representation of handicrafts by skilled craftspersons from SC communitieswas also among highlights at the three days expo.

Buyers from USA, Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, UAE, Lebanon, Iran, Nigeria, Ghana, SouthAfrica, Vietnam, Romania, etc. pre-registered and visited the show through the three days. Buyers fromover 50 countries visited the show and had busy field days interacting with the exhibitors, some of thembeing their regular suppliers. As consumers want authenticity in what they buy and expect elements ofpersonalisation in mass produced as well as upscale items, home products manufactured in India easilyappeal as they are credited for handcrafted as well as hand finished detailing. This attribute is exclusive

to few countries but India enjoys awell-defined edge, feel many buyers.

A select confluence of top manu-facturer exporters for home & lifestyleproducts, Home Expo India offeredan optimum assortment covering allsegments of a modern home - HomeFurniture, Furnishings, Decoratives,Household products - Kitchenware,Tableware, Gardenware, BathroomAccessories, etc. It stood out ascompendia of the luxury market andfacilitated visitors get a comprehensiveinsight into the latest trends andmodern lifestyles- from classics tocontemporary, traditional to avantgarde, simple to baroque. With anexclusive choice of merchandise onoffer, this show drew internationalbuyers and importers besideswholesalers, distributors, retail chains,merchandisers as well as architectsand interior designers. The timing ofApril has been viewed by many asbeing conducive for sourcing,especially for buyers planning theiritinerary for Asia and shows in thisregion during that time.

IFAS, IFFTEX, IHDSIndia Expo Centre & Mart,Greater Noida, UP

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Emailers forOverseas Visitors

Fair Directory Show Bulletins

Brochures

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New dates announced for IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 with a ‘CurtainRaiser’18th April 2019, India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, UPA Curtain Raiser for the 2020 IHGF Delhi Fair was organised and the show's new dates-15-19 April 2020,were announced to an audience of exporters, industry stalwarts and the overseas as well as Indian buyercommunity, who welcomed the change. IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring, that has traditionally occupied five daysof February each year, would now move to a more favourable April sourcing season. It coincides withthe popular shows in Asia and strategically falls in place amidst the Asian sourcing clime, especially forEuropean buyers. IHGF-the Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair was started way back in 1994 and the firstshow was held in the month of January, heralding the beginning of India's own international show forthe sector that was gradually embraced by the trade in India and world over. After a few years, the dateswere changed to February to coincide with prime sourcing shows in Europe. IHGF gained internationalacclaim as a one stop sourcing destination for home, fashion, lifestyle and textiles, popular amongbuyers as the Spring fair. Years later, IHGF's name was changed to IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring-an apt namefor the location and timing. Having evolved over the years, IHGF Delhi Fair became larger and moresuccessful. Now once again it's time for a change and the show moves to April. The dates have beendecided in consultation with overseas buyers, buying agents in India as well as IHGF's regular exhibitors.

Announcing the new dates, Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH, shared that the prime reason isthe timing and the business transacted. In 1994 when IHGF was conceptualised, Asia was not so powerfulfor sourcing as it is today. Trade visitors flocked to European shows like Ambiente in Germany, SpringFair in UK, etc. for all their sourcing requirements. Mr. Kumar emphasised, "now is the time for Asia asIndia, Vietnam, Phillipines and other Asian nations have emerged as sourcing destinations and most ofthe fairs in this region are held in April. This brings several European buyers to Asia during this month.In January and February, most buyers are busy at European fairs." He further added, "besides, after theIHGF Autumn show, a lead time of six months allows our exhibitors to prepare their collections forupcoming seasons."

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12th

Indian Fashion Jewellery& Accessories Show4th-6th July 2019India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, UP

With a varied brigade of fashion jewellery and accessories to apparel as well a reasonable selection injewellery components, the 12th edition of IFJAS concluded its three days course, drawing quality buyersdealing exclusively in fashion jewellery and accessories from various importing nations. This three daysbusiness extravaganza was a thoughtfully chalked out output of innovation that has been a result ofconsistent exploration of one's multifarious potential and utilities. Buyers have taken notice of artisans

and crafts persons from clusters as well.Products showcased on the Ramp Showson all days of the show added a lot of glitzand have been appreciated too. This show,held concurrently with the 63rd IndiaInternational Garment Fair, was inauguratedby Mr. Shantmanu, DevelopmentCommissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry ofTextiles, Govt. of India in the presence ofMr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; Mr. VikasManaktala, President, IFJAS 2019; Mr. RakeshKumar, Chairman, IEML and DirectorGeneral, EPCH; Mr. Rahul Mehta, Chairman,IGFA and President, CMAI; as well asmembers of Committee of Administrationof EPCH; and Mr. R K Verma, Director, EPCH.Mr. Manoj Tiwari, Hon'ble Member ofParliament and President, BJP, Delhi, gracedthe show on its second day and gave awaythe Awards for Best Display.

IFJAS, a premium trading platform forsourcing fashion jewellery & accessories fromIndia's key suppliers in this 12th editionbrought together, over 250 exhibitors fromDelhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kullu, Noida, GautamBuddh Nagar, Gurgaon, Manesar, Faridabad,Ghaziabad, Agra, Ajmer, Jaipur, Jodhpur,Sambhal, Srinagar, Thane and all those cities

as well as manufacturing clusters for fashion jewellery & related products, making the trade appointmenta unique opportunity for buyers to explore a well spread product range. Besides, artisans and craftspersons from the Eastern, Southern and Western Region of India were provided with an excellent platformfor collective displays of regional jewellery crafts and accessories. A varied range with different rawmaterials, applications and reinvention of culturally backed designs through modern translations formedpart of the diverse range. Buyers from Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Finland, France,Greece, Italy, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, SouthAfrica, Spain, Sri Lanka, UAE, UK, USA as well as CIS countries visited the show to source their requirementsfor the seasons ahead.

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India International Hospitality Expo - IHE 20197th -10th August 2019India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, UPEPCH was represented at the 2nd edition of IHE-India International Expo, organised by IEML at IndiaExpo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, from 7th to 10th August 2019. The Council set up a Theme Participationof crafts from the North East Region with 10 exhibitors and a product profile comprising furniture, cane& bamboo crafts, home textiles, areca palm plates, lamps & lighting, etc. suited to living spaces in thehospitality world.

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48th

IHGF Delhi Fair - Autumn 201916th-20th October 2019India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, UP

IHGF Delhi Fair concluded its Autumn 2019 edition, with selections in a choice of products and trendspecific design developments from exhibitors in vibrant display segments, encompassing the completesupply chain of home fashion & utility, collectibles, gifting and fashion accessories, at the India ExpoCentre & Mart, Greater Noida expressway, from 16th to 20th October 2019. In Theme areas and collectivedisplays, this edition featured the North Eastern Region; Jammu & Kashmir; India's famed lace craftcluster of Narsapur; and the Himalayan village -Mana. 7 Knowledge Seminars on a variety of topicswere conducted by Indian as well as international experts from various fields, in course of the fair.Besides, the fair also featured Ramp Presentations.

The Fair was inaugurated by Secretary Textiles, Mr. Ravi Capoor, in the presence of Mr. Shantmanu, DC(Handicrafts); Chairman, EPCH, Mr. Ravi K Passi; Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH and Chairman,IEML; Vice Chairman, EPCH, Mr. Sagar Mehta; President and Vice Presidents, Reception Committee, IHGFDelhi Fair-Autumn 2019 - Mr. Sunit Jain, Mr. Ravindra Miglani, Mrs. Neetu Singh and Mr. Rajat Asthana;eminent trade members and EPCH COA members. Through its five days, this edition also welcomedesteemed guests like, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who inauguratedthe Mana Theme Pavilion at the show and launched a fusion fashion line created using handcraftingskills from Mana, Himachal Pradesh and Barmer, Rajasthan; Minister of State for Finance & CorporateAffairs, Shri Anurag Thakur; Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Khadi & Grammoudyog,Textiles, and Export Promotion, Govt. of UP, Chaudhary Uday Bhan Singh; Hon'ble Member of Parliamentand former Minister of State for Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta; Mr. Vijoy Kumar Singh (IAS), Addl. Secretary& Financial Adviser, Ministry of Textiles; Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, Indian Council For CulturalRelations (ICCR).

Owing to EPCH's strategically planned publicity campaigns many buyers from all major buying marketsacross North and South America, Europe, Central Asia, South East Asia, Middle East, Australian subcontinentand Africa visited this edition. Besides, substantial traffic was registered from new and emerging markets.IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 2019 also offered an excellent sourcing opportunity for Indian retail brands.Under EPCH's 'Source for Retail' initiative, the exhibitors at the show were also open to domestic retail.Domestic volume buyers and leading sourcing brands had pre-registered to visit.

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HANDICRAFTS TRADEPROMOTION IN DOMESTIC

MARKETSThrough a variety of programs and initiatives, EPCH provided strategic platforms for

trade exchange and promoted manufacturers to connect with domestic buyers for theircraft produce. The audience included volume domestic buyers as well as established

exporters, looking for manufacturers, to fulfill big order commitments.


HGH IndiaHGH India, an annual trade show in India, for home textiles, home décor, gifts & houseware, in its 8thedition, was held at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai from 3rd to 5th July 2019. Organised by TexzoneInformation Services Pvt. Ltd.and inaugurated by Mr. Shantmanu, IAS, Development Commissioner,Handicrafts, HGH India brought together Indian and international brands, manufacturers and importersin home category ranging from economy to premium and luxury segments, including hand crafted products,on a common platform. This show is said to be specially designed to connect the Indian market forhome products and gifts. Besides, leading Indian importers, distributors, buying agents and brand representativesattend HGH India to explore new business opportunities and partnerships. EPCH set up a promotionalbooth at this show. Many retailers also visited the EPCH booth and enquired about its upcoming IHGFDelhi Fair-Autumn 2019. They expressed their interest in visiting the show for their sourcing requirements.

FORHEX FairEPCH participated in this B2C show for home and living products, with 32 NER and SC community artisans& entrepreneurs and their display lines in terracotta, cane & bamboo, dry flowers, home furnishing,wooden wares, home decoratives, hand worked sarees, tribal textiles & jewellery, crystal glass decorativecrafts, hand block printed goods, embroidery and crochet crafts, leather goods, metal goods, appliquecrafts, handcrafted shawls & scarves, fashion jewellery & accessories, and incense products. These exhibitorsreceived very good response and made retail sales. EPCH’s booth at the fair created awareness aboutits various activities. This was the 9th edition of FORHEX, held from 15th to 18th August, 2019, at BirlaInstitute of Scientific Research, Jaipur, Rajasthan and inaugurated by Mr. D B Gupta, Chief Secretary,Govt. of Rajasthan, in the presence of Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, former Chairman & COA Member, EPCH;Mr. Dileep Baid, COA Member, EPCH; exporter members and participating artisans & entrepreneurs.Mr. Anil Pradhan, Regional Director, and other staff personnel of O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts)M & SEC, Jaipur, also visited and interacted with the artisans. Organised by Federation of RajasthanHandicraft Exporters (FORHEX), this is a retail trade fair for handicrafts and textiles.

Udupi Udyam SamagamUdyam Samagam organised by MSME Development Institute, Mangalore, was held at Town Hall, Udupi,Karnataka, from 27 and 28th September 2019. It was inaugurated by Home Minister for the State ofKarnataka, Shri Basava Raja Bommai. Alongside other trade bodies, EPCH was provided a promotionalbooth at this event. In all, the Samagam had 100 booths representing participants from across Karnataka,besides booths of Corporation Bank, Coir Board and O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts). In theevent, Mr. KN Tulasi Rao, South Regional Convenor, EPCH and Committee Member, EPCH, addressed theparticipants along with other dignitaries. The Samagam offered both B2B and B2C platform for MSEsfor sourcing, buyer-seller meets, business interactions, marketing access, etc. The EPCH booth displayedinformative posters on its upcoming events as well as VRIKSH Certification. Related literature was disseminatedand information on IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 2019 as well as Spring 2020 was shared with the visitors.

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Enterprise Meet and Exhibition under ODOPEPCH set up an information booth at the Enterprise Meet and Exhibition under ODOP(One District OneProduct), organised on 30th September & 1st October 2019, at Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh by District Industryand Entrepreneurship Promotion Centre, Sambhal and Development Institute, Sambhal. EPCH made thisrepresentation on request of the organisers as this event aimed to establish connectivity between artisansand exporters of the Moradabad region. Council’s officials interacted with the visitors to the booth andextended them information about the Council’s role in the handicrafts export trade. The event featuredan Exhibition, Buyer Seller Meet, Technical Sessions, Screening of Movie on ODOP and Display of Catalogue.The Council also requested its members based at Moradabad and Sambhal to visit the Buyer Seller Meetand explore the craftsmanship displayed.

Gandhi Shilp Bazar at Paschimi Rajasthan Udyog Hastshilp UtsavEPCH organised Gandhi Shilp Bazar - a Retail Fair during the ‘Paschimi Rajasthan Udyog Hastshilp Utsav2020- an Industrial and Handicrafts Fair, held in Jodhpur’s Ravan Ka Chabutra Ground, from 3rd to12th January 2020. The fair, the 30th in the series, was organised by Directorate of Industries, Jodhpur,Udhyam Protsahan Sansthan, in association with Marudhara Industries Association. EPCH organised aGandhi Shilp Bazar during this Utsav under the MSS Scheme of O/o DC (H), Ministry of Textiles, Govt.of India and provided a retail platform to 70 SC crafts persons and entrepreneurs from all over India.EPCH’s Gandhi Shilp Bazar pavilion was inaugurated by Mr. Parsadi Lal Meena, Minister of Industries,Govt. of Rajasthan in the presence of Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, former Chairman and Regional ConvenorEPCH; Mr. Iswar Chand, Handicrafts Promotion Officer, O/o DC (Handicrafts); Mr. Sajjan Pal ChoudharyCarpet Training Officer O/o DC(H), Jodhpur; officials from Directorate of Industries, Jodhpur, representativesfrom Marudhara Industries Association, trade and exhibitors. The Retail Fair was inaugurated byMr. Rajpal Singh Shekhawat, former Minister of Industries, Govt. of Rajasthan. Some of the dignitarieswho visited were, Ms. Mamta Bhupesh, Hon’ble Minister of Women and Child Development, Govt. ofRajasthan; Mr. Muktanand Agarwal, IAS, Commissioner Industries, Govt. of Rajasthan; and officials fromRIICO, NIFT, FDDI, Cairn Oil & Gas Ltd., DIC, etc.

Bamboo Artisans ConclaveA delegation of EPCH Members visited the Bamboo Artisans Conclave organised from 18th to 19thSeptember 2019 at Dumka, Jharkhand, by ‘Mukhyamantri Laghu Evam Kutir Udyam Vikas Board’, Constitutedunder the Department of Industries, Govt. of Jharkhand, with an objective to create awareness about thepotential & opportunities of different business models in the bamboo sector amongst the target stakeholdergroup. To emphasise on improving market integration and establishing direct market linkage, EPCHtook the handicraft exporters delegation from pan India to explore the new cluster of bamboo productsfor business opportunity. During the Conclave, product segments on display comprised Kitchen & Dining,Home Furniture, Home Décor, Office Stationery & Miscellaneous and Lifestyle products, with an objectiveto provide a platform to local artisans to showcase their produce to a domestic audience, ensuringintegrated and inclusive development of linkage between producers and buyers.

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Retail Leadership SummitEPCH participated at the 16th Retail Leadership Summit, organised by Retail Association of India from26th-27th February 2020 at The Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre, Mumbai. The aim was topromote the domestic retail initiative taken by the Council. An EPCH information cum promotional boothwas set up at the event to promote its upcoming trade events like IHGF Delhi Fair 2020 and IFJAS 2020,where retail volume buyers are invited to pre-register for visiting & sourcing. Retail Leadership Summit(RLS) is the premier knowledge and networking platform for India's burgeoning retail and shoppingcentre industries. During the event a Panel Discussion was organised with Directors and CEOs fromleading retail chains/brands among panelists. Mr. Karan Jethwani, EPCH member exporter from Mumbai,represented the Council during the discussion (Business Sans Borders succeeding at Cross Border Retail)and briefed the audience about IHGF Delhi Fair and the scope of retail market in the handicrafts sector.

India WoodEPCH successfully participated in the India Wood Show held at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre,Bangalore from 29th February to 2nd March 2020. The Council set up a publicity booth at this event tospread awareness about its Vriksh Certification and Wood Testing Laboratory, set up at HandicraftsProductivity Centre, Jaipur, Rajasthan. This booth was visited by Mr. O P Prahladka, Former Chairman andCOA Member, EPCH as well as Dr. M P Singh, IFS, Director of Institute of Wood Science and Technology(IWST),Bangalore. Many visitors approached the EPCH booth and enquired about various activities of the Councilas well as Vriksh Certification & Testing Services.

Direct Sale by Artisans to Buyers through display in ShoppingMalls under the title “Kala Kumbh - Magic of Gifted Hands”EPCH, with support of DC (Handicrafts), organised Thematic Exhibition-cum-sale of GI crafts; NER crafts;and crafts practiced and produced by SC community artisans. Titled ‘Kala Kumbh-Magic of Gifted Hands’these 10 day events were organised with around 20 artisans each, at Jaipur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Bangalore,Delhi NCR and Chennai in February 2020. From 14th to 23rd February 2020, the event was held at GTCentral Mall, Jaipur, Rajasthan; Growel’s 101 Shopping Mall, Mumbai, Maharashtra; and Gopalan ArcadeShopping Mall, Bangalore, Karnataka. From 21st February to 1st March 2020, it was organised at ShipraMall, Indirapuram, Delhi NCR; and Chennai City Centre Mall, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. From 6th to 15thMarch 2020, the Kala Kumbh was held at PVP Square Mall, Bandar Road, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh;and Acropolis Mall, East Kolkata Township, Kolkata, West Bengal. The participants generated good businesslinkages and sold their goods to individuals and created a good market for their products for the futureas well.EPCH planned on organising such handicrafts retail exhibitions at 10 major places across Indiawhich include Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Vishakhapatnam and Lucknow.

Besides the above events, EPCH took an emphatic representation to the Enterprise Meet and Exhibition,Moradabad, organised jointly by MSME Development Institute, Ministry of MSME, Agra; Export PromotionDepartment of Uttar Pradesh; and DIC Moradabad, from 26th to 27th September 2019, under ODOP,Moradabad.


HANDICRAFTS TRADEPROMOTION IN

INTERNATIONAL MARKETSEPCH led its members’ participation to select prime overseas

shows in Europe, Middle East and Asia. The Council set upan India Pavilion at most shows and members benefited from

collective participation under one banner. These wereopportunities to explore markets, book business as well as

to study market/consumer trends.


Hong Kong Houseware FairHong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings FairHong Kong as an emergent trade platform features prominently among EPCH’s selected destinationsfor its aggressive marketing strategy through participation in specialised trade fairs. Two integral fairsfor the sector- the Hong Kong Houseware Fair and the Hong Kong International Home Textiles andFurnishings Fair, organised by HKTDC at Hong Kong from 20th - 23rd April 2019. EPCH set up IndiaPavilions at the fairs with 55 participants and also set up a thematic display of sustainable & eco-friendly products from North Eastern Region of India to create awareness. Furniture, wooden artware& accessories, metalware including brass, copper, iron & stainless steel artwares, kitchenware, gardenaccessories, nautical instruments, table top products, candles, incense, gifts & decoratives, animal figurines,mirrors, photo frames, vases, bowls, etc. were part of the Houseware show and home textiles, floorings& furnishing, embroidered cushion covers, throws & curtains, bed sheets, quilts, bed covers, hand woventapestries, crochet articles, hand knitted furnishings, baby products, etc. were displayed in the Textilesshow. The Council’s promotional stand disseminated information on its forthcoming trade events anddistributed publicity material on IHGF Delhi Fair - Autumn 2019 and IFJAS (Indian Fashion Jewellery &Accessories Show) 2019. EPCH also promoted its shows through outdoor publicity at Hong Kong StarFerry and Hung Hom Station.

Hong Kong Gifts & Premium FairEPCH participated in the 35th HKTDC Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, organised from 27th to 30thApril 2019 at Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, with 38 member companiesand a promotional theme booth of sustainable products from the North East Region. The display compriseddecoratives, giftware, paper products, photo frames, hand bags & lifestyle products, kids room accessories,handmade paper products, Christmas décor and gift ornaments. EPCH also set up a publicity booth topromote its forthcoming shows. The Council also promoted these shows through outdoor publicity androad show at Hong Kong Star Ferry and MTR station. Mrs. Mrinalini Srivastava, Acting Consul General,inaugurated the India Pavilion in the presence of Mr. Ajith John Joshua, Consul (Commerce, Political &Media); Mr. Rajesh Kumar Jain, COA Member, EPCH and member exporters participating in the show.

YIWU Imported Commodities Fair, ChinaEPCH set up an exclusive India Pavilion with display of jewellery & accessories, home decor and accessories,decoratives, glassware, tableware, jewellery boxes, scarves, stoles & shawls, Christmas decorations, homefurnishing, cushions, bags and incense products by 29 member exporters and 1 Master crafts person atthe 8th China YIWU Imported Commodities Fair, held from 23rd to 26th May 2019. The India Pavilionwas inaugurated by Mr. Arun Kumar Panwar, Consul (Press, Information & Culture), O/o Consulate Generalof India, Shanghai, China, in the presence of Mr. Pradeep Shetty, eminent Indian businessman in China;and participating member exporters. Mr. Arun K Yadav, Director, O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts),New Delhi, also visited. EPCH had also set up a publicity booth in this fair.

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Global Indian Festival, MalaysiaEPCH set up a collective display and participated with a delegation of 22 member exhibitors fromacross various product categories like jewellery, decorative items, leather goods, textiles, home decor,garments, photo frames, etc. at the 17th edition of the Global Indian Festival, held in Mid Valley ExhibitionCentre, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, from 1st to 9th June 2019. 5 Master crafts persons adept at crafts ofengraving, poetic sceneries, wood crafting and Kashmir papier-machie were deputed by the O/o DC(Handicrafts) for live demonstration. The promotional booth set up by EPCH helped distribute leafletsof its forthcoming fairs. HE, High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, Mr. Mirdul Kumar,Mr.Varun Jeph,First Secretary(Com); Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Minister of water, land and natural resources of Malaysia;and Mr. Jaggarao Simancha, Founder & CEO, Agenda Suria visited the India pavilion and appreciatedEPCH’s efforts. Organised by the ASC Agenda Suria Communication in collaboration with Indian HighCommission & Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) the display categories atthis festival included home and lifestyle products with emphasis on B2C segment. 300 Indian exhibitorsdisplayed their lines and the festival attracted over 4 lakh visitors.

IHF & IGF and ISF, JapanEPCH participated at the India Home Furnishing Fair (IHF), held concurrently with India Garment Fair(IGF) from 17th to 19th July 2019 at Osaka, Japan - organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO)at Mydome, Osaka, with support of Embassy of India, Tokyo and Consulate General of India, Osaka. Theevents have been successfully organised for over two decades and have proved to be catalysts in promotingIndia’s stake in the “quality conscious” Japanese market. The event is an exclusive show for Indian exporterscatering to garments and home furnishing. The fair was inaugurated by Dr. Vaibhav A. Tandale, Consul,CGI Osaka and other dignitaries from JETRO, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Japan InteriorFabric Association, etc. EPCH also set up a publicity booth for promoting IHGF Delhi Fair - Autumn2019 and Spring 2020, through distribution of promotional material among the visitors.

Decor+Design and Australian International Furniture Show, AustraliaEPCH set up the India Pavilion for the second time at this show held from 18th-21st July 2019 at Melbourne,Australia. Member exporters showcased wooden furniture, home décor, cushion covers, bed covers,rugs and throws, ceramic door knobs, towels, etc. A promotional booth was set up to publicise upcomingIHGF Delhi Fair- Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020. The EPCH India Pavilion was inaugurated by Mr. RajKumar, Consul General of India(Melbourne). He interacted with the participants and invited suggestionsfrom them to ease out deterrants in doing business with Australia and ensured alll support in futureendeavours of the Council to generate brand image of Indian handicrafts in Australia. Decor+Designand Australian International Furniture Show 2019, known to be Australia’s leading interior event showsince the past 16 years, gives interior designers, decorators, architects, furniture and furnishing buyinggroups as well as retailers, the opportunity to see and buy hundreds of new products, learn the latestindustry trends and network with peers both at the trade fair and in a full program of concurrent functions.

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India Trend Fair, JapanMr. Ravinder Kumar Passi, Chairman EPCH, led a delegation of 10 member exporters and 5 NationalAwardee Master crafts persons to the 5th edition of India Trend Fair, held from 24th to 26th July 2019at Belle Salle Shibuya Garden, Tokyo, Japan. The EPCH side displayed handicrafts, textiles & home furnishing,hand crocheted embroidery, fashion accessories, jute products, incense sticks, etc. besides showcasinglive demonstration of Pashmina Kani Shawl from Jammu & Kashmir; Silver Filigree from Telangana; MadhubaniPainting from Delhi; Hase Chitara Folk Painting from Karnataka; and Glass Studded Painting from Jaipur,Rajasthan. HE Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India, inaugurated the fair in the presence ofMr. Ajit Chavan, Secretary, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India; Mr. Nobuhiro Komada,President of Nissenken Quality Evaluation Center Japan; Mr. Yosuke Yanagase, Chairman JIIPA; Mr. RavinderKumar Passi, Chairman EPCH; and leaders of other trade body delegations from India. The Japanesebuyers were enthusiastic and showing keen interest to plan their visit to India and attend IHGF DelhiFair. The Chairman EPCH, Mr. Ravi K. Passi visited Tokugen Craft Studio, Tokyo to discuss strength ofIndian handicrafts manufacturing, Govt. schemes of both nations as well as their implementation topromote mutual trade.

MAGIC, USAMAGIC is a fashion tradeshow in the United States. Held twice a year (August and February), in LasVegas, that showcases men’s, women’s and children’sapparel, footwear, accessories, and manufacturingresources from around the world. The 2019 edition held from 12th to 14th August 2019 brought togetherexhibitors and visitors. EPCH participated with member exporters and a publicity booth towards promotionof IHGF Delhi Fairs-Autumn2019 and Spring 2020. In Magic’s 2020 edition, held from 4th to 7th February,EPCH set up a promotional booth. The area that housed the booth was inaugurated by H E ConsulateGeneral of India to San Francisco, USA, Mr. Sanjay Panda. Mr. Bob Berg, Director of International Business,Sourcing at Magic, interacted with the exhibitors and shared his views. A total of 92 companies fromIndia across various industry segments participated. MAGIC has eleven unique communities showcasetheir luxury brands and the latest trends in fashion. Leading peers, entrepreneurs, exhibitors and visitorshave the unique opportunity to participate in educational seminars, special internal networking eventsand parties.

China International Furniture Expo, ChinaEPCH participated in the 25th China International Furniture Expo (Furniture China 2019) held from 9thto 12th September 2019 at Shanghai, China, alongwith 10 member exporters from Jodhpur. A total of27 companies from India participated. The India Pavilion set up by EPCH was inaugurated by Mr. AnilKumar Rai, Consul General of India at Shanghai, China, alongwith Dr. J Aravind, Head of Chancery andConsul (Commercial). Global buyers interested to source hardwood furniture showed keen interest inproducts displayed at the India Pavilion and EPCH could successfully create a ‘Brand Image” by projectingIndia as a profitable sourcing destination amongst buyers from China and other visiting countries. EPCH

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also set up a promotional booth to disseminate information amongst visiting buyers about IHGF DelhiFair Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020 editions.

INDEX, DubaiINDEX is known to be the most diverse international design exhibition held in the Middle East and NorthAfrican region and is dedicated to 9 show sectors covering the entire spectrum of products and servicesrequired for the design, fit-out, or upgrade of residential, retail, and hospitality spaces. Organised atDubai World Trade Centre, Dubai by DMG Event Middle East (UK) from 17th to 19th September 2019,this was co-located with The Hotel Show, The Leisure Show and FIM (furniture interior manufacturers).EPCH set up an exclusive India Pavilion and a promotional booth at this show to promote India as wellas IHGF Delhi fair as a profitable sourcing destination and encourage the visit of trade buyers to India.

China Export & Import Fair (Canton Fair), ChinaEPCH set up an exclusive India Pavilion with 9 member exporters at the 126th China Import and ExportFair (CIEF), also known as the Canton Fair, held at Guangzhou, South China, from 31st October to 4thNovember 2019. This fair is said to be widely popular not only in China but has a significant participationfrom the world. It features product categories like, textiles & garments, home furnishing, shoes, officesupplies, cases & bags and recreation products; medical devices and health products; food, agriculturalproducts; beauty care products; gifts and decorations. The EPCH India Pavilion was inaugurated byMr. Sujit Ghosh, Consul General of India at Guangzhou. Home furnishing, furniture, jute products, naturalfibre and bags were on display here. The CGI visited the stalls and interacted with the participants inthe India Pavilion. EPCH also set up a promotional booth to promote IHGF Delhi Fair - Spring 2020. Thefootfall of buyers was encouraging and the participants have informed of visitors' keen interest in productsshowcased at the India Pavilion.

International Sourcing Expo, AustraliaEPCH set up the India Pavilion with 6 member exporters and a promotional booth at the InternationalSourcing Expo, held at Melbourne, Australia from 12th to 14th November 2019. Consul General of Indiain Melbourne, H E, Mr. Raj Kumar, inaugurated this Pavilion in the presence of Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman,EPCH and Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH. EPCH's publicity booth, replete with posters andpublicity material for its upcoming 2020 shows like IHGF Delhi Fair and IFJAS drew several Australianwholesalers, retailers and importers. In course of the show, Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; andMr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH, also met with the organiser of the show, i.e. Ms. Marie Kinsella,Chief Executive Officer (IEC Group) and Ms. Julie Holt, Global Exhibition Director, International SourcingExpo, Melbourne. They had a positive discussion on exploring the Indian market as well as products.This show is said to be the premier sourcing expo in Australia for apparel, accessories and textiles.Co-located with Footwear & Leather Show Australia and China Clothing Textiles Accessories Expo, thisshow provides an opportunity to meet major Australian retailers, wholesalers and fashion chains. It is

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organised by IEC (International Exhibition & Conference Group) on behalf of International Expo GroupPvt. Ltd., Australia. This show brought together, over 700 exhibitors (manufacturers & suppliers) fromover 20 countries. The display by EPCH member exhibitors at the show included fashion accessories,home furnishing, leather bags & accessories, carpets, rugs, cushion covers, jute bags, hand embroideredgarments and textile based products.

AF- L'Artigiano in Fiera, ItalyEPCH set up the India Pavilion with textiles, furnishing, fabrics, costume jewellery and accessories, handicraftsfrom J&K, Christmas decorations, incense, home decoration, giftware, furniture & fixtures and eco-friendlycrafts by 15 member exporters as well as craft demonstrations by 5 Master crafts persons, at this annualevent in Milan, Italy. This was held from 30th November to 8th December 2019. EPCH also set up apublicity booth for promotion of IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 and IFJAS 2020. The Pavilion was inauguratedby Mr. Shantmanu, IAS, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of Indiaalongwith Mr. Antonio Intiglietta, President of Ge.Fi. & AF’L Fair; Mr. Gabriele Alberti, CEO & GeneralManager of Ge.Fi, AF’L Fair; and Mr. Rajnish Ghai, Chairman WWEPC. The Pavilion was also visited bythe Principal Secretary of MSME Chennai, Dr. Rajendra Kumar, IAS, alongwith the MD, Mr. T Rajesh, IAS.

Heimtextil, GermanyEPCH’s participation at the 2020 Heimtextil, held at Frankfurt, Germany was highlighted by an IndiaPavilion housing 36 member exporters. This was inaugurated by Mr. Vijoy Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary& Financial Advisor (AS& FA), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, along with Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, COAMember, EPCH; Mr. Sibin C, Director, Industry & Commerce, Govt. of Punjab; Chairman, HEPC; ED,Texprocil; and member participants. Later on H E Consul General, Consulate General of India, Frankfurt,Ms. Pratibha Parkar, also visited. Mr. Moloy Chandan Chakrabortty, Jute & Textiles Commissioner, alsovisited the pavilion. This was the 50th edition of the show, held from 7th to 10th January 2020 and Indianparticipation was the second largest after China. EPCH also set up a publicity booth for disseminatinginformation on its upcoming shows.

Chinese New Year Shopping Festival & Imported Goods Trade Fair, ChinaEPCH set up an exclusive India Pavilion with 12 member exporters at the 24th Chinese New Year ShoppingFestival, held at Chengdu, China, from 14th to 21st January 2020. On display at the India Pavilion werehandicrafts, textiles, home furnishing, hand crocheted embroidery, fashion accessories, jute productsand incense products. Ms. Yu Bin from Provincial Department of Commerce of China inaugurated theevent in the presence of dignitaries from New Zealand, Korea, Malaysia and Czech Republic. The ChineseNew Year Shopping festival is a B2C show. Companies from China and other regions in Asia, Europe,Africa, Oceania, South America, etc. participate with their products related to fashion, consumer goods,home decoration, kitchenware, handicrafts, festival supplies, furniture, etc. EPCH also set up a publicitybooth and spread awareness on IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020.

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Spring Fair International, UKEPCH’s participated at this prime European fair, held at Birmingham, UK from 2nd to 6th February 2020,with an exclusive India Pavilion for 34 member exporters displaying flower vases, wine coolers, candleholders, wall décor, cotton hand bags, leather hand bags, leather accessories, dinnerware, drink ware,tableware, decorative, Jewellery, natural fiber products, brassware, jute bags, home furnishing products,stoles & shawls, home décor, gifts, handmade paper products, stationery-gifts, ceramic tableware, ceramichotel ware, cast iron products, table cloths, kitchen towels, curtains, belts, purses, etc. This was inauguratedby Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General from India’s Consulate General to Birmingham; Mr. Jogiranjan Panigrahi,Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Govt.of India; Mr. Pankaj Kumar Singh, Deputy Secretary, Ministryof Textiles, Govt. of India; and Mr. R K Verma, Executive Director, EPCH. The delegates also interactedwith the participants in the India Pavilion and appreciated the Council’s efforts, products on displayand visitor’s response at the fair. EPCH also set up a promotional booth to disseminate information onits upcoming IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 and Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show (IFJAS), throughleaflets, brochures and other EPCH literature, like product catalogues for creating awareness about thecraftsmanship and range of products to explore exports from India.

Ambiente, GermanyEPCH organised the Indian handicraft sector’s participation in this edition of the fair held from 7th to11th February 2020, with an India Pavilion and 68 member exporters, highlighting Indian capabilities inthe houseware, gifts, decorative and homeware segments. 2 State associations i.e. Andhra Pradesh HandicraftsDevelopment Corporation Ltd. and Telangana State Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. participated.O/o Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) had deputed 4 Master crafts persons for live demonstrationof their skills. This Pavilion was inaugurated by Ms. Pratibha Parkar, Consul General of India, Frankfurt,in the presence of Ms. Mudita Mishra, Addl. Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles,Govt. of India; Mr. R K Verma, Executive Director, EPCH; COA members, EPCH and other participants.On the side lines of Ambiente, EPCH in association with the CGI in Frankfurt, organised an India EveningNetworking Reception on ‘India a Profitable Sourcing Destination for Handicrafts’ on 9th February 2020at Messe Frankfurt Trade Fair Ground. This was attended by over 180 buyers/participants both fromIndia and overseas. EPCH also set up a promotional booth to disseminate information on its upcomingshows like IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 and Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show (IFJAS), throughleaflets, brochures and other EPCH literature.

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BRAND IMAGE PROMOTIONS &BUYER-SELLER MEETSThe Council's objective to participate/organise Buyer-Seller Meetsand Brand Image Promotions in select markets was with a view to

introduce and expose consumers and trade of the target market toIndia's handicraft range, variety and quality. These promotions and

marketing activities boosted the industry’s reach to new marketsand to have a deeper presence in established markets.


Promotions in AsiaLifestyle Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamLifestyle Vietnam - the Vietnam International Home Décor and Gift Fair, being organised since 2010,saw more exhibitors and visitors from Vietnam and the world, in its 2019 edition, held from 17th to 20thApril 2019. On display were handicrafts and home decoration, indoor and outdoor furniture, gardenaccessories, home textiles, tabletop and gourmet houseware, personal accessories, leather footwear andbags, fragrances, toys, gifts and handmade items from ethnic minorities from Vietnam, other Asian countrieslike Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, China, Cambodia and India besides European groups and Africanbusinesses. This show was held concurrently with One Village One Product Conference and Exhibition(OVOP) that featured the latest designs of artisans and designers from many countries around the world.Mr. Rajesh Rawat, Joint Director, EPCH, participated in this conference and also met officials of IndianEmbassy and EPCH’s MOU partner, Vietnam Association of Craft Villages (VICRAFTS) to discuss the futurevisit of a High Level Delegation from India to Vietnam. He also met representatives of VICRAFTS, also aMoU partner of EPCH and Mr. Le Ba Ngoc, Secretary General of Vietnam Handicrafts Exporters Association(VIETCRAFT). The Council’s participation in the show showcased handicraft items from Saharanpur, Moradabadand Firozabad. Mr. Vyong Dinh HuC, Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam inaugurated the fair and alsovisited the EPCH booth.

Road Shows in Hong KongIn order to promote IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 2019, EPCH commissioned local coordinators to createawareness among overseas buyers, visitors and exhibitors who were visiting the Hong Kong shows fromall across the globe to visit Hong Kong Houseware Fair and Hong Kong International Home Textilesand Furnishings Fair (20th - 23rd April 2019); and Asian Gift & Premium (27th - 30th April 2019). TheCouncil’s promotional stand at these shows disseminated information and distributed publicity material.The team distributed promotional stationery, cotton bags, flyers and brochures on the Wan Chai FerryPier and Wan Chai Metro Station. The locations were selected as they offer vantage points for advertisementsand also capture the maximum footfall of buyers, visitors/exhibitors of the fairs. The objective was tofacilitate face-to-face interaction with prospective buyers about the magnificence of IHGF Delhi Fairand encourage them to visit the same. The team was specifically engaged and strategically placed forthe purpose.

India-Kyrgyz Colours and Weaves in Central Asia, KyrgyzstanAn India-Kyrgyzstan joint exhibition entitled “Colours and Weaves in Central Asia” on Indian textilesand handicrafts, was organised in Kyrgyzstan from 13th to 24th June 2019, by Ministry of Textiles, Govt.of India through EPCH in coordination with Embassy of India in Bishkek and Government of KyrgyzstanResource Centre in Kyrgyzstan of Central Asian Crafts Support Association (CACSARC - kg). The productsof handlooms and handicrafts were selected by designers for display at the show. Master crafts personswere deputed for live demonstrations of tie & dye and Madhubani crafts. Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,Shri Narendra Modi visited Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from 13-14 June, 2019 to attend the SCO meeting and thisexhibition was organised on the side-lines of this visit. The exhibition was inaugurated by Mr. ZhamankulovAzamat Kaparovich, Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic;

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and H E Ambassador of India in Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Alok Amitabh Dimri, in the presence of Mr. RatneshKumar Jha, Additional Development Commissioner (Handicrafts); and Mr. Santosh Kumar Singh, AdditionalDevelopment Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. The objective of this initiativewas to bring the people of the two countries closer and give an opportunity to the Kyrgyz Governmentto understand the institutional support offered by the Indian side to its crafts persons for promotion anddevelopment of crafts in India. The show was a confluence of two cultures giving an opportunity toartisans on both sides to share their experience and expertise to incorporate designs, patterns & motifsin each other’s textiles and crafts.

Manila FAME, PhilippinesEPCH set up a promotional booth at Manila FAME, held at the World Trade Center Metro, Manila from17th to 19th October 2019. This show, a bi-annual showcase of craftsmanship in Philippines productsfeatures finely selected furniture, home furnishings, holiday gifts and accessories, designed and craftedin the Philippines for the global market. Organised by the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry(DTI), through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), Manila FAME is consideredas the Philippines’ premier design and lifestyle event. Visitors to the EPCH booth were mainly fromPhilippines with some exceptions of buyers from France, USA, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and Spain. Promotionsof the 49th IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 were carried out with visitor interaction and distribution ofpromotional material as well as information brochures. The EPCH representative at the show also tooka tour of the fair and had one-to-one discussions with many exhibitors.

Road Show during Canton Fair, ChinaA road show to promote the IHGF Delhi Fair, was organised during the 126th China Export & ImportFair (Canton Fair) which is held twice a year at Guangzhou, South China, coinciding with Jinhan Fair forHome & Gifts, on the pathway leading the show venue. This was undertaken from 23rd October to 26thOctober, 2019, during the phase II of the Canton Fair which showcased products like glass artware,ceramics, gifts and premium, furniture products, home decorations, kitchenware, tableware products,etc. The objective behind the Road Show-cum-Promotional Campaign was to have one-to-one interactionwith prospective buyers, inform them about the IHGF Delhi Fair and encourage them to visit.

Tokyo International Gift Show, JapanA promotional booth was set up in the 89th edition of Japan’s largest trade show-Tokyo InternationalGift Show-Spring 2020 held from 5th to 7th February 2020 at Tokyo Big Sight & Aomi Hall, Japan. Theshow had product categories like housewares, home fashion goods, handicrafts, fancy & hobby items,toys, furniture & interiors, stationery & office supplies, souvenirs, fashion related foods, healthcareand aroma & Fragrance. The Council’s promotional booth was set up to publicise its various promotionalschemes for foreign buyers and future exhibitions. The main objective was to disseminate informationabout IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 and IFJAS 2020. Distribution of promotional bags, writing pads, pensalong with information brochures on the fair, was carried out, besides one-to-one meetings with exhibitorsand buyers.

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Promotions in USAThe Total Home & Gift Market Show, TexasIn its ongoing efforts to promote IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020, EPCH set up promotionalbooths at Total Home & Gift Market Show’s both editions held at World Trade Canter Dallas, USA from19th to 23rd June 2019 and 8th to 12th January 2020, respectively. The booths displayed the fair’s variousfeatures as well as indicative handicrafts & gift products with focus on eco-friendly lines from NorthEast region. This was supplemented with distribution of promotional material like, pens, diaries, cottonbags, fliers to visitors who came to the booth. Advertisements were placed in the Show Catalogues ofboth editions as well as US magazines. The Council’s representative updated the visitors with the variousfeatures of the fair and EPCH’s support & assistance in form of hotel promotional schemes and Visainvitation assistance. Visitors to the EPCH booth expressed their interest on the displayed eco-friendlyhome products as well as inclination to visit the IHGF Delhi Fair. This show is organised by Dallas MarketCenter which provides wholesale merchandise resource for buyers and exhibitors together (since over54 years). Its annual market span comprises home furnishings, gifts, decorative accents, lighting, gardenaccessories, gourmet items, home décor, textiles, fashion accessories and apparel.

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishing Market, AtlantaEPCH set up a publicity booth with thematic display of handicraft products from India’s North EasternRegion (NER), at the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishing Market, Atlanta, that features around1400 permanent showrooms and 3000 temporary booths, spread out into three buildings. This was heldfrom 15th to 19th January 2020. The Americas Mart complex contains more than seven million squarefeet of space where manufactures, designers and sales representatives unveil new lines, launch newdesigns and introduce new categories in home, rugs, gift and apparel. The representative at the Council’spublicity booth distributed leaflets, pens and diaries of IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 amongst prospectivebuyers, explaining the composition of product range at the EPCH fair, opportunity to interact and sourcedirectly from manufacturers, about product variety, quality, etc. Details about the Buyer Promotion Programand scheme of hotel room rental for overseas visitors to IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring was also shared.

NY NOW, New YorkEPCH set up a publicity booth at NY NOW(formally “The New York International Gifts Fair)”, organisedby Emerald Expositions at Jacob Javit’s Center in Manhattan, USA, from 1st to 4th February 2020. Withan objective to disseminate information about its upcoming IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring, promotional materialslike bags, pens, pads and leaflets were given away to buyers visiting the booth. The booth, decked upwith posters of the fair and a video helped visitors get an initial impression of the fair, its composition,facilities for buyers as well as EPCH’s trade promotion activities. EPCH's promotional material was alsokept at NY NOW's press lounge. A total of 95 Indian companies participated in the NY NOW. There are10 targeted divisions in the NY Now show with a total of 2800 exhibitors in 400 categories. The showhas 12 sections and 35 product categories with a diverse range of sections from handmade, artisan,wellness, table top, home textiles, etc. Plus, co-location with The National Stationery Show and SurtexShow give access to 3 shows with one-badge.

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Promotions in EuropeSpoga+Gafa, GermanyEPCH participated in the prime German garden & furniture trade show- Spoga+Gafa-2019, held from1st to 3rd September 2019 at Cologne, Germany, by setting up a promotional booth to spread awarenessabout IHGF Delhi Fair-Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020, and invite buyers at Spoga+Gafa, to visit andsource their requirements from the IHGF Delhi Fair. The Council’s promotional stand was attended bymany visitors who got their queries answered on the IHGF Delhi Fair. EPCH disseminated informationof all its shows and created a buzz for the April bound fair. This was EPCH’s fifth participation after anencouraging response received in the past. The show, organised by Koelnmesse GmbH, is consideredthe world’s leading trade fair for the leisure and garden sector. It profiles four major product segments,i.e. Garden Living with garden furniture, garden equipment, decoration, etc.; Garden Creation & Care(machines & accessories, tools & accessories, lawn & lawn equipment & sheds, water & lights), GardenUnique focusing on premium garden furniture and garden barbeque & grill products.

Maison & Objet, FranceThis is among the three most important European events for interior design, and is a leading homedecor fair connecting the international design and lifestyle community. EPCH participated in this show’stwo editions held from 6th to 10th September 2019 and 17th to 21st January 2020 at Nord Villepinte,Paris, and displayed products under the banner of “India - Magic of Gifted Hands”. The September2019 edition had a vibrant display aimed at a brand image projection of Indian handicrafts, with premiumproducts. The January 2020 edition had a thematic representation of IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020, withsustainable products and other handcrafted lines. In both shows, EPCH conducted IHGF Delhi Fair’spublicity with distribution of promotional material like product specific catalogues, brochures/leaflets,promotional bags, pens and writing pads. The Council’s representative disseminated information aboutIndian handicrafts products besides answering queries of trade visitors. The objective was to promoteIndia as an important sourcing destination and to create a brand image of Indian handicrafts.

Domotex, GermanyDomotex is known to be the world’s leading annual trade fair for carpets and floor coverings, at HannoverExhibition Ground in Hannover, Germany. Exhibitors here from world over, present their new collectionsand trends in the show including traditional and modern products. handmade carpets, woven carpets,mats, carpets for residential and commercial areas, residential and outdoor flooring to parquet, woodand laminate floors, etc. Under the concept Innovations@Domotex, the exhibition offers selected productinnovations and design highlights through a unique presentation platform. In its 2020 edition held fromJanuary 10th to 13th, EPCH had taken a publicity booth towards the publicity and promotion of IHGFDelhi Fair- Spring. The Council’s representative disseminated information about the show, includingdetails on product profile, composition of vendors, etc. Show leaflets and brochures were distributedas well. Some of the regular buyers to EPCH shows in India visited the publicity booth. EPCH’s forthcomingevents were promoted to visitors and exhibitors at the show.

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IMM, Cologne, GermanyEPCH set up a publicity booth at one of Europe’s key trade shows for the furniture sector- IMM Cologne(The interior business event), held from 13th to 19th January 2020. This helped disseminate informationabout IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2020 and EPCH VRIKSH Certification through distribution of leaflets andbrochures. The EPCH representative at the fair also had interactions with visitors at the show in thisregard. Hosted right at the start of the year, this is the most important date on the interior designcalendar. It’s where the entire interiors industry gathers to present and discover new launches fromaround the world, to experience the major future trends and make a successful start to the new season.The trade fair is a must-attend event for senior decision makers from all international markets. Exhibitorsat the show cover every category in the segment, providing a market overview with a unique diversityof product worlds and furnishing styles.

Buyer Seller Meet in Scandinavian Countries (Denmark and Sweden)EPCH, with the active support of Embassy of India in Denmark, Sweden and Office of DevelopmentCommissioner (Handicrafts), organised the second Indian Handicrafts Buyer-Seller Meets on 22nd &23rd August 2019 at Hotel Scandic Falkoner in Copenhagen, Denmark and on 26th & 27th August 2019at Hotel Scandic Victoria Tower, Stockholm, Sweden. A total of 25 member exporters participated. TheBuyer-Seller Meet was inaugurated by HE Ambassador of India to Denmark, Mr. Ajit Gupte, in Copenhagenand by H E Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia, Ms. Monika Kapil Mohta, in Stockholm, Sweden,in the presence of Mr. RK Verma, Director, EPCH; and participating member exporters. The EPCH contingenthad put up a display covering a variety of Indian crafts and significant artistic hand work in productsfrom handicraft clusters like Jaipur, Panipat, Moradabad, Meerut, Aligarh, Kolkata, Saharanpur, WestGodavari Distt. in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi NCR, etc., thereby creating a “Brand Image” of Indian handicraftsamong Scandinavian buyers. Extensive and effective publicity measures were undertaken to generateinterest and draw suitable trade visitors to the BSM.

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High Level Trade Delegation to Cambodia & VietnamA high level delegation led by Mr. Shantmanu, IAS, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), alongwithMr. R K Verma, Director, EPCH and prominent EPCH member exporters from Moradabad, Agra, Khurja,Delhi and North Eastern Region - Ms. Jesmina Zeliang, Mr. Naveed Ur Rehman, Mr. S P Dadoo,Mr. Rajesh Kumar Jain, Mr. Subhash Chandra Verma, Mr. Bhaskar Sharma and Mr. Narendra Borah, visitedCambodia and Vietnam. The delegation was in Cambodia from 15th to 17th May 2019 and in Vietnamfrom 18th to 21st May 2019.

The objective was to understand various techniques of product development, production infrastructure,design institutions and institutional support available to the artisans and exporters of gifts, decoratives,crafts, furniture, etc. in both countries and also explore possibility of future joint ventures and synergizestrengths of these nations with the Indian handicrafts sector. The delegation visited the units pertainingto production of ceramics, stone, wooden, metal, natural fibre products (Cane & Bamboo, Rattan, Waterhyacinth, etc.). In Cambodia, the delegation met Hon’ble Mr. Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister, Ministryof Industry & Handicrafts, Kingdom of Cambodia. The delegation also called upon HE, Ambassador,Embassy of India in Cambodia, Ms. Manika Jain.

In Vietnam, the delegation met Mr. Hoang Chinh Nghia, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Industry& Trade, Agency for Regional Industry & Trade, Vietnam, and also called upon H.E., Ambassador, Embassyof India in Vietnam, Mr. Parvataneni Harish. The delegation also had a meeting with Mr. Trinh QuocDat, Deputy President of Vietnam Association of Craft Villages (VICRAFTS), EPCH MOU partner in Vietnam.A series of visits were made to various handicraft clusters near Hanoi, Vietnam, like, ceramics cluster- Bat Trang Ceramics Pottery; cluster for natural fibre products - Phu Vinh; wood carving cluster at SonDong; silk embroidery cluster at Van Phuc; metal casting cluster at Bac Ninh; and stone craft cluster atDa Nang. Members of the delegation interacted with the entrepreneurs working at these clusters to seeand understand the production processes there. Visits to local craft markets was also made. The delegationalso visited the Vietnam Interior & Lifestyle Fair, organised by Handicrafts and wood Industry Association(HAWA), a non-Govt. organization and having 400 members.

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MEETINGS,REPRESENTATIONS

AND MOUS


EPCH delegation meets Secretary, Commerce; e-BRC issueregarding exports to Iran resolvedExporters especially from Moradabad, were facing problems with respect to export shipment made tocountries which are in Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list and e-BRC could not be generatedby the concerned banks for exports to listed countries including Iran. As a result, exporters were unableto get MEIS benefits. EPCH took up the matter regarding non-issuance of e-BRC at the highest level inthe Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Finance and DGFT and with theconstant follow-up, the DGFT issued Public Notice No. 8/2015-20 dated 14th March 2019 in the matterthat a declaration by the exporter along with a self-attested copy of the proof of payment such asForeign Inward Remittance Certificates/Statements etc. can be given to the DGFT for claiming MEISbenefits. This had been a long pending demand of handicraft exporters and with this initiative exporterswould get the much needed MEIS benefits for their exports.

Issues faced by stone/marble artware, taken up with Govt. departmentsStone artware exporters had been facing problem of HS code classification of handicrafts articles ofstone/marble and were denied MEIS benefit. EPCH took up the matter at the highest level and raisedthe issue with CBIC Chairperson followed by meetings with Joint Secretary (Drawback), CommissionerCustoms, Mumbai and Chief Commissioner Customs, Delhi Zone. In a meeting on 6th May 2019, a delegationof exporters from Agra and Joint Director, EPCH, Mr. Rajesh Rawat, met Chief Commissioner, Customs,Mumbai, at JNPT, Nhava Sheva. The problem was acknowledged and all possible help assured.

Concerns of handicrafts sector presented to Hon’ble UnionMinister for Commerce & Industry and RailwaysMinistry of Commerce & Industry and Directorate of Foreign Trade convened a meeting at New Delhion 6th June 2019, to discuss various issues related to promotion of exports and domestic manufacturing.Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal chaired the meeting alongwith Mr. HardeepSingh Puri and Mr. Som Prakash, Union Ministers of State for Commerce & Industry. Secretary Commerce,Dr. Anup Wadhawan; CEO, Niti Aayog, Mr. Amitabh Kant; Secretary Revenue, Mr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey;DGFT, Mr. Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi, and senior government officers besides major industry representativesand Chairmen of EPCs. Mr. Ravi K. Passi, Chairman, EPCH, presented the concerns of the handicraftssector at the meeting like enhancement in allocation of funds under MAI, etc.

Handicraft sector’s issues raised in a meeting with Minister ofState for Commerce and IndustriesA delegation of handicraft exporters led by Mr. Ravi K. Passi, Chairman, EPCH, met Shri Som Prakash,Hon'ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industries on 2nd July 2019 and raised various issues pertaining M

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to the handicrafts sector and also suggested measures to enhance exports of handicrafts in the country.Important issues raised during the discussion included classification problem related to MEIS incentivesfor stone and marble handicrafts, additional funds for branding and promotion under Market AccessInitiative scheme of Ministry of Commerce, inclusion of buyers from developed countries in MAI schemefor invitation to RBSMs in India, sale to foreign tourist to be considered as deemed exports, GST refunds,handicrafts to be included under Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL), exemptionfrom 100% examination of shipments getting opened on account of Risky Exporters Listing, cover tohandicrafts exporters under ECGC schemes to be prioritised, opening of warehouses in markets like LatinAmerica and CIS countries. The Hon'ble Minister gave a patient hearing to issues raised and assurednecessary intervention.

MoEFCC & EPCH’s emphatic representation in place to getDalbergia sissoo delisted from CITES threatened listThe 18th meeting of Conference of Parties (CoP) of CITES was held in Geneva from 17th to 18th August2019 and delisting of Dalbergia sissoo from Appendix II of the CITES (CoP 18 Prop. 51) submitted byIndia with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as coproponents was one of the agenda items of CoP 18. Inorder to create awareness amongst opinion makers, foresters, diplomats, attendees, press and otherstakeholders, a Panel discussion was organised on “Dalbergia sissoo - Trees for Life and livelihood” on18th August 2019 on the sidelines ofCITES signatory countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, SriLanka, Tanzania, Nigeria, Bolivia, Italy, UKand USA. Mr. Arun Kumar Yadav, Director, O/o DevelopmentCommissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles and Mr. Bashir Ahmed, First Secretary, Permanent Missionof India (Geneva), also attended the meeting. EPCH made presentation on the subject. The Indian delegationhad a series of meetings with representatives of EU, Africa, Latin America and also met and briefedH E Mr. Rajiv K. Chander, Ambassador, PMI, Geneva and sought his advice and guidance. They also spokeabout Indian Timber Legality Assessment and Verification Scheme i.e. VRIKSH.

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Meeting of 20 member delegation from Malaysia WholesalersAssociation with EPCH membersEPCH’s Mumbai office organised a one-to-one meet of select members of EPCH with the visiting delegationfrom Malaysia Wholesalers Association to Mumbai on 22nd August, 2019 under the leadership ofMr. Lim Seng Kok, President, Malaysia Wholesalers Association, Kuala Lumpur. The delegation comprised20 wholesalers and entrepreneurs from sectors of textiles, fashion apparels, fashion accessories, gifts &handicrafts, wholesale complex management, etc. with an aim to nurture international wholesale entrepreneursthrough mutual learning and cooperation. Mr. Lim Seng Kok, President, Malaysia Wholesalers Associationand the leader of the delegation mentioned that visiting Mumbai, the financial hub of India wouldboost their efforts to exchange ideas and opportunities for cooperation with the local businessmen,trade associations and the Government authorities.

Chairman, EPCH represents sector at Board of Trade MeetingA high level meeting of the Board of Trade (BoT) was held on 12th September 2019 at hotel Ashok, NewDelhi, under the Chairmanship of Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce. The objectiveof Board of Trade is to have regular discussions & consultation with trade & industry and advise theGovernment on policy measures related to Foreign Trade Policy in order to achieve the objective ofboosting India’s trade. Discussions were held on various issues related to promotion of exports anddomestic manufacturing as well as reduction in imports, issues related to free trade agreement, domesticcompetitiveness, etc. Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH, attended the Board of Trade meeting and representedthe handicrafts sector.

Meeting with Regional Head of Entrepreunership DevelopmentInstitute, BangaloreThis meeting with Dr. Raman Gujral, Regional Head of Entrepreunership Development Institute(autonomousbody to develop entrepreneurship activities in the Southern region), Bangalore, was held in Bangaloreon 19th September 2019. The institute is planing to open a grassroot Chamber of Commerce and hasshown interest to sign a MoU on pan India basis with EPCH for the welfare of entrepreuners.

Stakeholders Meeting with Collector & District Magistrate, RajkotThis meeting was held at Rajkot, Gujarat, on 23rd October 2019, under the Chairmanship of Ms. RemyaMohan, IAS, Collector & District Magistrate, Rajkot, with officials and stakeholders in the handicraftsindustry - Mr. Sidharth Gadvi, Deputy Collector, Kutch, Gujarat; Mr. K V Mori, GM, DIC, Rajkot;

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Mr. Arindam Das, Director, NIFT Gandhinagar; Mr. V B Basiyu, DLM, DRDA, Rajkot; Ms. Isha Pathak fromCentre for Entrepreneurship Development, Govt. of Gujarat; Dr. Rupal Kubavat, Regional Director, IGNOURajkot; Mr. Ravindra Rupareliya, Gujarat Parvashan Nigam Ltd., Rajkot; Mr. Parmar Chandrika, SMID Manager,NULM; Mr. Raviveer Choudhary AD (H), HSC, Bhuj; and Mr. Gopal Sharma, EPCH representative, Jodhpur.A presentation on the topic of sustainable livelihood development through micro entrepreneurship developmentin the handicraft sector was made and a roadmap presented on how artisans can become entrepreneurs.A presentation on various activities of EPCH and video of IHGF Delhi Fair was also shown. A stakeholdermeeting with officials from EPCH, O/o DC (H) and from the sector was organised for discussion ondetails and EPCH’s role.

Meeting with Padma Vibhushan Dr. D Veerendra HeggadeEPCH had a meeting with Padma Vibhushan Dr. D Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Sri KshethraDharmasthala, on 28th September 2019 at Dharmasthala, Karnataka. The national rural developmentinstitute having 581 branches, headed by Dr. Heggade on pan India basis has urged EPCH to be deputedas implementing agency to conduct design development project and awareness programmes in theinstitute. The institute’s Executive Director has been deputed to EPCH’s Bangalore office for future action.

Entrepreneurship Initiatives for Sector highlighted atKashmironomics ConclaveMr. Rajesh Rawat, Joint Director, EPCH, took part in a Panel Discussion on “Land of Rising Stars-PromotingEntrepreneurship in J&K and Ladakh” during the Kashmironomics Conclave on 27th November, 2019 inNew Delhi. This was graced by Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr. Piyush Goyal; and Textiles Minister,Smt. Smriti Irani. At the discussion, Mr. Rawat shared EPCH’s initiatives in the field of Skill Development,Marketing Support and Entrepreneurship for the handicrafts industry.

Representation on Non Antiquity Certificate taken up with ChiefCommissioner of Customs, BangaloreThe Southern Handicrafts Industry Association (SHIA), Chennai, had sent a representation to the ChiefCommissioner of Customs, Bangalore, requesting that Non Antiquity Certificate not be made mandatoryfor handicraft products. The association also approached EPCH for the same. An EPCH official calledon the concerned government department on 30th August 2018, met Mr. A K Jyotishi, Chief Commissionerof Customs to brief him about the same. Mr. Jyotishi was also briefed about the order of O/o ChiefCommissioner Customs, Chennai, on the issue during their Meeting of CCFC held on 28th June 2018 atChennai. During the CCFC meeting at Chennai, the Chief Commissioner Customs clearly ordered theirOffice that "henceforth new stone/ metal idols and new handicrafts will not be referred to ASI". Heassured that his Office will refer to the decision of Chennai Customs and they will also issue a similardecision on the subject.

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Setting up of Incubation Centre, Design Centre and a Testing LabproposedMr. RK Verma, Executive Director, EPCH, made a presentation on a proposed Incubation Centre, DesignCentre and a Testing Lab under smart cities project at Saharanpur, to the Committee headed by DivisionalCommissioner, Saharanpur, Mr. Sanjay Kumar at Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on 30th December 2019.EPCH plans to set up these facilities in its existing CFC at Saharanpur with support of the local administration.

IFS Officers at FRI, Dehradun, sensitised about VRIKSHMr. Rajesh Rawat, Joint Director, EPCH made a presentation on VRIKSH - Indian Timber legality assessmentand verification Scheme to the Indian Forest Service Officers at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun,Uttarakhand, during “Training Workshop on Forest Certification in Indian context” on 17th January 2020.The objective of the program was to sensitise forest officers about the certification process in the country.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

MoU with Hunarmand - an association in Uzbekistan4th February 2020; New Delhi: EPCH signed an MOU with "Hunarmand", an association in the Republicof Uzbekistan, towards mutual interest in expanding cooperation in the field of handicrafts and betteracquaintance with cultural life of the population of both nations. Both nations will provide bilateralsupport and cooperation in the field of crafts and culture as a partner for each other; festivals are to beorganised mutually, allowing crafts persons of both countries to participate in festivals organised byeach other; and will provide free workspace for the sale of artifacts and products to each others' artisans/crafts persons and exporters. The MOU, shall be valid for a period of up to three years, was exchangedbetween H E Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to India, Mr. Farhod Arziev; Mr. AbdullayevUlugbek Takhirovich, Vice Chairman, CCI of Uzbekistan & Chairman of "Hunarmand" Association;Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; and Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH.

MoU with TMU, Moradabad5th March 2020; Greater Noida: An MOU was signed between EPCH and Tirthankar Mahavir University(TMU), Moradabad, to collaborate for MBA courses with specialisation in Handicrafts Export Management.The MOU was signed by Prof. Vivek Raman, Registrar, TMU & Mr. Vipin Jain, Secretary TIMIT Society andMr. RK Verma, Executive Director, EPCH, in the presence of Prof. Raghuveer Singh, Pro Vice Chancellor,TMU; Mr. Naved Ur Rehman, Vice Chairman, EPCH; Mr. Kamal Soni, COA Member, EPCH; Ms. Rita Nahata,Dean CHEMS-EPCH; Mr Anshul Aggarwal, President, Laghu Udhyog Bharti, Moradabad; and Dr. AdityaSharma, Joint Registrar, TMU. This was done in expectation that students pursuing MBA in HandicraftExport Management will register their presence in the handicrafts sector as a new task force. Exportersof handicrafts sector will also benefit from these professionally qualified youth.

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INFRASTRUCTURE INCRAFT CLUSTERS


Saharanpur: Common Facility CentreHon’ble Union Minister of Women & Child Development and Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, inauguratedthe upgraded wood seasoning and treatment plant at Common Facility Centre, Saharanpur on 15th September2019, in the presence of Mr. Pradeep Chaudhary, Hon’ble Member of Parliament; Mr. Sanjeev Walia,Mayor of Saharanpur; Hon’ble MLAs - Mr. Brajesh Singh and Mr. Devender Nim; Mr. Alok K Pandey,District Magistrate, Saharanpur; Mr. Ravi K Passi, Chairman, EPCH; Mr. Mohit Beniwal, Hon’ble MLA,Saharanpur; Mr. R K Verma, Director, EPCH; and eminent exporters from Saharanpur - Mr. Sheikh FaizanAhmad, Mr. Ramji Suneja, Mr. Sabir Ali Khan, Mr. Mohd. Iqbal, Mr. Som Goel, Mr. Ravinder Miglani,Mr. Mohd. Zama, Mr. Mohd. Irfan and others; Regional Director of O/o DC (Handicrafts), Mr. VirenderKumar; as well as Shilp Guru, National Award Winner Master crafts persons/artisans and members exporters.Smt. Smriti Irani felicitated Shilp Gurus, National awardees and eminent exporters of the region. ArtisanID Cards “Pehchaan” and “Recognition of Prior Learning Certificates” were also distributed to artisansand crafts persons. Saharanpur has about 400 woodcraft manufacturing units. Looking at the potentialityof exports from this city and need of exporters here, the Council has installed latest wood workingmachines which include pneumatic clamping carrier with compressor, double side planner with dustextraction system, wide belt sander with dust extraction system, straight line RIP saw with dust extractionsystem, sliding compound mitre saw, vaccum pressure impregnation plant for timber, steam boiler andtimber seasoning kilns. Apart from these machines, the capacity of the seasoning plant has also beenenhanced from 1000 CFT to 2000 CFT. On this occasion, the Hon’ble Minister announced special promotionof wooden handicrafts from Saharanpur that will include Free of Cost Tool Kits to artisans and educationalsupport through National Open School / IGNOU to the children of artisans. IN

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Kevadia, Gujarat: Handicrafts Showroom at (Statue of Unity)EPCH has taken up a showroomat “Ekta Mall’’ at Kevadia, Gujarat(location of Statue of Unity),where artisans of different craftclusters will be showcasing theirhandicrafts. This will not onlygive a boost to open souvenirshowrooms near the importanttourists places in India such asthis, but will be also enhancingmarketing linkages for theartisans. The handicraftsshowroom owned by EPCH wasinaugurated on 2nd November2019, in the presence of Mr. RaviK Passi, Chairman, EPCH;Mr. R K Malhotra, Vice Chairman, EPCH; and COA members of EPCH - Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari, Mr. DineshKumar, Mr. Prince Malik, Mr. Ashok Boob, Mr. Neeraj Khanna, Mr. Anoop Shankhdhar, Mr. Naved UrRehman, Mr. K N Tulasi Rao, Mr. V S Goel and Mr. Pradeep Muchhala.

Centre for Handicraft Exports Management Studies (CHEMS)CHEMS offers Certificate course in Handicraft Export Management at Moradabad, Delhi, Jodhpur, Jaipurand Saharanpur. As part of its education initiatives towards developing executive level manpower forthe handicraft sector, EPCH launched this institute. CHEMS has continued to provide skilled middlelevel managers to the handicraft industry. Having completed 7 batches in all the above centres (Saharanpurbatch currently running) 127 candidates have successfully completed the Certificate course. CHEMSsuccessfully secured placement for all willing candidates within EPCH member exporters and memberbuying agents.

As part of the training, allcandidates were taken forIndustrial Visits to the factoriesof EPCH member exporters andalso visited the IHGF Delhi Fairto gain first-hand knowledgeabout the handicraft industry.At all centres, the candidateswere mentored by leadingmember exporters. Many ofthem have taken membershipof EPCH and are aspiring tobecome exporters ofhandicrafts in future. Most ofthe successful candidates weredistributed Certificate ofCompletion by Guests ofHonour during IHGF Delhi Fair.The students of CHEMS alsoparticipated as volunteers inT20 cricket match wasorganised in 2019 for EPCHmembers at Moradabad andJodhpur.

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Jodhpur: Trade Facilitation CentreFor further development and trade promotion of the Jodhpur Mega Cluster, an all-encompassing facilityfor a Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC) was envisaged with an objective to provide the necessary infrastructureand support services comparable to international standards to host buyers, designers and resource personsand provide all required support services. For this purpose, six acres of land was acquired from RIICOat Boranada. Construction of the TFC is near completion. This would serve as a platform to hold tradefairs, retail exhibitions, buyer-seller meets, special promotional events, conduct workshops, conferencesand fashion events.

Narsapur: International Lace Trade CentreThe International Lace Trade Centre (ILTC) at Narsapur set up by EPCH under the aegis of O/o DevelopmentCommissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, has facilities of exhibition halls, auditorium,open-air theater, meeting rooms, training space, ample facilities for craft bazaar, accommodation forbuyers and designers, besides administrative set up and allied facilities. The process of setting up adyeing unit and chemical treatment plant for lace & crochet products has been initiated.


AWARDS &RECOGNITION


IHGF Delhi Fair declared Leading Trade Show in the countryNew Delhi; 14th June 2020 :The award was given byMr. Brad Mayne, President &CEO of InternationalAssociation of Venue and Mr.David Dubois, President & CEO,IAEE. IHGF - the IndianHandicrafts & Gifts Fair wasdeclared a leading trade showby Indian Exhibition IndustryAssociation during its 9thannual Open Seminar heldfrom 13th to 15th June 2019at India Expo Centre & Mart,Greater Noida. IHGF was

amongst 8 other shows such as IITF, Auto Expo, Iconic Indian exhibitions, ELECRAMA, India ITME IMTEXand Plast India that were declared as leading shows of India and play key role as multiplier of economicgrowth of the country. IEIA Open seminar is a platform to build business network, explore partnership,share knowledge, discuss concerns and address industry challenges for building a stronger industry. Thisyear’s edition was attended by more than 800 exhibition industry professionals from around 28 countries.

EPCH felicitatedfor skillingartisans of LastIndian Village -ManaNew Delhi; 17th February 2020: Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat,Chief Minister of Uttarakhandfelicitated EPCH for skilling theartisans of last Indian Village-Mana at Indo China border.This honour was bestowed

during a programme organised by Swami Vivekanand Health Mission, New Delhi. The occasion wasgraced by Shri Vijay Kaushal Ji Maharaj; Shri Ram Lal; Shri Krishan Gopal; and Shri Suresh Soni, DeputyHead of RSS. Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH received the honour. EPCH is undertaking skill,design development, infrastructure creation and marketing linkages at Mana, thus providing both backwardas well as forward linkage to the artisans. The entire activity is carried out in association with SVHM(Swami Vivekanand Health Mission) and with support of O/o DC (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles,Govt. of India.

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SOCIAL INITIATIVESAND

FITNESS & SPORTS ACTIVITIES


World Environment Day observed in NERThe world environment day on 5th June 2019 was celebrated with enthusiasm in different craft clustersof NER. The programme was organised centrally at Chapar Terracotta Craft Cluster, Dhubri, Assam andwas attended by Ms Nira Laxmi Palai, Regional Director, NER; and Mr. Pankaj Yadav, HPO, HSC, Gauripur(Assam). Ms. Palai officially inaugurated the programme by planting a sapling. All artisans bought variouskinds of saplings and planted them. Similar activities were also organised by EPCH in Imphal (Manipur),Dimapur (Nagaland), Guwahati (EPCH office), Sonapur (Assam) and Shillong (Meghalaya).

Health Camp on International Yoga Day at Craft Cluster in AssamOn the occasion of International Yoga Day, EPCH in association with O/o Development Commissioner(Handicrafts), NER; and Oi Qua LLP and Silk and Handicrafts Samabay, Samiti Ltd. organised a medicalhealth camp at Kaliabor Craft Cluster, District Nagaon, Assam for the craft cluster’s artisans. The mainobjective was to provide health tips and recommendations, which is the best way to bring awarenessamong underprivileged people and help them lead a heathy life. Dr. Manash Deuri and Dr. AmbalishMarak, Medical & Health officers, Nagaon District were present through out the health camp. This wasattended by 70 artisans.

“Swachhta Abhijan and Swachhta Hi Seva Campaign”observed in AssamEPCH (NER), with support of O/o DC(Handicrafts), NER, organised a ‘Swachchata Abhijan’ on 13th September2019 at Cane & Bamboo Cluster, Sonapur, Assam, to bring about an improvement in the general qualityof life in rural areas, by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open defecation. The artisancommunities were encouraged to adopt sustainable sanitation practices and facilities through awarenesscreation and health education.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti-2nd October 2019, EPCH (NER) in association with O/o DC (Handicrafts),North East Region, Guwahati, observed ‘Swachchata Hi Seva’ with full vigor and enthusiasm in differentcraft clusters of NER. The programme was organised centrally at Chapar Terracotta Craft Cluster, Dhubri,Assam in order to spread awareness on harmful effects of plastic. Shri Narayan Thakuria, Range Officer,Dhubri, Assam and Mr. Pankaj Yadav, HPO, HSC, Gauripur attended the programme and discussed aboutsustainable alternatives to plastics. Similar programmes were also organised by EPCH in Sipajhar (Assam),Imphal (Manipur), Dimapur (Nagaland), Guwahati (Kalapahar), Guwahati (Jalukbari), Aizawl(Mizoram)and Shillong (Meghalaya).

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Seminar on Importance of Plantation to Grow your Business inSustainable Manner followed by Plantation Drive at HPC, JaipurEPCH conducted an awareness seminar on“Importance of Plantation to Grow your Businessin Sustainable Manner”, at Handicrafts ProductivityCentre, Jaipur on 13th August 2019, followed byplantation of saplings at the Centre. The detaileddeliberation was initiated by Mr. Rajesh Jha fromITC Ltd. PSPD unit Wimco Seedlings, who shareda concept to grow business in a sustainable mannerby SISSOO based Agro Forestry Plantations to formraw material banks for member exporters dealingin wooden handicrafts. By this, buyers and membersmay avail benefit of assured sustained raw materialsupply, complete traceability and transparency,as well as uniform prices of wood.

CSR Initiatives of EPCHHighly subsidised treatment for handicraft artisansAn MOU was signed on 19th July 2019 at Moradabad, between Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts(EPCH), Young Enterpreuners Society (YES), Buying Agents Association of India (BAA), Moradabad CharitableTrust & Research Centre and Asian Vivekanand Super Speciality Hospital, to provide highly subsidisedtreatment for handicraft artisans.

Financial Assistance to children of artisans/workers engaged with EPCH memberexporters, for Education under CSR Initiatives of EPCHWith the view to assist such children who are meritorious and wish to continue studies to achieve secondarylevel education, EPCH has envisaged a Scheme to give financial assistance/support to children of artisanfamilies engaged with EPCH member exporters, under its CSR initiatives. The aim is to provide an opportunityto such children complete secondary level education for their better future and assist their families inimproving their living standards. This scheme was implemented from the financial year 2017-18. Financialassistance towards the expenditure would be met from the available CSR fund of EPCH, earmarked onyear-to-year basis.

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EPCH took a first of its kind initiative by constituting a Fitness and Sports Committee (FASCO) in 2017to organise various health camps, yoga conventions, sports and outdoor activities. As part of this,Two T20 cricket matches were organised in 2019. EPCH also observed the International Yoga Day.

Cricket MatchOn 8th April 2019 handicraft exporters of Jodhpur in association with EPCH and Jodhpur HandicraftsExporters Federation (JHEF) brought together 6 cricket teams for a day full of cricket, comradery andrevelry at at Jodhpur Greens, Shikargarh, Jodhpur. The teams were : EPCH, Chairman XI; Jodhpur HandicraftsExporters Federation; Custom (CGST) Department, Jodhpur; Income Tax Department, Jodhpur; CustomHouse Agent XI, Jodhpur; and Press Club, Jodhpur. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Ambastha, Chief Commissioner,Income Tax, Jodhpur, was the Chief Guest. Press Club took the trophy. The day became an informalplatform for exporters, Income Tax officials, Custom House Agents, Custom (CGST) Department and Press& Media. Another match was organised between EPCH member exporters from Delhi and Firozabad on30th November 2019 at CAS Cricket Club Ground, Firozabad. Team Delhi won the match.

International Yoga DayEPCH observed the International Yoga Day (21 June 2019) at the Panch Shila Club, New Delhi and atGolden Gate Public School, Moradabad. During the one-hour sessions various breathing exercises andYoga asanas were performed and their benefits explained to the participants. A Naturopathy expert wasalso present on the occasion and explained the benefit of eating healthy and eating right. Best Yogaperformer awards were also given on the occasion in various categories like, best yogic body, bestflexible body, best yoga pose, best youngest yogi boy, best youngest yogi girl and best elderly yogi.The objective of the programme was to recognise Yoga as a holistic approach to health and well-beingand raise awareness on the benefits of practicing it on a daily basis.

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EXPORT PERFORMANCE2019-20

As per the provisional export data, handicraft exportsduring 2019-2020 amounted Rs. 25,270.14 Crores in

comparison to Rs. 25,548.97 Crores during 2018-2019.In US Dollar terms, exports during 2019-2020 werevalued at US$ 3,654.60 Million in comparison US$

3,564.33 Million during the previous year 2018-2019.Details of the provisional export figures and

the graphical representation appear in following pages.


Category-wise Export Share (%) of Handicrafts during 2019-20

Exports of Handicrafts (Category-wise)

ProductgroupIn US$ Millions

*2018-19 *2019-20(April-March)

*2018-19 *2019-20(April-March)

69.9091 70.8974

Incr./Decr.in % over2018-19

In ` Crores

*Data Source : DGCI&S, Kolkata

Artmetalwares 13.68

Woodwares 21.74

Handprinted Textiles & Scarves 10.06

Embroidered & Crocheted Goods 16.65

Shawls as Artwares 0.01

Zari & Zari Goods 0.48

Immitation Jewellery 6.26

Agarbatties and Attars 4.38

Misc. Handicrafts 26.74

Incr./Decr.in % over2018-19

Artmetal Wares 3472.47 3457.50 -0.43 496.71 487.68 -1.82

Woodwares 5311.59 5494.85 3.45 759.79 775.04 2.01

Handprinted Textiles 3305.11 2543.11 -23.06 472.77 358.70 -24.13

Embroidered & Crochetted Goods 3786.58 4206.36 11.09 541.64 593.30 9.54

Shawls As Artwares 4.66 2.19 -52.99 0.67 0.31 -53.64

Zari & Zari Goods 133.94 121.41 -9.35 19.16 17.13 -10.59

Imitation Jewellery 1794.96 1582.36 -11.84 256.76 223.19 -13.07

Agarbatties & Attars 985.30 1106.30 12.28 140.94 156.04 10.72

Misc. Handicrafts 6754.36 6756.06 0.03 966.16 952.94 -1.37

Total 25548.97 25270.14 -1.09 3654.60 3564.33 -2.47


Country-wise Export Share (%) of Handicrafts during 2019-20

Exports of Handicrafts (Country-wise)(excluding hand knotted carpets)

CountryIn ` Crores

2018-19 2019-20In US $ Millions

2018-1969.9091

Incr./Decr. in %over 2018-19

*Based on 167 ITC HS Codes **Data Source: DGCI&S, Kolkata

Australia 2.36

Canada 1.68

France 3.81

Germany 6.06

Italy 1.78

Japan 0.72

The Netherlands 4.5

UAE 6.91

Switzerland 0.47

USA 34.9

UK 6.66

LAC 1.69

Other Countries 28.46

Incr./Decr. in %over 2018-19

2019-2070.8974

Australia 631.73 596.06 -5.65 90.36 84.07 -6.96

Canada 451.10 424.12 -5.98 64.53 59.82 -7.29

France 952.55 962.11 1.00 136.26 135.70 -0.40

Germany 1380.36 1530.61 10.88 197.45 215.89 9.34

Italy 560.13 449.37 -19.77 80.12 63.38 -20.89

Japan 196.92 181.50 -7.83 28.17 25.60 -9.12

The Netherlands 1047.13 1140.72 8.94 149.78 160.90 7.42

UAE 1989.63 1745.65 -12.26 284.60 246.22 -13.49

Switzerland 74.69 119.53 60.03 10.68 16.86 57.80

USA 8393.46 8820.15 5.08 1200.62 1244.07 3.62

UK 1757.14 1682.12 -4.27 251.35 237.26 -5.60

LAC 428.51 426.63 -0.44 61.30 60.18 -1.83

Other Countries 7685.62 7191.57 -6.43 1099.37 1014.36 -7.73

Total 25548.97 25270.14 -1.09 3654.60 3564.33 -2.47


Exports of Artmetal WaresCountry-wise Share (%) in Export ofArtmetal Wares during 2019-2020

Country-wise Exports of Artmetal Wares(in ̀ Crores)

Country 2018-19 2019-20 % increase/decrease

Australia 56.53 56.81 0.50

Canada 53.56 62.50 16.69

France 70.17 72.18 2.86

Germany 256.09 393.16 53.52

Italy 57.25 47.45 -17.12

Japan 19.97 17.23 -13.72

The Netherlands 108.01 101.42 -6.10

UAE 320.19 239.26 -25.28

Switzerland 7.61 7.20 -5.39

USA 887.36 913.57 2.95

UK 269.86 262.81 -2.61

LAC 85.72 63.31 -26.14

Other Countries 1280.15 1220.60 -4.65

Total 3472.47 3457.50 -0.43

Australia 1.64

Canada 1.81

France 2.09Germany 11.37

Italy 1.37

Japan 0.5The Netherlands 2.93

UAE 6.92

Switzerland 0.22

USA 26.42UK 7.6

LAC 1.83


Exports of WoodwaresCountry-wise Share (%) of Woodwares

during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Woodwares

(in ̀ Crores)


Australia 180.12 164.61 -8.61

Canada 171.58 147.06 -14.29

France 404.38 403.90 -0.12

Germany 504.70 533.53 5.71

Italy 84.77 60.83 -28.24

Japan 13.72 12.98 -5.39

The Netherlands 458.94 460.34 0.31

UAE 105.37 116.37 10.44

Switzerland 5.55 7.79 40.36

USA 2282.58 2418.50 5.95

UK 336.64 330.76 -1.75

LAC 32.58 36.35 11.57

Other Countries 730.66 801.83 9.74

Total 5311.59 5494.85 3.45

Australia 2.99Canada 2.68

France 7.35

Germany 9.71Italy 1.11

Japan 0.24

The Netherlands 8.38

UAE 2.12Switzerland 0.14

USA 44.01

UK 6.02LAC 0.66



Exports of Handprinted TextilesCountry-wise Share (%) of Handprinted

Textiles during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Handprinted Textiles

(in ̀ Crores)


Australia 65.89 58.49 -11.23

Canada 26.84 25.08 -6.56

France 41.82 36.40 -12.96

Germany 67.07 90.56 35.02

Italy 28.70 32.99 14.95

Japan 80.73 68.05 -15.71


UAE 605.09 440.86 -27.14

Switzerland 2.93 3.32 13.31

USA 477.64 392.95 -17.73

UK 121.73 113.68 -6.61

LAC 11.41 11.22 -1.67

Other Countries 1733.71 1215.10 -29.91

Total 3305.11 2543.11 -23.06

Australia 2.30%

Canada 0.98%

France 1.43%Germany 3.56%

Italy 1.30%

Japan 2.68%The Netherlands2.14%

UAE 17.34%

Switzerland 0.13%

USA 15.45%UK 4.47%

LAC 0.44%

Other Countries47.78%

Exports of WoodwaresCountry-wise Share (%) of Embroidered &

Crochetted Goods during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Embroidered &Crochetted Goods (in ̀ Crores)


Australia 138.81 126.74 -8.70

Canada 61.58 63.16 2.57

France 251.99 246.75 -2.08

Germany 140.80 126.27 -10.32

Italy 195.04 132.80 -31.91

Japan 25.56 26.96 5.48

The Netherlands 123.35 116.09 -5.89

UAE 180.15 344.29 91.11

Switzerland 19.80 14.87 -24.90

USA 1580.88 1783.13 12.79

UK 205.69 200.11 -2.71

LAC 52.58 49.88 -5.14


Total 3786.58 4206.36 11.09

Australia 3.01%Canada 1.50%

France 5.87%

Germany 3.00%Italy 3.16%

Japan 0.64%

The Netherlands2.76%

UAE 8.18%Switzerland 0.35%

USA 42.39%

UK 4.76%LAC 1.19%



Exports of Shawls as ArtwaresCountry-wise Share (%) of Shawls as

Artwares during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Shawls as Artwares

(in ̀ Crores)


Australia 0.40 0.06 -85.18

Canada 0.01 0.03 187.00

France 0.26 0.07 -73.08

Germany 0.44 0.33 -25.00

Italy 0.15 0.23 51.67

Japan 0.01 0.02 73.00

The Netherlands 0.02 0.02 –

UAE 0.01 0.11 981.00

Switzerland 0.03 0.00 -95.33

USA 0.21 0.14 -31.71

UK 0.09 0.01 -83.78

LAC 0.02 0.07 246.00

Other Countries 3.01 1.10 -63.44

Total 4.66 2.19 -53.00

Australia 2.71%

Canada 1.31%


Italy 10.39%


UAE 4.94%

Switzerland 0.06%

USA 6.55%UK 0.67%

LAC 3.16%


Exports of Zari & Zari GoodsCountry-wise Share (%) of Zari & Zari

Goods during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Zari & Zari Goods

(in ̀ Crores)


Australia 0.09 0.01 -88.89

Canada 0.08 0.09 12.50

France 0.35 0.64 82.86

Germany 2.11 1.75 -17.06

Italy 0.98 0.53 -45.92

Japan 3.39 2.84 -16.22

The Netherlands – 0.03 –

UAE 4.56 21.12 363.16

Switzerland – – –

USA 1.46 2.51 71.92

UK 0.28 0.77 175.00

LAC 0.56 0.88 57.14

Other Countries 120.08 90.24 -24.85

Total 133.94 121.41 -9.35


France 0.07%


Japan 2.34%


UAE 17.40%Switzerland 0%

USA 2.07%

UK 0.63%LAC 0.72%



Exports of Agarbattis and AttarsCountry-wise Share (%) of Agarbattis and

Attars during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Agarbattis and Attars

(in ̀ Crores)


Australia 25.23 27.08 7.33

Canada 8.05 8.07 0.25

France 11.60 12.66 9.14

Germany 7.26 8.90 22.59

Italy 3.27 4.88 49.24

Japan 4.52 6.81 50.66


UAE 56.66 124.90 120.44

Switzerland 1.15 1.02 -11.30

USA 151.12 149.24 -1.24

UK 58.48 66.90 14.40

LAC 97.53 102.35 4.94


Total 985.30 1106.30 12.28

Australia 2.45%

Canada 0.73%


Italy 0.44%


UAE 11.29%

Switzerland 0.09%

USA 13.49%UK 6.05%

LAC 9.25%


Exports of Imitation JewelleryCountry-wise Share (%) of Imitation

Jewellery during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of Imitation Jewellery

(in ̀ Crores)


Australia 34.81 30.83 -11.43

Canada 19.57 17.24 -11.91

France 39.61 37.88 -4.37

Germany 33.58 35.28 5.06

Italy 17.13 21.10 23.18

Japan 13.83 12.37 -10.56


UAE 171.74 158.83 -7.52

Switzerland 7.49 6.79 -9.35

USA 353.09 365.68 3.57

UK 137.60 126.43 -8.12

LAC 30.09 21.99 -26.92

Other Countries 908.09 712.46 -21.54

Total 1794.96 1582.36 -11.84


France 2.39%


Japan 1.33%


UAE 10.04%Switzerland 0.43%

USA 23.11%

UK 7.99%LAC 1.39%



Exports of Miscellaneous HandicraftsCountry-wise Share (%) of Miscellaneous

Handicrafts during 2019-2020Country-wise Exports of MiscellaneousHandicrafts (in ̀ Crores)


Australia 129.45 131.43 1.53

Canada 109.83 100.89 -8.14

France 132.37 151.63 14.55

Germany 368.31 340.83 -7.46

Italy 172.84 148.56 -14.05

Japan 35.19 34.24 -2.70


UAE 545.86 299.91 -45.06

Switzerland 30.13 78.54 160.67

USA 2659.12 2794.43 5.09

UK 626.77 580.65 -7.36

LAC 118.02 140.58 19.12

Other Countries 1561.47 1599.90 2.46

Total 6754.36 6756.06 0.03

Australia 1.95%

Canada 1.49%


Italy 2.20%


UAE 4.44%

Switzerland 1.16%

USA 41.36%UK 8.59%

LAC 2.08%



DIRECTORS’ REPORT


Report of Committee of Administration(with reference section 134 of Companies Act, 2013)

ToThe MembersExport Promotion Council for HandicraftsYour members of Committee of Administration have pleasure in submitting their 33rd Annual Report on thebusiness and operations of the Council together with the Audited Financial Statements of the Council for thefinancial year ended 31st March, 2020.

Financial Results / State of Council's AffairsThe summarised financial results of the Council are given in the table below:

State of Affairs of the Councila ) The Council is engaged in the business of Export Promotion of Handicrafts from Country.b) There has been no change in the business of the Council during the financial year ended 31st March, 2020.

Details Related to Dividend and Transfer of Unclaimed Dividend to Investor Education and ProtectionFundBeing a Section 8 Company, the Council is prohibited to declare dividend to its members

Material Changes and Commitment (if any) affecting the Financial Position of the Council which haveoccurred between the end of the Financial Year to which this Financial Statement relate and the date ofthe ReportThere have been no material changes and commitments affecting the financial position of the Council betweenthe end of the financial year to which this Financial Statement relate i.e. March 31, 2020 and the date of thisReport.

Particulars of Loans, Guarantees or Investments made under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013The Council has not given any loans, guarantees or investments covered under the provisions of section 186 ofthe Companies Act, 2013.

Financial Year Ended31/03/2020 31/03/2019

Particulars

Revenue from Export Promotion Activities and Subscription from Members

Other Income

Total Revenue

Total Expenditure

Excess of income over Expenditure before exceptional and extra-ordinaryitems and tax

Less: Exceptional Items

Excess of income over Expenditure before extra-ordinary itemsand tax

Less: Extra-ordinary items

Excess of income over Expenditure before tax

Less: Tax Expense

Excess of Income over Expenditure for the period

82,71,75,284

11,43,42,032

94,15,17,316

93,74,97,518

40,19,798

14,26,841

25,92,957

-

25,92,957

NIL

25,92,957

1,15,67,75,790

8,72,01,043

1,24,39,76,833

1,10,69,61,447

13,70,15,386

33,35,494

13,36,79,892

3,23,51,977

10,13,27,915

NIL

10,13,27,915


Particulars of Contracts or Arrangements made with Related PartiesDuring the year under review, the Council has not entered into any contract or arrangement with its relatedparties requiring disclosure in Form AOC-2 and hence the same in not annexed to this Report.

Details of Subsidiary, Joint Venture or Associate CompaniesThe Council does not have any Subsidiary, Joint venture or Associate Company.

Change in the Nature of BusinessThere has been no change in the nature of business activities of the Council during the financial year ended 31stMarch, 2020.

DepositsThe Council has neither accepted/ renewed any Deposits from the public during the year nor has any outstandingDeposits in terms of Chapter V of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the allied Rules.

Share CapitalThe Council is a Company limited by Guarantee and does not have share capital.

Internal Financial ControlsThe Council has implemented well established internal financial control practices, tool for mitigating non-compliances risk and internal Code of Business Conduct in order to ensure adequate internal financial controlcommensurate with the size of the Council.

Number of Board Meetings conducted during the Year Under ReviewThe Board met 5 (Five) times during the financial year 2019-20 viz. on 17th April, 2019, 09th August, 2019, 2ndNovember, 2019, 13th December, 2019 & 18th March, 2020.Further, there was no resolution passed by circulation by the Board pursuant to the provisions of Section 175of the Companies Act, 2013.

Directors and Key Managerial Personnel- Details of Directors of the Council as on date is as under *:Sr. No. DIN Name of the Director1 00212905 Ravinder Kumar Passi2 00312405 Abdul Azim*3 00351158 Dileep Baid4 00410444 Rajesh Kumar Jain*5 00448503 Sagar Mehta6 00464783 Raj Kumar Malhotra7 00508498 Dinesh Kumar Aggarwal8 00737520 Om Prakash Prahladka9 01141526 Lekh Raj Maheshwari10 0127673 Prince Malik11 01449590 Sudhir Kumar Tyagi12 01493760 Arshad Hussain Mir13 01544064 Anoop Kumar*14 02984834 Tulasirao Naga Kalavakolanu15 03149714 Jesmina Zeliang16 03376408 Ashok Boob17 06974807 Naved Ur Rehman18 07864931 Neeraj Khanna*19 05353720 Hansraj Baheti#20 06967745 Kamal Soni#21 08659454 Sharad Kumar Bansal#22 03266790 Nabeel Ahmad#


Following Director were appointed / resigned during the FY 2019-20:*Mr. Abdul Azim, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Jain, Mr. Anoop Kumar and Mr. Neeraj Khanna retired as COA Memberw.e.f. December 14th, 2019# Mr. Hansraj Baheti, Mr. Kamal Soni, Mr. Sharad Kumar Bansal and Mr. Nabeel Ahmad appointed as COAMember w.e.f. December 14th, 2019

Particulars of Remuneration to the Committee of Administration ('COA') Members (Directors), Key ManagerialPersonnel and other EmployeesThe Council, being section 8 company and does not have share capital, is not required to comply with theprovisions of Section 197 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5 of the Companies Rules, 2014.

COA Members (Directors) Responsibility Statement:In accordance with the provisions of Section 134(3(c) read with Section 134(5) of the Companies Act, 2013, theCommittee of Administration hereby submits that:a ) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards had been followed along

with proper explanation relating to material departures;b) The COA Members (directors) had selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and

made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of thestate of affairs of the Council at the end of the financial year and of the Income and Expenditure of theCouncil for that period;

c) The COA Members (directors) had taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accountingrecords in accordance with the provisions of this Act for safeguarding the assets of the Council and forpreventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities; and

d) The COA Members (directors) had prepared the annual accounts on a going concern basis.

Transfer to ReservesThe Committee of Administration of the Council transferred an amount of Rs. 17,25,100/- to General Reservefor the financial year ended March 31, 2020.

Annual Performance EvaluationBeing a Section 8 Company without having share capital, the provision related to inclusion of a statement,indicating the manner in which formal annual evaluation has been made by the Board of its own performanceand that of its committees and individual directors, in the Board's Report, is not applicable on the Council.

Statement Concerning Development and Implementation of Risk Management Policy of the CouncilThe Council has adequate Risk Management Policies though the element of risk threatening the Council's existenceis very minimal.

Corporate Social ResponsibilityThe brief outline of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy of the Council and the initiatives undertakenby the Council on CSR activities during the year under review are set out in Annexure A of this report in theformat prescribed in the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014.

Secretarial Audit ReportThe provisions of Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Companies (Appointment and Remunerationof Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 related to Secretarial Audit are not applicable on the Council.

Statutory AuditorsIn terms of the provisions of Section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Members of the Council at their 33rdAnnual General Meeting (AGM) has appointed M/s. Jain Kapila Associates, Chartered Accountant (Firm RegistrationNo.000287N) as Statutory Auditors of the Council for a period of one year to hold office until the conclusionof 34th AGM.


Cost Records & AuditProvision of Section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the allied Rules, the provisions related to CostAudit are not applicable on the Council.

Explanation or Comments on Qualifications, Reservations or Adverse Remarks or Disclaimers made by theAuditorsThere was no qualification, reservation or adverse remark or disclaimer made by M/s. Jain Kapila Associates,Statutory Auditors of the Council in their Audit Report for the financial year ended 31st March, 2020 and henceno explanation or comments of the Board is required in this matter.

Details of Fraud Reported by AuditorsDuring the year under review, no fraud has been reported by the Auditors to the Committee of Administrationunder Section 143(12) of the Companies Act, 2013.

Details of Significant and Material Orders Passed by the Regulators or Courts or TribunalsDuring the year under review, no significant and material order was passed by the Regulators or Courts orTribunals which affects the Going Concern Status of the Council and its future operations.

Extract of Annual ReturnAn extract of Annual Return in Form No. MGT-9 as required under Section 92 and 134 of the Companies Act,2013 read with the allied Rules for the financial year ended 31st March, 2020 is available at EPCH website i.e.www.epch.in.

Web Address where Annual Return Referred to in Section 92(3) has been placedThe Members of the Council can access the Annual Return at www.epch.in

Conservation of Energy, Technology Absorption, Foreign Exchange Earnings and OutgoA. Conservation of Energy and Technology AbsorptionNot ApplicableB. Foreign Exchange Earnings & Outgo (Equivalent to INR)

Particulars 31.03.2020 31.03.2019Earnings – –Outgo 16,48,38,352/- 24,30,46,908/-

Declaration from Independent DirectorsThe Council being a Section 8 company is not required to appoint an Independent Director in terms of theprovisions of Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Companies Rules, 2014.

Nomination and Remuneration PolicyThe Council being a Section 8 company is not required to comply with the provisions of Section 178 of the CompaniesAct, 2013 read with the Companies (Meetings of the Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014.

Audit Committee The Council is not required to appoint Audit committee in terms of the provision of Section 177 of the companiesAct, 2013

Vigil MechanismThe provisions related to establishment of a vigil mechanism for Directors and Employees to report genuineconcerns as provided in Section 177 of the Companies Act 2013 read with the Companies (Meetings of Boardand its Powers) Rules, 2014 are not applicable on the Council.


Disclosure under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013The Council is committed to provide a safe and conducive work environment to its employees. Your Directorsfurther state that during the year under review, no case of sexual harassment was filed under the Sexual Harassmentof Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.As on March 31, 2020, the Council has complied with the provisions relating to constitution of Internal ComplaintsCommittee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013.

Compliance with Applicable Secretarial StandardsBeing a Section 8 company, the Council is not required to comply with the applicable Secretarial Standardsissued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, as amended from time to time.

Acknowledgements:Your members of Committee of Administration acknowledge with gratitude and thanks for encouragement andco-operation extended to it by the Ministry of Textiles, Commerce, Finance, Office of the Development Commissioner(Handicrafts), Office of the Director General of Foreign Trade, Office of the Commissioner of Drawback, Departmentof Customs, other Ministries and Department of Government of India and Members of the Council withoutwhose encouragement and active assistance, the Council would not have been able to successfully undertakemany of its activities. The Council is also grateful to the Indian Missions Aborad, Overseas Missions in India andthe various publicists and media for their assistance and support extended to the Council. The Committee thanksthe Executive Director and Officers and Staff of the council for their devotion, sincerity and hard work to carryout the work of the Council.

For and on behalf of the Committee of AdministrationExport Promotion Council for Handicrafts

Sd/- Sd/-Dated: 21.08.2020 (Raj Kumar Malhotra) (Ravi K. Passi)Place: New Delhi Designation: Vice Chairman Designation: Chairman

DIN: 00464783 DIN: 00212905


Annexure A

Annual Report on CSR Activities to be included in the Board's ReportA brief outline of the Council's CSR policy, including overview of projects or programs proposed to be undertakenand a reference to the web-link to the CSR policy and projects or programs Your council is committed to conductits business in a socially responsible, ethical and environmentally friendly manner and to continuously worktowards improving quality of life of the communities in its operational areas. The CSR policy adopted by theCommittee of Administration is appended and is also available on the website at www.epch.in1. Average net Income over Expenditure of the company for last three financial years: Rs.7,13,42,072/-2. Prescribed CSR expenditure (two percent of the amount as in item 1 above): Rs. 14,26,841/-3. Details of CSR spent during the financial year:

(a) Total amount to be spent for the financial year: Rs. 1,02,400/-(b) Amount unspent, if any: Rs.43,48,571/-(c) Manner in which the amount spent during the financial year is detailed below:

*give details of implementing agency4. The Council had started and planning for spend unutilized CSR fund on the scheme for financial

assistance to the children of artisans/workers for education under csr initiatives.5. A responsibility statement: The corporate Social Responsibility committee of the company hereby

confirms that the implementation and monitoring of CSR policy, is in compliance with the CSRobjectives and policy of the Company.

For and on behalf of the Committee of AdministrationExport Promotion Council for Handicrafts

Sd/- Sd/-Dated: 21.08.2020 (Raj Kumar Malhotra) (Ravi K. Passi)Place: New Delhi Designation: Vice Chairman Designation: Chairman

DIN: 00464783 DIN: 00212905

(1) CSR Projector activityidentified

Projects orprograms(1) Local area orother(2) Specify thestate and districtwhere projects orprograms wasundertaken

Amountoutlay(budget)project orprogramswise

Cumulativeexpenditureupto thereportingperiod

Amount spenton the projectsor programsSub heads:(1) Directexpenditure onprojects orprograms(2) Overheads

Amountspent: Director throughimplementingagency

12

3

(2)CSRProject

EducationScholarship

(3)WomenEmpower-mentEducation

Sector inwhich theproject iscovered

(4)Jabalpur,Madhya Pradesh

All India Level

(5)100,000/-

2,400/-

(6)1,00,000/-

2,400/-

(7)1,00,000/-

2,400/-

(8)Direct

Direct


ANNUAL ACCOUNTS2019-20

The Audited Balance Sheet of the Councilas on 31st March, 2020, together with the annexed

Income and Expenditure Accounts as at 31st March, 2020,appear in the following pages.


INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT

ToThe Members ofExport Promotion Council for Handicrafts

Report on the Financial StatementsWe have audited the accompanying financial statements of EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FORHANDICRAFTS ("the Company") which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2020, the Income &Expenditure Account and Cash Flow Statement for the year then ended, and a summaryof significantaccounting policies and other explanatoryinformation.

Management's Responsibility for the Financial StatementsThe Company's Management is responsible for the matters stated in Section 134(5) of the CompaniesAct, 2013 ("the Act") with respect to the preparation of these financial statements that give a true andfair view of the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the Company in accordancewith the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including the Accounting Standards specifiedunder Section 133 of the Act, read with Rule 7 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014. This responsibilityalso includes maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of theAct for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting frauds and otherirregularities; selection and application of appropriate accounting policies; making judgments andestimates that are reasonable and prudent; and design, implementation and maintenance of adequateinternal financial controls, that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy and completenessof the accounting records, relevant to the preparation and presentation of the financial statementsthat give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditors' ResponsibilityOur responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements basedon our audit.We have taken in to account the provisions of the Act, the accounting and auditing standards andmatters which are required to be included in the audit report under the provisions of the Act and theRules made there under.We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing specified under Section 143(10)of the Act. Those Standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and performthe audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from materialmisstatement.An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and the disclosuresin the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgment, including theassessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud orerror. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal financial control relevant to theCompany's preparation of thefinancial statements that give a true and fair view in order to designaudit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing anopinion onwhether the Company has in place an adequate internal financial controls system overfinancial reporting and the operating effectiveness of such controls. An audit also includes evaluatingthe appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of the accounting estimatesmade by the Company's Management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financialstatements.We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to providea basis forour audit opinion on the financial statements.


OpinionIn our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, theaforesaid financial statements give the information required by the Act in the manner so required andgive a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, of thestate of affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2020, and its income & expenditure and its cash flow forthe year ended on that date.

Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements1. As required by the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2015 ("the Order"), issued by the Central

Government of India in terms of sub-section (11) of Section 143 of the Act, our comments are notgiven, as the (Auditor's Report) order 2015, specifically provides that it should not apply to companieslicensed to operate under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.

2. As required by section 143 (3) of the Act, we reportthat:a. we have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the bestof our

knowledge and belief were necessary for the purpose of ouraudit;b. in our opinion proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company so

far as it appears from our examination of those books;c. The Balance Sheet, Income & Expenditure Account and the Cash Flow Statement dealt with by

this Report are in agreement with the books ofaccount maintained by company.d. In our opinion, the aforesaid financial statements comply with the Accounting Standards specified

under section 133 of the Act, read with Rule 7 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014.e. On the basis of written representations received from the Members of Committee of Administration

(CoA) as on March 31, 2020 taken on record by the Committee of Administration (CoA), none of theMember is disqualified as on March 31, 2020 from being appointed as a Member.

f. With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls over financial reporting of the Companyand the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in "Annexure A".

g. with respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor's Report in accordance with Rule 11of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, in our opinion and to the best of our informationand according to the explanations given to us:(i) The Company does not have any pending litigations which would impact its financial

position.(ii) The Company did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts for

which therewere any material foreseeable losses.(iii) There were no amounts which were required to be transferred to the Investor Education

and Protection Fund by the Company.

For JAIN KAPILA ASSOCIATESCHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

FRN 000287N

Sd/-D.K. KAPILA

PARTNERPlace: NEW DELHI (Membership No. 016905)Date : 27.08.2020 UDIN: 20016905AAAAB12608


"Annexure A" to the Independent Auditor's Report of even date on the FinancialStatements of EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRAFTS

Report on the Internal Financial Controls under Clause (i) of Sub-section 3 ofSection 143 of theCompanies Act, 2013 ("the Act")

We have audited the internal financial controls over financial reporting of EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCILFOR HANDICRAFTS ("the Company") as of March 31, 2020 in conjunction with our audit of the financialstatements of the Company for the year ended on that date.

Management's Responsibility for Internal Financial ControlsThe Company's management is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal financial controlsbased on "the internal control over financial reporting criteria established by the Company consideringthe essential components of internal control stated in the Guidance Note on Audit of Internal FinancialControls Over Financial Reporting issued by theInstitute of Chartered Accountants of India". Theseresponsibilities include the design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financialcontrols that were operating effectively for ensuring the orderly and efficient conduct of its business,including adherence to company's policies, the safeguarding of its assets, the prevention and detectionof frauds and errors, the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, and the timely preparationof reliable financial information, as required under the Companies Act, 2013.

Auditors' ResponsibilityOur responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's internal financial controls over financialreporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with the GuidanceNote on Auditof Internal Financial Controls Over Financial Reporting (the "Guidance Note") and the Standards onAuditing, issued by ICAI and deemed to be prescribed under section 143(10) of the Companies Act,2013, to the extent applicable to an audit of internal financial controls, both applicable to an audit ofInternal Financial Controls and, both issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. ThoseStandards and the Guidance Note require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan andperform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether adequate internal financial controlsover financial reporting was established and maintained and if such controls operated effectively in allmaterial respects.Our audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the adequacy of the internalfinancial controls system over financial reporting and their operating effectiveness. Our audit of internalfinancial controls over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal financialcontrols over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing andevaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Theprocedures selected depend on the auditor's judgement, including the assessment of the risks ofmaterial misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error.We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis forour audit opinion on the Company's internal financial controls system over financial reporting.

Meaning of Internal Financial Controls Over Financial ReportingA company's internal financial control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonableassurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements forexternal purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internalfinancial control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to themaintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions anddispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are


recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generallyaccepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being madeonly in accordance with authorisations of management of the company; and (3) provide reasonableassurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorised acquisition, use, or disposition ofthe company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Inherent Limitations of Internal Financial Controls Over Financial ReportingBecause of the inherent limitations of internal financial controls over financial reporting, including thepossibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due toerror or fraud may occur and not be detected. Also, projections of any evaluation of the internalfinancial controls over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the internalfinancial control over financial reporting may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, orthat the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

OpinionIn our opinion, the Company has, in all material respects, an adequate internal financial controlssystem over financial reporting and such internal financial controls over financial reporting were operatingeffectively as at March 31, 2020, based on "the internal control over financial reporting criteria establishedby the Company considering the essential components of internal control stated in the Guidance Noteon Audit of Internal Financial Controls Over Financial Reporting issued by the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India".

For JAIN KAPILA ASSOCIATESCHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

FRN 000287N

Sd/-D.K. KAPILA

PARTNERPlace: NEW DELHI (Membership No. 016905)Date : 27.08.2020 UDIN: 20016905AAAAB12608


BALANCE SHEET AS ON 31ST MARCH, 2020(Amount in Rs.)

As on As onParticulars Schedule No. 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

I. EQUITY AND LIABILITIES1. Shareholders’ FundsCapital Fund A 1,02,38,200 88,83,300Reserves and Surplus B 1,20,84,35,318 1,18,71,59,808

1,21,86,73,518 1,19,60,43,1082. Non-current LiabilitiesLong-term Borrowings – –Other Long-term Liabilities C 56,06,512 39,71,512Long-term Provisions D 3,47,93,158 4,15,00,686

4,03,99,670 4,54,72,1983. Current Liabilities(a) Short-term Borrowings – –(b) Other Current Liabilities E 51,53,20,267 18,24,44,364(c) Short-term Provisions F 3,36,03,789 4,81,54,437

54,89,24,056 23,05,98,801TOTAL-I (1+2+3) 1,80,79,97,244 1,47,21,14,107

II. ASSETS1. Non-current Assets(a) Fixed Assets G

(i) Tangible Assets 37,35,41,427 39,04,32,226 (ii) Intangible Assets 1,52,864 2,36,279 (iii) Capital work-in-progress 14,57,39,850 6,72,09,853 (iv) Intangible Assets under development – –

(b) Long-term Loans and Advances H 51,07,845 56,86,665 52,45,41,986 46,35,65,023

2. Current AssetsCash and Bank Balances* I 1,15,24,14,226 72,21,11,201Other Current Assets J 13,10,41,032 28,64,37,883

1,28,34,55,258 1,00,85,49,084TOTAL-II (1+2) 1,80,79,97,244 1,47,21,14,107

*Note: An amount of Rs. 34,58,76,974/- has been earmarked out of these FD's as amount to be refunded to member exporters onaccount of advance received from them for participation in IHGF Delhi Fair Spring – 2020, in terms of the decision of Committee ofAdministration (COA) of EPCH held on dated 27th March, 2020. The refund process was completed in the succeeding financial year.Significant Accounting Policies and Notes to Accounts as per Schedule 'P'

FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE OF ADMINISTRATION As per our separate report of even date annexedFor JAIN KAPILA ASSOCIATES CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

FRN 000287N

Sd/- Sd/- Sd/- Sd/- Sd/-R. K. VERMA SHARAD KUMAR BANSAL RAJKUMAR MALHOTRA RAVI K. PASSI D. K. KAPILA[SECRETARY] [MEMBER-COA] [VICE CHAIRMAN] [CHAIRMAN] [PARTNER]

M.No. 016905Place : NEW DELHIDate : 21.08.2020 UDIN: 20016905AAAABI2608



INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2020(Amount in Rs.)

As on As onParticulars Schedule No. 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

INCOMEI. Revenue from Export Promotion Activities

and Subscription from Members K 82,71,75,284 1,15,67,75,790II. Other Income L 11,43,42,032 8,72,01,043III. Total Revenue (I+II) 94,15,17,316 1,24,39,76,833IV. Expenses

Export Promotion Activities M 74,28,18,243 92,93,92,488Employee Benefits Expense N 11,85,09,548 10,92,27,582Other Expenses O 6,48,71,906 6,28,88,148Depreciation and Amortization Expense 1,12,97,821 54,53,229Total Expenses 93,74,97,518 1,10,69,61,447

V. Excess of Income over Expenditure beforeexceptional and extraordinary items and tax 40,19,798 1370,15,386

VI. Less: Exceptional items 14,26,841 33,35,494VII. Excess of Income over Expenditure

before extraordinary items and tax 25,92,957 13,36,79,892VIII. Less: Extraordinary Items – 3,23,51,977IX. Excess of Income over Expenditure Before Tax 25,92,957 10,13,27,915X. Tax expense:

(1) Current tax – –(2) Deferred tax – –

XI. Excess of Income over Expenditure for the period 25,92,957 10,13,27,915

Significant Accounting Policies and Notes to Accounts as per Schedule 'P'


FRN 000287N





(Amount in Rs.)

Particulars As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Excess of Income over Expenditurebefore Taxation & Extraordinary Items 25,92,957 13,36,79,892Adjustment For :Depreciation 1,12,97,821 54,53,229Extraordinary Items – (3,23,51,977)Loss/(Profit) on Sale of fixed Assets (2,931) 5,606Interest Income (5,90,19,869) (5,05,18,807)Operating Income (4,51,32,022) 5,62,67,943Decrease / (Increase) in Security Deposit 5,78,820 (25,09,000)Decrease / (Increase) in other current assets 15,53,96,851 (9,53,99,222)(Decrease) / Increase in Shorterm provisions (1,45,50,648) 53,41,972(Decrease) / Increase in LongTerm liabilties / Provisions (50,72,528) 47,26,256(Decrease) / Increase in loan & advance 33,28,75,902 (6,86,98,396Cash Generated from Operating Activities 42,40,96,375 (10,02,70,447)

Cash Flow from Investing ActivitiesIncrease in Fixed Assets (8,53,35,887) (9,23,98,646)Interest Received 5,90,19,869 5,05,18,807Increase in Capital Fund 13,54,900 3,69,150Increase in General Reserves 17,25,100 5,12,08,850Sale of fixed Assets 8,000 14,000Increase in Fixed Assets Reserve 2,94,34,668 6,59,37,828Incease in Buiilding Reserve – (5,00,00,000)Cash Flow from Financing Activities 62,06,650 2,56,49,989

Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash & Cash Equivalents 43,03,03,025 (7,46,20,458)

Cash & Bank Balances at beginning of the year 72,21,11,201 79,67,31,659

Cash & Bank Balances at the end of the year 1,15,24,14,226 72,21,11,201

“Cash and Cash Equivalents” has been changed to “Cash and Bank Balances” in accordance with provisions of AccountingStandard-3 issued by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Significant Accounting Policies and Notes to Accounts as per Schedule 'P'


FRN 000287N




Cash Flow Statement as on 31st March, 2020


Schedules Annexed to and forming part of the Balance Sheet

SCHEDULE - A

(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Opening Balance 88,83,300 85,14,150Add : Entrance Fees Received fromMembers enrolled during the year 30,80,000 15,78,000

1,19,63,300 1,00,92,150Less : Transfer to General Reserve on Accountof Cessation of Members 17,25,100 12,08,850TOTAL 1,02,38,200 88,83,300

SCHEDULE - B

(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on31.03.2020 31.03.2019

a) GENERAL RESERVEOpening Balance 22,97,51,740 17,85,42,890Add'-Transfer from Capital Fund on Accountof Cessation of Members 17,25,100 12,08,850Add'-Transfer from Building Reserve – 5,00,00,000Total (a) 23,14,76,840 22,97,51,740

b) INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTOpening Balance 74,90,52,058 64,77,24,143Addition: Transfer from Income & Expenditure Account 25,92,957 10,13,27,915Total (b) 75,16,45,015 74,90,52,058

c) BUILDING RESERVE ACCOUNTOpening Balance 3,00,00,000 8,00,00,000Add: Transfer from Income & Expenditure Account – –Less: Transfer to General reserves – 5,00,00,000Total (c) 3,00,00,000 3,00,00,000

d) FIXED ASSETS RESERVE ACCOUNTOpening Balance 17,83,56,010 12,26,73,136Add: Grant for Acquisition of Fixed Assets 2,94,34,668 6,59,37,828

20,77,90,678 18,86,10,964Less: Amount adjusted equivalent to depreciationfor the year 1,24,77,215 1,02,54,954Total (d) 19,53,13,463 17,83,56,010TOTAL (a+b+c+d) 1,20,84,35,318 1,18,71,59,808


CAPITAL FUND

RESERVES & SURPLUS


Schedules Annexed to and forming part of the Balance Sheet

SCHEDULE - D(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Leave Encashment 3,47,93,158 4,15,00,686


SCHEDULE - E(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Grant-in-Aid Received in Advance 8,64,03,704 3,02,52,563

Advances Received from exhibitors / Members 39,49,64,685 6,90,59,263

Expenses Payable 2,33,19,181 2,40,10,586

Other Liabilities 1,06,32,697 5,80,21,255

TOTAL 51,53,20,267 18,24,44,364

SCHEDULE - F(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Provision for Employees Medical Welfare – 3,00,00,000Provision for Service Tax Payable – 33,35,494Provision for CSR Expenditure 57,75,412 44,50,971Leave encashment 2,78,28,377 1,03,67,972TOTAL 3,36,03,789 4,81,54,437

LONG TERM PROVISIONS

CURRENT LIABILITIES

SHORT TERM PROVISIONS

SCHEDULE - C(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Earnest Money Deposit 56,06,512 39,71,512

OTHER LONG TERM LIABILITIES


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EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRAFTSSchedules Annexed to and forming part of the Balance Sheet

SCHEDULE - I(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on31.03.2020 31.03.2019

a) Cash and Cash EquivalentsCash on hand 1,09,806 60,133Balance with Banks 12,17,59,418 2,86,59,403

12,18,69,224 2,87,19,536b) Other Balances with Banks

In Term Deposit with original maturity upto 3 Months – 25,39,99,995In Term Deposit with original maturity more than3 Months and up to 12 Months 9,94,00,000 26,71,52,871In Term Deposit with original maturitymore than 12 Months 87,90,17,234 10,98,00,000Interest Accrued on FDR's 5,21,27,768 1,03,05,45,002 6,24,38,799 69,33,91,665

TOTAL(a+b) 1,15,24,14,226 72,21,11,201

CASH AND BANK BALANCES

SCHEDULE - H(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Security Deposits 51,07,845 56,86,665

SCHEDULE - K(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on31.03.2020 31.03.2019

a) From MembersSubscriptions from Members 4,70,25,000 2,49,50,000Fair & Exhibitions 53,42,54,497 90,31,72,922

b) Project base Grant-in-Aid forSpecific Export Promotion ActivitiesGrant-in-aids from DC (Handicrafts) 14,96,47,207 14,71,95,545Grants-in-aids from Ministry of Commerce & Industries 8,84,90,962 8,14,57,323Grant-in-aids others 77,57,618 –

TOTAL 82,71,75,284 1,15,67,75,790

REVENUE FROM EXPORT PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AND SUBSCRIPTION FROM MEMBERS

LONG TERM LOANS AND ADVANCES

OTHER CURRENT ASSETS SCHEDULE - J(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Advances/Amount Recoverable 12,29,11,301 26,35,27,049GSTCredit 23,45,804 1,41,73,308Prepaid Expenses 57,83,927 76,36,829TOTAL 13,10,41,032 28,64,37,883


SCHEDULE - L

(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Interest on FDRs and Advances 5,90,19,869 5,05,18,807Miscellaneous Incomes 12,44,675 36,65,450Income/ Service charges -CFC Saharanpur 31,54,074 22,63,940Certification of Vriksh 2,39,76,780 2,67,68,900Sale of Publications 68,600 89,246Skill Upgradation Programme 2,68,78,034 38,94,700TOTAL 11,43,42,032 8,72,01,043

OTHER INCOMES


SCHEDULE - M

(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on31.03.2020 31.03.2019

a) FAIRS & EXHIBITIONS ACTIVITIESFAIRS & EXHIBITIONS 65,14,34,659 86,71,18,381

b) OTHER EXPORT PROMOTION ACTIVITIES

Operative expenses for CFC-Saharanpur/ Jodhpur 74,71,188 49,64,493

Export Award Expenses 1,43,667 38,03,696

Publication of Craftcil 43,70,063 37,95,073

Other Export Promotion Expenses 4,52,881 7,92,223

Market Survey & Projects studies 1,51,809 3,40,000

Printing of catalogue – 21,00,000

Workshops/seminars/ Handicrafts trainingProgramme/Integrated design programme 1,54,01,174 78,67,191

Skill & Markting programme 3,85,92,827 1,05,39,078

MSME Outreach programme 5,65,331 10,27,797

Certification of Vriksh Expenses 1,98,06,249 2,19,22,037

Capacity development programme for NER 27,57,920 24,79,270

Printing of Photo ID card of Craftsmen 28,00,748 62,63,702

Design Trend & Market Research 15,44,599 13,79,547

Provision Written back (54,92,071) (50,00,000)

DIC craft cluster programmes in Rajasthan 28,17,199 –

TOTAL(a+b) 74,28,18,243 92,93,92,488

EXPORT PROMOTION ACTIVITIES (EXPENDITURE)



SCHEDULE - N(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Salary & Allowances 8,71,80,941 8,02,26,514Staff Welfare 13,56,747 14,18,900Leave Travel Assistance* – 25,11,167Provision for leave incashment 1,36,50,984 93,06,191Reimbursement of Tuition Fee 15,32,688 15,62,832Gratuity 1,47,88,188 1,42,01,978TOTAL 11,85,09,548 10,92,27,582

Note : In view of inherent uncertainties about the present and future impact of COVID-19, it has decided to postpone the facility ofLeave Fare Assistance (LFA) and Leave Encashment for its employees. In view of this, Leave Fare Assistance (LFA) aggregating toRs. 24,65,671/- and Leave Encashment aggregating to Rs. 28,98,107/- has not been provided from the current year onwards.

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT EXPENSES

SCHEDULE - O(Amount in Rs.)

As on As on 31.03.2020 31.03.2019

Office Rent 5,08,000 4,80,000Office maintenance 27,91,634 28,71,188Office Rennovation 10,96,328 33,05,665Vehicle Maintenance & Running exp 11,86,374 8,53,025Telecommunication/Internet Expenses 15,17,406 14,27,238Printing & Stationery 23,89,782 17,75,297Postage & Couriers 39,18,608 57,11,415Advertisements 3,47,178 13,14,428Travelling & Conveyance 23,34,740 22,91,619Rates & Taxes 5,88,912 7,51,356Hospitality Expenses 7,42,952 5,91,476Meeting Expenses 24,11,656 18,13,778TA to COA Members 6,48,121 9,27,319Loss on sale of fixed assets – 5,606Insurance Expenses 2,33,917 8,21,723Repair & Maintenance (Office Equipment's/Computer/Software) 67,09,528 61,68,993Bank Charges 1,46,284 1,02,623Professional & Legal Expenses 57,07,013 59,11,118Miscellaneous expenses 19,05,497 13,11,383Hiring of Conveyance 21,74,070 12,50,742Election Expenses 3,89,139 2,37,356Water & Electricity expenses 27,74,452 30,25,325Regional Office Expenses (Narsapur) 16,29,768 14,80,273Regional Office Expenses (Kolkata) 21,02,697 15,58,194Regional Office Expenses (Bangalore) 33,90,296 31,75,762Regional Office Expenses (Moradabad) 63,29,730 50,80,593Regional Office Expenses (Mumbai) 28,49,848 21,38,136Regional Office Expenses (Jaipur) 25,70,685 29,50,619Extension Counter Expenses (Agra) 2,38,195 2,49,311Public Relation Expenses 35,31,513 21,28,985Training to Council's staff 1,65,542 84,960Service tax/SBCess/KK Cess 12,87,041 8,87,642Contribution for Welfare 50,000 –Statutory Audit Fee 1,25,000 1,25,000Tax Audit Fee 80,000 80,000TOTAL 6,48,71,906 6,28,88,148

OTHER EXPENSES


SCHEDULE - P

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND NOTES TO ACCOUNTS

A. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1. Basis of Preparation of Financial Statement

Financial statements are prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention, generally accepted accounting principlesin India and relevant presentational requirement of the Companies Act, 2013.

2. Fixed Assetsi) Fixed Assets are stated at historical cost inclusive of inward freight, duties and taxes and incidental expenses related

to acquisition.ii) Asset valuing upto INR 500/- excluding Furniture, Fixtures and wooden Crates are charged to revenue in the year of its

purchase.iii) Mobile phones valuing upto INR 5000/- are charged to revenue expenditure in the year of its purchase.

3. Depreciation Accountingi) Depreciation on Fixed Assets is provided for in accordance with Schedule II of the Companies Act, 2013 on Written

Down Value method.ii) Depreciation on Fixed Assets acquired from Grant-in-Aid is being charged to Fixed Assets Reserve Account.iii) Depreciation is charged @ 100% in case of assets valuing upto INR 5000/- in the year of purchase. However, these are

retained @ Re. 1/- for each such assets.iv) Mobile phone life considered 2 years for depreciation purpose.

4. Accounting for Govt. Grantsi) The Grant-in-Aid received from Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India for specified activities is accounted for on accrual

basis.ii) The Grant-in-Aid received from Ministry of Commerce and Industry for reimbursement to members for expenses

incurred by them on export promotion activities and sales tour in foreign country and code activities is being accountedon Cash Basis.

iii) Other Grant-in-aid received from Ministry of Commerce & Industry under Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme forspecified activities is accounted for on accrual basis.

iv) The Grant-in-Aid received for acquisition of Fixed Assets is capitalized and transferred to Fixed Assets Reserve Account.Any depreciation on such fixed assets is being charged to this account.

5. Application of Funds towards Capital ContributionCapital contribution towards promotion of other entities with similar objects on directives from Government of India isaccounted at par (at cost of acquisition) under the head 'Application of Funds towards capital contribution'.

6. Revenue Recognitioni) Subscription from members (enrolled as member upto the year end) are accounted for on actual basis.ii) Interest on Fixed Deposits is being accounted on accrual basis.iii) Other Incomes are recognized only on the receipt of the same during the year.

7. ContingenciesAny contingent liability is being shown by way of Notes to Accounts.

8. Foreign Currency Transactionsi) Foreign Currency transactions are accounted for at the exchange rates prevailing on the date of transaction.ii) Monetary Assets and Liabilities outside India have been translated at the exchange rates prevailing at the close of the

year.

9. Retirement Benefits to Employeesi) Regular monthly contributions are made to Provident fund and are charged to Income and Expenditure account.ii) Annual Provision of Gratuity based on actuarial valuation is being made and transferred to EPCH Employee Group

Gratuity Fund (Trust).iii) Computation of annual provision of Leave Encashment is based on Actuarial Valuation.



(Amount Rs. In Lakh)S. Particulars Gratuity Leave Benefit LTCNo. 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 2019-20 2018-19 2019-201. Opening Balance – – 457.53 518.68 22.42 NIL2. Add: Current Service Cost 142.02 147.88 93.06 136.51 25.11 NIL3. Less: Benefit Paid – – (31.91) (28.98) 47.53 NIL4. Less trf to fund 142.02 147.88 – – NIL5. Actuarial (Gain) / Loss – – 26.92 70.05 – NIL6. Closing Balance – – 518.68 626.21 – NIL7. Exp recognized in I. & E A/c 142.02 147.88 93.06 136.51 25.11 NIL

10. Prior Period Income / ExpensePrior period income/expenses up to a sum of INR 10,000/- in each case are charged to relevant heads of account of the year.

11. OthersOne-time entrance fees received at the time of induction of new members is credited to Capital Fund.

B. NOTES TO ACCOUNTS1) Receipts / Income related to fairs & exhibition held is shown separately. Similarly, expenditure incurred in respect of fairs

and Exhibitions is also dealt with in the accounts accordingly.2) The council has received exemption from Income tax department under section 10(23C)(iv) of Income Tax Act.1961, from the

Assessment year 2009-10 onwards. In view of this, no provision for Income Tax has been made for the current year.3) Effect of Change in Accounting Policies: -

NIL

4) Project Based Grant-in-AidThe Council receives various Grants from the Office of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles andMarketing Development Assistance (MDA) from Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The grants so received are being utilizedfor specific purposes, as approved / sanctioned by the concerned authorities.i) During the year, Council has completed various activities/project against grant in aid received from Ministry. Against

completed activities /projects Council has receivable amount of Rs.5,60,36,207/- from the O/o Office of DevelopmentCommissioner (Handicrafts) for the year. The unutilized grantin- aid of Rs. 7,07,07,051/- (received during the year) isshown under head current liabilities “Grantin-aid received in advance”.

ii. Council has also receivable Rs.3,24,56,500/- from Ministry of Commerce & Industry for various marketing activitiescompleted during the year. The unutilized grant-in-aid of Rs. 1,17,70,930/- (received during the year) is shown underhead current liabilities “Grant-in-aid received in advance.

iii. The unutilized grant-in-aid of Rs. 27,25,723/- (received during the year) from MSME, Rs. 900,000/- from DIC,Jodhpur andRs. 300,000/- Govt. of Assam of is shown under head current liabilities “Grant-in-aid received in advance.

5) Revenue and Expenditure in Foreign Currency:I) Revenue

NIL

II) ExpenditureThe Council has incurred expenditure in foreign currency equivalent to Rs. 16,48,38,352/- for participation in InternationalFairs & Exhibitions, Buyer-Seller Meet, Publicity of IHGF, Design Development, and reimbursement of expenses, travelexpenses, Designer fee, Machinery for testing lab etc. The above said amount had been paid in different countries intheir respective currencies.

6) The employee's benefits provided by the Company as required under Accounting Standard 15 (Revised) are as under:-

Defined Contribution PlanThe employer's contribution to employees' provident fund for the year amounting to Rs.78.20 lakh (Previous year Rs. 62.68lakh) has been recognized as an expense.

Defined Benefit PlanThe Provision for Gratuity and Leave Benefit is made on the basis of actuarial valuation. This liability is valued by actuary

after considering inflation, seniority, promotion and other relevant factors.Gratuity scheme is funded by the Company and is managed by a separate Trust through LIC.Leave benefit Payable on separation to eligible employees who have accumulated earned leave and Medical leaves.LTC is admissible once in two years block.


Other actuarial Assumptions used for valuation of liability for employee benefits (Leave Encashment) are as under: -Method: The Actuarial value of the accrued liability has been arrived at by using the Projected Accrued Benefit method(project unit credit method).Assumption: The Principal actuarial assumption made in the valuation were as follow -Economic Assumptions -The discount rate is based on the yield available on Government bonds at the valuation date with a term matching that ofthe liabilities. The salary increases rates take into account inflation, seniority, promotion and other relevant factors; Longterm assumptions have been considered as follows -

Particular 31/03/2019 31/03/2020a) Discounting Rate 7.69 P.A. 6..71 P.A.b) Salary Growth Rate 6.00 P.A. 3.00 P.A.c) Expected Rates of Return on Plan Assets 0.00 P.A. 0.00 P.A.

Demographic AssumptionParticular 31/03/2019 31/03/2020a) Retirement Age 60 Years 60 Yearsb) Mortality Table IALM (2006-2008) IALM (2012-2014)c) Employee Turnover / Attrition Rate

18 to 30 Years 0.00% 0.00%30 to 45 Years 2.00% 2.00%Above 45 Years 1.00% 1.00%

7) As required by Accounting Standard (AS) 28 Impairment of Assets notified by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,the company has carried out the assessment of impairment of assets. There has been no impairment loss during the year.

8) Previous year figures have been re-grouped / re-arranged, wherever considered necessary, to make them Comparable withthose of the current year.

9) Cash and cash equivalents’” has been changed to “Cash and Bank balances” in accordance with provisions of AccountingStandard-3 issued by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

10) Schedules A to P form an integral part of the Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Account.11) COVID-19

Pursuant to outbreak of Corona Virus disease (COVID-19) worldwide and its declaration as global pandemic, the Governmentof India had declared complete lockdown from March 24, 2020 which led to complete cessation of all economic activities andclosure of all public places throughout India. In view of this 49th edition of IHGF Delhi Fair Spring-2020 was cancelled whichwas scheduled to be held between April 15-19, 2020. However, the Council had already carried out extensive publicity of theabove fair since October, 2019 in overseas through print, outdoor, electronic and social media options available and hadincurred an expenditure of Rs. 6,18,89,112/- towards this.The Committee of Administration (COA) of EPCH has decided in its meeting 27th March, 2020 to refund complete amountreceived from exporter members towards this fair along with their applications, accordingly the refund process was initiatedand an amount of Rs. 34,58,76,974.00 towards this end was earmarked out of these FD’s. Accordingly, the said amount wasrefunded during the succeeding financial year.Further, in view of the rapidly changing situation thereby giving rise to inherent uncertainties around the extent and timingof future impact of COVID-19 which may be different from that estimated as at the date of approval of these financialstatements.

FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE OF ADMINISTRATION As per our separate report of even dateannexed

For JAIN KAPILA ASSOCIATES CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

FRN 000287N



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OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN 2019-20 · 2 days ago · 2| ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20 | EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL FOR HANDICRATS The Committee of Administration of Export Promotion Council